NM GOP Call for Resignation of Anti-Muslim Leader Welcomed

Washington, DC:  A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group October 23 welcomed a call by the New Mexico Republican Party for the resignation of a local GOP leader who wrote that “Muslims are our enemies” in a recent letter to the editor.

Last Tuesday, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on state and national Republican Party officials to repudiate the anti-Muslim comments written by Otero County Republican Women Chairperson Marcia Stirman. In her letter to the Alamogordo Daily News, Stirman also called presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama a “Muslim socialist.” (Otero County Republican Women is an affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Women.)

SEE: Why I'm a Republican

A New Mexico Republican Party official now says: "Ms. Stirman does not speak for the Republican Party. Her comments do not reflect the values and beliefs of the Republican Party.” Otero County GOP Chairwoman Sassy Tinling added: "The Republican Party of Otero County board will convene to ask for Marcia Stirman's resignation as chair of the Republican Women of Otero County.”

SEE: Stirman Asked To Resign After Anti-Muslim Remarks

“We welcome the positive response by party officials to Ms. Stirman’s disturbing and un-American views,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. “No political party should accept or excuse religious intolerance.”

 

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