WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:10.400 Hello, and welcome to the Texas Tribune trib Cast for 2 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:14.880 April seventh. I'm Eleanor Klibanoff, joined as always by Matthew Watkins. 3 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:16.120 Welcome, thank you. 4 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:16.600 Hello. 5 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:18.719 I cannot believe it's April, but here we are. 6 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:19.480 Yeah, here we are. 7 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:24.559 Feel somehow like February in Texas and that it is 8 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:26.879 sixty degrees and not ninety six. 9 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:28.000 Amazing. We love it. 10 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.079 Yeah, but hopefully you're listening to this while you're out 11 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:34.399 on a walk or otherwise enjoying the brief sunshine we're having. 12 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:36.759 But by the time they're listening, it'll probably be ninety five. 13 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:38.439 It'll be ninety five. Yeah, terrible mistake. 14 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:40.119 You know. 15 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:42.479 This week we're talking about a topic that I think 16 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.560 we've been talking about sort of spending some time on 17 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.240 with the podcast for a little while now, which is 18 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:51.479 the rising anti Muslim rhetoric in Texas. 19 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:52.679 We're having. 20 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:56.240 A very contentious election season, which we've talked about a 21 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.079 lot on the podcast, and the issue that has really 22 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:03.719 moved front and center Republicans in their campaign rhetoric is, 23 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:07.280 you know, this anti Muslim rhetoric what is often described 24 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:11.040 by Republicans from the Islamification of Texas create this idea 25 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:14.159 that you know, Sharia law is spreading through the whole state, 26 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.719 that at any given moment, you know, the state is 27 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.840 in danger of being taken over by by Muslim groups. 28 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:23.760 You know, despite the fact that Muslims make up significantly 29 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:27.519 less than two percent of all Texans. This has really 30 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:30.680 become the sort of political football of this election season, 31 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:33.680 and we're seeing it really begin to move from rhetoric 32 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:37.439 into action as we see elected officials using their power 33 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:44.280 to create, you know, political caucuses around this, take legal action, 34 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:47.680 talk about filing legislation, begin to file bills on the 35 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:54.599 federal level aimed at this issue that they really have 36 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:58.519 dragged the to the center of the political conversation. 37 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:00.879 To talk about all of that. 38 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.519 We are joined by State Representative Salmon Bojani, a Democrat 39 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:07.879 from Yulis and a practicing Muslim. Thank you so much 40 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:11.039 for joining us. Representative, Thanks Eleanor for having me. 41 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:11.680 It's an honor. 42 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.400 So you know, you when you were elected to the 43 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:18.599 state legislature where the first was you know, along with 44 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:20.840 represent of Lalani, we're one of the first. We're the 45 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:25.759 first Muslims elected to the state legislature in twenty twenty two, 46 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:28.680 But your story begins much earlier than that. Tell us 47 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:31.039 a little bit about you know, who you are, your 48 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.280 journey to this country and to getting involved in politics. 49 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:36.840 Yeah, I know. Thanks thanks for that question, and thanks 50 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:39.080 for covering this important topic. So I was born in 51 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:41.319 Pakistan and I moved to United States when I was 52 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:44.759 nineteen years old. Worked at gas stations and mopping floors 53 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:48.159 as a young immigrant to support my family and put 54 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:50.639 food on the table. It was. It was tough at first, 55 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:54.520 but not until nine to eleven happened that we receive 56 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:58.960 a lot of slamophobia. My father used to own a 57 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:01.639 jewelry store and I used to work there, and there 58 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:03.919 was a lot of people that came in and said, 59 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:07.000 you're not an American, go back to your country. I'm 60 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.599 not going to buy a jewelry from you. And they 61 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:13.000 would go across them all and buy it from and 62 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.000 code and quote American business and then show us a 63 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:19.159 receipt and say, hey, we are going to give our 64 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:23.240 business to Americans only, and you should go. But again, 65 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:25.560 I was, you know, a teenager. I didn't, you know, 66 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:30.080 understand what was going on and didn't wasn't politically involved, right, 67 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.199 So that was the first time I saw like my 68 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:35.520 family being affected, and my father's business was sort of 69 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:39.719 