ALLAHU AKHBAR: Hochul Dons Hijab During Visit to Islamic Center

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is facing criticism after appearing in a hijab during a visit to an Islamic center, with critics accusing the Democratic governor of engaging in political pandering and questioning how the gesture squares with the party’s longstanding emphasis on women’s rights.

The controversy reflects a broader criticism leveled by some conservatives at the Democratic Party, which they say spent decades portraying itself as a champion of “female liberation” while increasingly embracing Muslim communities and political figures whose religious and cultural practices can conflict with Western liberal values.

Hochul became the latest focus of that criticism after wearing the traditional Muslim head covering while appearing before a Muslim audience in New York.

During her Friday appearance, Hochul wore a hijab while addressing attendees and acknowledging several of those present, including Ambassador Tareq Albanai.

“I want to thank his excellency Mr. (Ambassador Tareq) Albanai. I want to thank him for (inaudible) be part of the family, to our imam, and the other executives who are a part of this organization.”

The Islamic Center of New York subsequently publicized Hochul’s Friday visit.

Critics of Hochul argued that her decision to wear the head covering amounted to setting aside Western values in an effort to appeal to an Islamist audience.

The criticism also revived attention on controversial comments made following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by Sheik Muhammad Gemeaha, who served as imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York City. Gemeaha blamed Jews for the World Trade Center attacks during an interview, according to a passage subsequently published by The New York Times:

“Recently, I read an interview with Sheik Muhammad Gemeaha — who was not only the representative in the United States of the prominent Cairo center of Islamic learning, al-Azhar University, but also imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York City. The sheik, who until recently lived in Manhattan on the Upper West Side, explained that ”only the Jews” were capable of destroying the World Trade Center and added that ”if it became known to the American people, they would have done to Jews what Hitler did.””

Critics contend that growing antisemitism and the Democratic Party’s outreach to Muslim and Islamist constituencies expose contradictions between the party’s traditional positions on women’s rights and other socially liberal causes and the views held by some of the groups it courts politically.

Friday’s appearance was also not the first occasion on which Hochul has worn a Muslim head covering.

{Matzav.com}

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