| R 102 |
| 2024 -- H 7704 Enacted 02/27/2024 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| STRONGLY CONDEMNING ISLAMOPHOBIA |
Introduced By: Representatives Ajello, Ackerman, Tanzi, Sanchez, Felix, Potter, Cruz, Boylan, Blazejewski, and Shekarchi |
| Date Introduced: February 27, 2024 |
| WHEREAS, Islamophobia is defined "as a dislike of or prejudice against Islam or |
| Muslims, especially as a political force" and is a growing abhorrence and important area of |
| concern in our State and across the country; and |
| WHEREAS, Islamophobia unjustly creates fear or hatred of Muslims, to their politics or |
| culture, and to Islam and the religiosity of Muslims; and |
| WHEREAS, Over the past decade, letters have been sent to mosques in six states |
| promising to "cleanse" America of Muslims. Rhode Island’s oldest mosque was threatened and |
| defaced with anti-Muslim graffiti, while mosques in Florida and Texas were set ablaze in cases |
| ruled as arson; and |
| WHEREAS, Many Muslims report not feeling respected or safe, and moreover, live in |
| fear. In December of 2023, 20 year-old Brown University student, Hisham Awartani was |
| paralyzed from the chest down, when he was shot in a hate crime, along with two other students, |
| while visiting relatives for Thanksgiving in Burlington, Vermont. With no provocation or |
| warning, the shooter simply stepped off his porch and opened fired on the three innocent students; |
| and |
| WHEREAS, Closer to home, Mustafa Ramos, "a jovial man with a giant smile", was |
| setting up a table before prayers outside the Islamic Center in Providence, when he was shot by a |
| man who had waited nearly half an hour to attack. It is believed that Mr. Ramos was a target |
| based solely on his faith; and |
| WHEREAS, Rhode Island is the birthplace and was proudly formed on the belief of |
| guaranteed religious freedom, freedom to worship as one chooses; and |
| WHEREAS, The rising tide of Islamophobia is indefensible and has no place in our lives, |
| our State and this World; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby |
| condemns and denounces all forms of Islamophobia in the State of Rhode Island and the United |
| States, and moreover urges all our citizens to remain vigilant in protecting our Muslim-American |
| neighbors from all acts of hate, crime, and unlawful discrimination and persecution; and be it |
| further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Islamic Center of Rhode Island and the |
| Council on American-Islamic Relations, Mustafa Ramos c/o the Islamic Center in Providence, |
| and Hisham Awartani c/o Brown University. |
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| LC004932 |
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