basically collapsed on the verge of bankruptcy almost And that's 70 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:41.800 when I found myself working at gas stations and mopping 71 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:44.520 floors for six bucks an hour, working three min one 72 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:47.400 way job. That's where I met my wife, literally while 73 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:52.520 mopping floors, and and and then eventually I worked hard, 74 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:55.159 saved every penny to buy my own gas station and 75 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.639 live the American dream and you know, make paychecks and 76 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.520 sport of the econ me. I still own the gas 77 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.280 station that I bought in two thousand and three, and 78 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:05.800 it's an artic and actually it's in our district and 79 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:08.039 I'm really proud that we have that, and my father 80 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:10.759 helped me run that, as I have other endeavors that 81 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:13.960 I have right now. But the second time I saw 82 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:17.439 Islamophobia was when I decided to run for office, or 83 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:21.680 even actually before that in twenty sixteen, when we elected 84 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:24.920 our current president first time around, and he was speeing 85 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:27.800 a lot of hateful speech about Muslims and people that 86 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:30.680 you know are sort of different immigrants, and I felt like, 87 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.279 this is how this person leader great nation when he's 88 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:37.319 viewing such hateful rhetoric against people like me, people that 89 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:41.560 pray like me, and so in our community there's always 90 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:44.240 like a dialogue. Always Trump going to be helpful to us, 91 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:46.519 so hurtful as business owners. Some people may think that, 92 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:49.399 you know, one way or the other, but they were 93 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.120 complaining a lot about the policies, right, the Muslim ban 94 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.839 and the hateful rhetoric. And so I just felt like, 95 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:56.639 I want to be the change that you want to 96 00:04:56.639 --> 00:04:58.839 see in the world, like Mahatma Gandhi said, as opposed 97 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.000 to just complain about it. And so I was serving 98 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:03.240 on the park board in my city of Ulyss upon 99 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:07.240 insistence of actually Representativeangaea. When I became an attorney, I 100 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:09.399 used to work at Haines and Moon. I started at 101 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:11.560 Haines and Moon and he told me, as attorneys, it 102 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:13.519 behoves us to give back to a community, so you should, 103 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:15.519 you know, join a border commission in New York City. 104 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:17.800 I was, okay, that's not you know, politics. You know, 105 00:05:17.800 --> 00:05:19.399 I don't want to get involved in politics, but I'm 106 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:21.800 okay and sort of, you know, giving back my time 107 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:25.600 and value to the city I love so much. And 108 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.439 twenty sixteen happened and we elected as president, I felt 109 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:30.279 like we need to do something about it. So that's 110 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:32.560 when I put my name in the hat and ran 111 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:35.920 for city council again. So well liked incumbent and saw 112 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:39.120 a lot of Islamophobia at that time. I did not 113 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:42.360 win my first election. As it turns out, a lot 114 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.959 of people, you know, face defeat, and I think because 115 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:50.319 I would experience failure, next victory was even more you know, 116 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:52.920 very good taste in my mind, you know when I 117 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:55.439 did when in twenty eighteen. In twenty eighteen that there 118 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.079 was a lot of slamphobia. In fact, if you may remember, 119 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:02.560 former state Representator John Jonathan Stickland attacked me for being Muslim, 120 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:05.399 for being an attorney, for being you know, just having 121 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:09.040 boy scouts come in from my troop and say the Quran, 122 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:11.439 reside the Quran as an invocation in the Ulus City Council. 123 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:16.480 That really brought a lot of good people actually out 124 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:20.439 and people from mckinni and Princeton, Texas and so many 125 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:22.959 random cities came out and said, hey, this is not 126 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.000 the America that we know, right, you know, you cannot 127 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.600 and this is a sitting state representative, elected official from 128 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.959 our district. That's viewing such hateful speech, and so I 129 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:33.839 knocked on even more doors and got a lot of 130 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:36.560 great support, and you know, I won by only thirty 131 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:38.879 seven votes and made history by being the first minority 132 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:40.920 ever elected in the history of the city of Ulus. 133 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:44.720 And that gave me a lot of like enthusiasm that 134 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:47.759 Texas is not what people claim it to be. And 135 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:50.279 it's sort of poetic justice that today I'm sitting in 136 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:53.519 