SPOKANE — The Spokane City Council has stepped squarely into controversy by approving a salutation to local Muslims that recognizes their contributions to the community.
The Spokesman-Review reports that a proposal that seemed a simple idea a few weeks ago drew protesters who gathered outside the council’s town hall meeting on Monday evening.
Republican State Rep. Matt Shea says the rally was not meant to be anti-Muslim. But he tied the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has a local chapter, to militant groups and the imposition of Islamic law.
Shea drew cheers from a crowd of about 70 people who gathered outside the meeting to protest the City Council’s gesture.
Admir Rasic, a Bosnian national who accepted the city’s salutation on behalf of the local Muslim community, says he simply sought togetherness.
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