New Jersey Senator-Elect Rejects 'Islamophobia, All Forms of Hate' after Meeting with Muslims
"I stand against Islamophobia and all forms of hate, and I do commit to that," Edward Durr, a Republican who ousted one of the state's most powerful Democrats, said after the two-hour session.
"I think it was a very open discussion. We got … a sense of each other," continued Durr, a trucker from Logan. "I think that's the real key to everything. As long as you know somebody, it's hard to hate somebody, don't you think?"
One Muslim leader described the meeting, which was closed to the media, as "a very productive conversation."
"We had the opportunity to really break those barriers and learn from each other," said Selaedin Maksut, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"His commitment to renounce Islamophobia means a lot to our community," Maksut told reporters outside the offices of Al-Minhal Academy for Islamic Education in Washington Township.
Maksut requested the meeting after the disclosure last week of an offensive tweet by Durr that called Islam “a false religion.”
“Our aim is to explain why his tweet is so troubling, how it perpetuates falsities about Islam, and hatred and violence against Muslims," the CAIR-NJ leader said in seeking the meeting.
CAIR's national organization and another civil rights group, Muslim Advocates, had called on Durr to renounce the September 2019 tweet or to give up his Senate seat.
Durr offered an apology the next day "if I said things in the past that hurt anybody’s feelings.”
In his remarks after the meeting, Durr noted the need to get out of "your own bubble."
"You have to have dialogue," he observed. "You can't have yourself closed off. As long as people are talking, there is progress. And I believe we made some progress."
"It really means a lot to our community that you came to speak with us," Maksut told Durr. "We look forward to future conversations."
Durr, who spent just a few thousand dollars on his campaign, ousted Senate President Steve Sweeney by about 2,000 votes in the Nov. 2 general election.
Sweeney, a union president from West Deptford, conceded defeat Wednesday in remarks delivered at the State House in Trenton.
In his comments on Wednesday evening, Durr asserted voters were sending a message by retiring Sweeney, who has represented the 3rd District in the Senate since 2002 and was the legislative body's president since 2010.
"I'm a family guy who wants you to have a good family, have a good life … and not suffer under the burdens of government," said Durr.
"I'm going to speak up. I'm going to make my voice heard," he declared. "That's what the people want. They want me to speak up for them in Trenton."
Source: Courier Post