the same place where Jonathan Stickland sat and attacked me 137 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:57.160 for being Muslim in that so you know, God has 138 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:00.639 its way of you know, giving back or the karma 139 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:02.800 that people do, right, So it's poetic justice where I'm 140 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.720 sitting here. So I think, you know, eventually, I feel 141 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:10.800 like the islamphobia is there, but it's very limited. That's 142 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:13.000 not the Texas that we know. It's just sort of 143 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:17.319 a fringe, loud minority of voices that bring all the hate. 144 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:22.959 I'm curious, I mean, when you entered into politics, did 145 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.120 you sort of anticipate like that your religion would be 146 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:29.600 such a main part of you know, not just how 147 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:31.759 you present yourself, but also how your opponents sort of 148 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:32.519 try to attack you. 149 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.600 I did, in fact, think that this would be a 150 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:39.759 big issue I felt because of the nine to eleven 151 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:44.439 discrimination as well as what our president at that time 152 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:47.600 was saying, I felt that that would become a central issue. 153 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.720 But I felt like it's easier for people to give 154 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:54.160 hate online, right like on Facebook, sitting there like how 155 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:56.720 Jonathan Sticklan did you know he posted on like a 156 00:07:56.759 --> 00:08:01.000 big post on right on the early early voting day, 157 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.360 the first day of early voting, and that had like 158 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:05.600 twenty thousand likes, And I was like, wow, like it's 159 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:08.439 easy to do that. But then as I sat or 160 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:12.600 stood outside the library greeting every single voter that came 161 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:15.079 in and saying, my name is al Mambo Johanni. I'm 162 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:17.319 wanting to run for you a city council and would 163 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:19.279 love your support. And they'd be like one person rolled 164 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:22.079 up in a wheelchair and said, you know, what kind 165 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:25.399 of pork do you eat? I'm telling you about city council. 166 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:27.480 I'm like, hey, I'll be an attorney. You know, I've 167 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:30.319 got little kids. You know, the way the city council 168 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:32.320 right now is that there's no one that has little 169 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:34.159 kids that use the library in the park. And he's 170 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:36.440 asking about what kind of pork do I eat? I'm 171 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:38.879 like excuse me, sir, like, what does that have to 172 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.240 do with city council? And he said, well, I mean 173 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:43.679 if you don't you know, this is really important to me. 174 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:45.879 I need you to answer this question. I was like, well, 175 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:47.639 I didn't know there are different kinds of pork, but 176 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:50.480 I don't need any kind of pork. And he said, well, 177 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.320 if you don't eat pork, then you don't have my vote, 178 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:55.240 sort of signaling that there has to be a religious 179 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:58.639 test for you to be an elected office. People came 180 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:01.720 in and I remember distinct there was a former professor 181 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:04.840 from Texas A and M and him and his wife 182 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:07.120 came out to board and I was, you know, having 183 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:09.519 really intimate conversations with him, and I felt like this 184 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:12.879 is great, right because I want to reason with people 185 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:16.240 that are at a more intellectual level. And so I 186 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.639 have a good conversation in a few minutes. And he's like, so, 187 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:22.320 what do you think about shir Ya law? And I'm like, well, 188 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.120 I mean shir yallow is is religious moral code and 189 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:28.480 you know Muslims follow it. You know, it's very personal. 190 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.200 It guides my principle of what I want to do 191 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:34.639 in my life, not what you know other people should 192 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.120 do in their own life. And he's like, well, I'm 193 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:40.120 concerned you'll you'll bring shari Ya law on uless Like 194 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:43.159 I just told you. It's a personal moral code, just 195 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:45.720 like how Jewish community has it, Christians have it, a 196 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:48.240 lot of religious communities have it. And then he says, 197 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:53.159 what do you think about people, you know, women wearing hijab? Like, 198 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.000 I mean again, people choose to do what they want 199 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.919 to choose, right, it's about And I asked him, like, 200 00:09:57.919 --> 00:09:59.919 what do you think about people wearing boots and tex 201 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.120 I mean, is this a bad thing to do or 202 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.919 good thing to know? It just people do what they 203 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:07.080 want to do, right, I mean we can't. That's the 204 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:10.240 