The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR- Houston) on June 16, 2016 welcomed a decision by City Council Member Mike Knox to terminate a member of his staff who tried to block a Muslim from a Republican Party post because of the staffer’s hostility to Islam.
At a meeting of the Harris County Republican Party last month, Trebor Gordon asked that the Muslim party member be removed from consideration as a precinct chair, “on the grounds that Islam does not have any basis or any foundation- it is in total opposite of our foundation.” During that meeting, Gordon also stated, “Islam and Christianity do not mix.”
Last week, representatives of CAIR-Houston, along with other Muslim and interfaith activists and leaders, met with Council Member Knox and called for a full apology from Gordon, sensitivity training for Knox’s staff and for a city council resolution denouncing Islamophobia and religious intolerance.
Knox agreed to those requests and called for a subsequent meeting to inform the group of his decision. It was during that meeting that Knox informed the group of his decision to terminate Gordon.
“We thank Council Member Knox for taking our concerns seriously and for sending a firm message that religious intolerance has no place in his office, in City Hall or in our beloved city of Houston,” said CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll.
