The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has invited Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith to visit a mosque and engage with his Muslim constituents after he reportedly made anti-Islam remarks. Beckwith is quoted as saying, "I hate Islam. It's a demonic death cult," and that people need "permission to hate again."
CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, expressed concern that such statements are "unbecoming of his office and dangerous to the Indiana Muslim community." The organization emphasized that encouraging hatred against an entire religion inevitably foments hatred against its followers.
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said, "It is impossible to encourage the people of Indiana to hate an entire religion without fomenting hatred against the Indianans who follow that religion. Lt. Gov. Beckwith should respectfully engage with the Indiana Muslim community, not put a bullseye on them or cast doubt on his commitment to uphold religious freedom for everyone in Indiana."
In related news, CAIR-SFBA called on California State Senator Scott Weiner to apologize for amplifying anti-Muslim hate and meet with Muslim constituents. CAIR-NY urged New York City officials to condemn racist chants targeting Mayor Mamdani at a rally. Additionally, CAIR called for the dropping of charges against U.S. Capitol demonstrators protesting alleged Israeli torture of Palestinian detainees and welcomed the UN's reported decision to add the Israeli prison system to its blacklist for conflict-related sexual violence.