The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called for the resignation of a newly-appointed Kokomo Common Council member who the group says posted Islamophobic material online.
Last month Kokomo Common Council Member Greg Jones stepped down after Islamophobic posts to his Facebook page in 2015 were found calling Muslims “goat humpers” and referring to Islam as “a Theocratic Moon Cult.”
Last week, the Howard County Republican Party selected Roger Stewart to replace Jones as the council representative of District 4. On Friday, posts considered Islamophobic were discovered on Stewart’s now-deleted Facebook page, including one 2019 meme stating, “I refuse to bend, twist or change to make Muslims feel comfortable in MY COUNTRY.”
Another post shared on Stewart’s page criticized officials taking their oath of office on the Quran, Islam’s revealed text. It stated: “Let me say about the QURAN, if you take the Oath of Office on a book recognizing Sharia Law swearing to defend honor and uphold the United States Constitution, then you have committed treason.”
“Just as we called for the resignation of the previous Islamophobic official, we urge Mr. Stewart to resign from his post and for a person who understands constitutionally-guaranteed religious freedoms to be appointed in his place,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
In an interview with the Kokomo Perspective, Stewart said he did not recall making the posts and apologized “if anybody is offended.”
