Group Wants Board Of Ed. Member To Resign After 'Islamophobic' Remark

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A state Islamic relations group and a North Jersey mayor are calling for the resignation of a Board of Education member because of an Islamophobic remark she made at a meeting Tuesday.

Prospect Park Board of Education member Maria Emma Anderson told Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, who is a Muslim, while he was addressing the board during a public meeting Tuesday that "This is not Sharia law, this is an orderly session."

A video purportedly filmed by a member of the audience at the meeting shows Khairullah speaking loudly and other people, including Anderson, speaking over him.

James Sues, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), said the mayor was expressing his opinion about a special education issue when Anderson reportedly said what she said.

"Anyone who is capable of using such divisive terms against me is capable of using similarly hostile terms against others in the community," Khairullah said in a statement CAIR-NJ issued Wednesday.

CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Sues agreed with the mayor.

"Bigoted statements like those made by Ms. Anderson are extremely offensive and demonstrate a level of intolerance that should disqualify her from serving on any organization overseeing the education of children," said Sues.

Sues noted in the statement that "sharia law," is increasingly being used by Islamophobes and their white supremacist and anti-government allies to target the American Muslim community.

Sharia law refers to principles or guidelines about how Muslims should live.

Khairullah could be immediately reached for additional comment. Anderson could not be reached for comment.

Anderson was appointed to the board last year to fill vacancy. She ran unopposed for a two-year unexpired term last year. She was sworn in Jan. 5.

The Prospect Park School District is a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade district. The district has one school, Prospect Park Elementary School.

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