Illinois Is Politics Weird

[Annie]

Links at site.

http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_02_26-2006_03_04.shtml#1141359599

Thursday, March 2, 2006
[David Bernstein, March 2, 2006 at 11:19pm] 3 Trackbacks / Possibly More Trackbacks
Should Being an Active Member of a racist, anti-gay, anti-Semitic organization

disqualify someone from serving on a state hate crimes commission? You would think so, but, at least in Illinois, you'd be wrong: "On Wednesday, [Governor] Blagojevich expressed support for Claudette Marie Muhammad, director of community outreach for the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim group led by the Rev. Louis Farrakhan... Muhammad recently invited commission members to attend a Farrakhan speech in which he accused 'Hollywood Jews' of 'promoting lesbianism, homosexuality' and other 'filth.'"

UPDATE: In answer to readers' comments, racism is central to NOI ideology, not peripheral. Just do a Google search on "Nation of Islam" "racism" and "yacub" or "yakub." And I find the analogy to a Boy Scouts leader extremely imprecise. The Scouts ban gays (and atheists, and girls), certainly, but I have never seen an example of the Scouts preaching hate toward gays (or atheists, or girls). A governor could nevertheless use his discretion not to appoint a Scout leader to any civil rights-related position, of course.

On the topic, this mornings Trib. editorial:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ar03,0,2434943.story?coll=chi-newsopinion-hed

This is brotherhood?

Published March 3, 2006

Perhaps only in Illinois could a government panel known as the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes become roiled in an internal battle over charges of bigotry and anti-Semitism.

Two Jewish members of the commission resigned Thursday, after Gov. Rod Blagojevich refused to remove a third member, Claudette Marie Muhammad. She is the chief of protocol and director of community outreach for the Nation of Islam, which is led by Louis Farrakhan.

He has a long history of using his pulpit to attack whites, Jews and gays. He was at his vituperative best on Sunday as he delivered the keynote speech for the Nation of Islam's annual Savior's Day conference. "These false Jews promote the filth of Hollywood that is seeding the American people and the people of the world and bringing you down in moral strength," Farrakhan told his followers. "It's the wicked Jews, the false Jews that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality."

Muhammad was in the audience, as were a handful of fellow commission members she had invited to attend. Pressed afterwards to distance herself from Farrakhan's bilge, she issued a nuanced statement. It declared her dedication to inclusiveness and her "respect [for] those who practice the true tenets of their faith, be it Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism or any other religion."

The commission members who resigned are Lonnie Nasatir, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, and Richard Hirschhaut, director of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Blagojevich filled one of the vacancies Thursday with State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie).

Nasatir called Muhammad's statement inadequate. He said her reference to those who practice "true tenets" of their faith echoed Farrakhan's comments, which sought to draw a distinction between true Jews and false Jews. But he was also upset with Blagojevich, who affirmed his support for Muhammad's appointment in a statement released Wednesday.

Blagojevich deplored Farrakhan's comments but also said he didn't believe in guilt by association. He said Muhammad had affirmed her commitment to tolerance and acceptance and therefore should remain.

That's disingenuous of the governor. Muhammad isn't just a rank-and-file member of Farrakhan's Nation. She is one of his top aides and holds a high-ranking position in the group. She has not disavowed his ugly comments. The Nation of Islam does not broadly represent the African-American community and does not deserve representation on a panel whose mission is to combat discrimination and hate. Its leader still preaches hate.

Blagojevich appointed Muhammad to her unpaid post on the commission last August. It was one of those appointments to largely ceremonial posts that governors get to make to curry favor with voting blocs. The 26-member commission was formed in 1999 by former Gov. George Ryan. Its mandate was to suggest ways to reduce hate-related violence and calm tensions created by discrimination. Its work has been so low-key that the last annual report posted on the commission Web site is from 2002.

In seven years, the hate crime commission hasn't been known for much. Now, in a painfully ironic way, it has raised its profile.