San Bernardino Democrat Allays ‘Fears’ About Islam

Cheryl Brown (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

On Monday, Breitbart News spoke with Assemblywoman Cheryl R. Brown (D-San Bernardino), who said her constituents have expressed fear to her, particularly about the religion of Islam, in the aftermath of last week’s San Bernardino shooting.

Local couple Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik went on a shooting spree that killed 14 people and injured 21.

“My constituents, they’ve been telling me that they are afraid,” Brown said, noting that she’s been working to “allay” those fears. “I went to the mosque in Fontana, met with the leadership in the Muslim community, brought them to a prayer breakfast on Friday and [I’m going to] have them start working with the community much closer.”

Brown noted that she doesn’t know enough about the Muslim religion to respond to statements made by groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) or others that have sought to divorce the terrorist couple’s religion from their own, but added that she does know “that’s how they [Farook and Malik] self-identified.”

She also said it was “we can’t afford to have what we have taking place nationally. I’m saying people who are saying mean things about Muslims is not fair. It’s not something that we need to do in our community.”

Brown said that while the incident was deeply tragic and that the lives lost will be remembered and honored, it is important to remaining strong in the face of this difficult time. “We still have to move on. We still have to go back to work. We still have to have a city.”

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz and on Facebook.

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