beauty of this country that we can choose to wear 205 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:12.720 or do whatever we want to do, so long as 206 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.480 it doesn't interfere some with someone else. So if a 207 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:17.840 Muslim woman is wearing a job, what issue do you see? 208 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.159 And he's like, no, no, no, I feel like you'll make 209 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:24.159 less women wear a job. I can't do that. I mean, 210 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:26.039 look at my wife's standing right here next to me. 211 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:27.799 She's not wearing a job. But not that there's anything 212 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:30.639 wrong with that, but I mean it's just like that's 213 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:34.360 what made me feel like it's trickling down to normal 214 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.039 people that are coming out and voting in a city 215 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:41.320 election where there's no Republican or Democrat like on the ballot, right, 216 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:43.919 And that's what I loved about city politics that, you know, 217 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:45.559 So I saw a lot of that. But then when 218 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:49.120 I got elected, it was really amazing eleanor Matthew that 219 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:53.200 out of seven city council members, I'm the only Democrat 220 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.799 on there, I am the only minority on there. Six 221 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:59.320 of my Republican colleagues in twenty twenty elected me as 222 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:01.600 a mayor of protesi for the city of Ulyss and I 223 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:04.960 was just amazed, Like that is what Texas is about. 224 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.159 It's coming together. No one party has all the monopoly 225 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:11.000 of all the solutions. So when you come together and say, hey, 226 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.799 our potholes are not democratic, our library is not Republican. 227 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:16.679 We need to come together and solve problems for everyday 228 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:19.919 Texans with kitchen table issues as opposed to polarized issues. 229 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:25.600 How much do you see your role as part of 230 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:29.720 your role, you know, being a voice for the Muslim 231 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:33.399 community in Texas or even in your district and also 232 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:36.639 serve along those lines, like how how large of a 233 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:41.279 community a Muslim community is there within your individual district 234 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:42.879 in the legislature. 235 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:45.759 Yeah, that's a great question, Matthew. A lot of people 236 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:47.440 ask me that and they assume that it must be 237 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:50.720 a huge number. Let me surprise you. It's two percent 238 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:54.480 of my district our Muslim you know voters or you 239 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:59.240 know Muslim community. And so I even though my religion 240 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:02.120 inspires me to do the work that I'm doing, you know, 241 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:05.440 with public service, that is not like I'm not elected 242 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:08.480 to serve the Muslim community. I'm elected to serve all Texans. 243 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:11.600 And we have this like we strategized, you know, in 244 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:14.440 our office, you know, and we came up with what 245 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:16.519 is our one goal? If you had to put in 246 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:18.679 one sentence, what is our goal as the office of 247 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:22.480 the state representa famam Borjani and everybody wrote on the 248 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:25.600 in their book as a facilitator, was was you know, 249 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:28.679 sort of strategizing this that we want Our goal is 250 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:33.240 to improve the quality of life of every Texan starting 251 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:36.720 with our constituents and quality of life, our the kitchen table, 252 00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:40.960 issues like improving health care, high color, quality, education, our economy, 253 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:43.960 you know, religious freedom, technology all that and is not 254 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:48.240 really partisan neither it's for based on one religion. I mean, 255 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:50.679 that's the reason why I even started the Religous Freedom Caucus, 256 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:55.799 because it's not a you know, a fight against Islamophobia caucus, right, 257 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.840 It's it's just this is our religious liberty is a 258 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:02.799 central issue for all parties, for all our community because 259 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:05.200 it's enshrined in our constitution, and so I feel like 260 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:07.519 it's important to discuss those things and not just talk 261 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.399 about one faith because an attack on one faith is 262 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:11.480 an attack on everybody. 