Amid all the self-righteous posturing and rage from Fauzia Rizvi, the sinister Hussam Ayloush, and Eugene Montanez recounted in this article, the central question is never answered or even addressed: was Randy Fox right or wrong? Will Fauzia Rizvi say no to Sharia or not? Ayloush, as disingenuous as ever, says that Fox’s “intent was obviously to rile up potential voters using buzzwords that create fear based on people’s misperception of what sharia means.” What misperception, exactly? Did Fox characterize Sharia at all?
Wherever Sharia has been the law of the land, throughout Islamic history and in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other areas of the Islamic world today, it has had largely the same character. That character has never resembled liberal democracy by any stretch of the imagination. Sharia polities throughout history and today have denied the freedom of speech and the freedom of conscience, and they have mandated discrimination against women and non-Muslims. So Fauzia Rizvi, and every candidate for office in the U.S., should oppose it as a matter of course in defending American principles and law. But this fact is being obscured by the likes of Hamas-linked CAIR, amid spurious claims of victimhood such as what we see here.
“Corona councilman – a pastor – under fire for sermon’s remarks about Muslim candidate,” by Shane Newell, The Press-Enterprise, October 8, 2018:
Less than a week after a controversial video surfaced on Facebook, Corona City Councilman and pastor Randy Fox is facing calls for a censure after he said a council candidate “will not say no to sharia law.”
The second half of the 20-minute video, taken from his Aug. 12 sermon at New Hope Family Worship Center in Corona, shows Fox discussing the Nov. 6 City Council election. Fox, elected in 2014, is not seeking a second term.
In the video, Fox refers to a candidate who is a “member of the mosque leadership there, who will not say no to sharia law, most certainly.”
Fauzia Rizvi, a District 4 council candidate who said she’s Muslim and once had a leadership post with the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, said she believes Fox’s comments targeted her….
“I find it disgraceful that my opponents are using my religious background as political props instead of engaging on the issues,” Rizvi wrote in a statement.
When asked if his comments were about Rizvi, Fox this week did not answer that question.
The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and early 200 residents, who signed a petition, have called on the city council to censure, or reprimand, Fox for those comments.
Hussam Ayloush, a Corona resident and the group’s executive director, blasted Fox.
“I’m appalled and disgusted that an elected official would bring such politics of fear mongering and hate into our city,” Ayloush said Friday, Oct. 5.
“His intent was obviously to rile up potential voters using buzzwords that create fear based on people’s misperception of what sharia means,” Ayloush added.
Fox, in a written statement, said no organization should “put pressure” on the council to issue a censure for a sermon.
“City Council has no jurisdiction over the religious services of the Faith Community,” Fox wrote. “We do not have the right to call out a pastor and tell him what he can and cannot say in the pulpit.”
Fox added that pastors and churches have “the same 1st Amendment rights as anyone else.”
“It is inconceivable to me that this freedom is being challenged in Corona,” he wrote.
The next regular council meeting is set for Wednesday, Oct. 17, but it’s not clear if there are plans for a possible censure.
Vice Mayor Eugene Montanez on Friday, Oct. 5, said he “was obviously very disappointed” with Fox’s comments….