Washington, DC – The following is a statement from Madihha Ahussain, special counsel for anti-Muslim bigotry for Muslim Advocates, regarding Congressman Steve King’s (R-IA) incendiary comment that he doesn’t want Somali Muslims to be employed at his district’s meat-packing plants, because they want pork consumers to “go to hell”:

“Congressman King’s recent statements are shameful. His blatant anti-Muslim bigotry is an embarrassment to his constituents and it puts the well-being and employment rights of American Muslims at-risk.

No elected official should encourage companies to break the law and discriminate against their employees.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric like this has led to an unprecedented spike in hate violence and mosque attacks, intense radicalization of white supremacists, and a shocking disregard for the lives of American Muslims.

Representative King has an alarming and well-documented history of dissentious, racist comments – from retweeting a Nazi sympathizer  to arguing that immigrants develop ‘calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling seventy-five pounds of marijuana across the desert.’

This type of rhetoric — especially by our elected officials — must end.”

Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.

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