263 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:14.960 Now I want to talk about the Religious Freedom Caucus 264 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:17.519 and sort of this religious freedom issue, but I mean 265 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:20.039 before we get to that, for people who maybe only 266 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:22.720 know about the Muslim community through these attack ads that 267 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:25.279 they're seeing, what do you want people to know sort 268 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.440 of about what the Muslim community in Texas looks like. 269 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:33.120 Yeah, Muslim community in Texas is very diverse, and it 270 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:35.519 may surprise you that we don't all follow the same 271 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:40.960 Sharia law. Sharia law is very contact specific, cultural specific, 272 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.480 you know, based on what country you come from. There's 273 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:45.399 some people who will say, okay, you know, I will 274 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:49.960 follow this, but not that that's totally normal. And I 275 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.279 feel like they're the business owners they're the doctors justin 276 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:56.120 I was looking at some statistic with that blew my mind. 277 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:01.519 They're like over eight thousand doctors and nurses of Pakistani origin. 278 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:05.639 There are Muslims in North Texas alone. Think about how 279 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:08.360 many are more probably in all over the state of Texas. 280 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:10.879 So it's likely that I tell my colleagues on the 281 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.240 house that it's likely that one of you know, your 282 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:17.039 doctors may be a Muslim. And so it's just we 283 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.600 are contributing the citizens of the United States of Texas 284 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.159 and it's a it's a very diverse community. We are. 285 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:24.519 All we want to do is live, work and play, 286 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:28.039 pray in peace in the state of Texas. And with 287 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.919 so much you know, economy and the business vibe that 288 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:35.200 the Texas Texas has, I feel like we should allow 289 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.519 that and that is something a foundational principle of being 290 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:41.639 able to associate, being able to belong and not treated 291 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.320 like an outsider. And that's what I think our community 292 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:46.919 is feeling right now that we are treated as an outsider. 293 00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:50.679 We're looked as there's a cloud of suspicion on the 294 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:53.320 Muslim community. So there's not a day that goes by 295 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:56.200 without me getting a text from a Muslim community member 296 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.720 in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, anywhere in Texas that says, hey, 297 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.200 you know, my daughter or wife was walking with the 298 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:06.639 h job and she got targeted and there were people 299 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:11.120 yelling you know, epithet, you know, and islamophobic speech at them. 300 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:15.960 Or you know UTD students praying in a park and 301 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.840 there's someone that comes in with a loud speaker and 302 00:15:19.320 --> 00:15:23.279 says islamophobic things to do them while they're praying. Or 303 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:25.360 the Muslim woman if you may have heard of this 304 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:28.240 in Uless, where she was sitting by her pool side 305 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:31.159 with two little kids and there's a Caucasian woman that 306 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.480 comes in and tries to drown the two kids because 307 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:37.080 the woman was speaking to them in Arabic and she's 308 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:38.879 you know, targeted for hate crime and all that. So 309 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.519 there's a lot of that happening right now. It's really 310 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:44.840 trickling down from the elected officials all the way down 311 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:48.960 to normal constituents and Texans that should not be going 312 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:51.480 through this. I mean, there's so much more things that 313 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:54.759 we should focus on than them we're doing right now, 314 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:58.159 and it's coming from elected officials, which is very concerning 315 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:01.120 to me because what we say is held to a 316 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:04.320 higher standard when we say we have a fan following, 317 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:09.240 and so who knows what somebody looks at a tweet 318 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:12.120 and goes out and actually takes an action. And I 319 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:15.840 saw that firsthand, like in my family, you know, last summer, 320 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:19.120 as you know, I broke orum and one of the 321 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.639 Terran County Republican party chairs was was giving me a 322 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:25.879 lot of hate for doing that and sort of docks 323 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:29.000 my personal ad, my home address, my parents' home address, 324 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:32.360 my social media like kids social media platforms, and they 325 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:35.240 were unmarked cars following my family around while I was 326 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:38.879 in Chicago, and you know, the people are coming to 327 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:41.519 our doorsteps and trying to figure out or where's representa 328 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:44.799 Bojani and all that like every time, and I'm feeling 329 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.480 really you know, sad, and I'm trying to figure out 330 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:51.679 how do I protect my family sitting in Chicago remotely 331 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.159 when all this is going on Texas they know full 332 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:56.600 well where I'm at. I'm posting on social media that 333 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:59.399 I'm in Chicago and all that, and I literally, you know, 334 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:02.879 after resultation with other Democratic colleagues, I had to hire 335 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:06.519 twenty four to seven security private security, so that way 336 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:08.319 I could take care of my family while I was 337 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:11.279 in Chicago. So it's actually a really real threat that 338 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.880 we experienced. And you've seen what happens what happened in 339 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:18.720 Minnesota to Democratic elected officials, So I take that a 340 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:21.559 lot to me personally, And actually we had a big 341 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:24.279 conversation with my family as whether I should run for 342 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.519 office again, because if something happens to my family while 343 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:29.880 I'm helping people that I don't sometimes you even know, 344 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:32.920 it's not going to be fair for me and for 345 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:36.519 my family. But ultimately I decided to continue to run 346 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.279 for office because I feel like there is such a 347 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:42.119 huge need for somebody that has my perspective being born 348 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:45.000 in a different country, having a different faith, and how 349 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:48.039 do I defend against the Christian nationalism that's going on, 350 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:52.079 or you know, the violation blatant violations of religious freedom 351 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:54.240 rights instead of Texas. 352 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:58.200 I think it's worth sort of pausing for a moment 353 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:01.440 and talking about some of the examples of how you 354 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:03.960 know this topic has come up in our politics in 355 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.839 recent months. I mean, uh, you know, there have been 356 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:11.559 actions by Governor Abbott and Attorney General Kin Paxon against 357 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:15.279 the Council on American Islamic Relations kN Paxon seeking to 358 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:18.920 shut them down, Greg Abbott calling them a terrorist group. 359 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:25.480 We've had UH schools Muslim schools kept out of the 360 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:29.839 voucher program when other religious schools, including Christian Injewish schools 361 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:35.000 being allowed to participate. You have Dan Patrick declaring, uh, 362 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:40.680 you know, combating Charia law as a uh interim charge, 363 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.319 you know, something he has asked the Senate to study 364 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:46.079 in the lead up to the next legislative session. You 365 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:50.680 have had the fights and pushback in legal actions against 366 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:54.960 the development in North Texas around a mosque, the what's 367 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:58.839 known as been known as the Epic City development. And 368 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:01.440 then you've had just kind of in the the races, 369 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:05.160 the primaries, right, you know, candidates really making what they 370 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:09.799 would describe as fighting Islam a key tenet of their campaigns. 371 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:13.640 Someone who really comes to mind here being Bo French, 372 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:19.400 who is running for Railroad Commissioner, a position that you 373 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:22.680 know regulates the oil and gas industry, not something you 374 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.200 would really expect that to be a big plank of 375 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:29.160 the candidate. You talked a little bit earlier about how, 376 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:32.519 you know, there's always been something of an undercurrent You've 377 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:37.880 always sort of faced this kind of you know, I mean, 378 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:45.319 frankly discrimination throughout your career. Do you feel like right 379 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:50.000 now the climate is particularly hot and heated, or does 380 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:53.400 it feel to you more like this is just kind 381 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:57.039 of what it's always been like for you in your community, 382 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:00.319 in you know, the political it. 383 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.559 No, that's a great point, and thanks for that sort 384 00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:07.480 of background. And I feel like it has exacerbated significantly 385 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:11.640 when I am talking about like nine to eleven, Like 386 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:15.839 elected officials weren't fanning the flames. They were not fear mongering, 387 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:19.519 they were not spewing hateful speech. I mean, besides president 388 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:22.000 right or our president has been known that way, So 389 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.279 if you discount that, like other elected officials weren't doing 390 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.160 that in the degree that they're doing it right now. 391 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:29.839 I mean you look at every congress member on the 392 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:32.839 far right that that is saying, oh you know, do 393 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:35.960 you do you you know our dog's bad or you 394 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.799 know your Muslim's bad? Right, and just both frends you 395 00:20:39.880 --> 00:20:42.200 talked about him, I mean, he's he has this infatuation 396 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:45.920 with me somehow, just like how Jonathan Stickland did. But 397 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:48.319 he's also saying the same thing, you know, And I 398 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.680 think when he tweeted or did a post saying that 399 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:55.680 our Muslims worse or you know, Jewish community worse. I 400 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.640 think he got a lot of backlash from lieutenant governor 401 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.039