US Senator Visits Alabama Mosque
US Sen. Doug Jones visited the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center on Saturday night, giving a speech to about 200 Muslims before they broke their daytime fasting with an evening meal after sunset in observance of their holy month of Ramadan.
US Sen. Doug Jones visited the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center on Saturday night, giving a speech to about 200 Muslims before they broke their daytime fasting with an evening meal after sunset in observance of their holy month of Ramadan.
“The people of this state have so much more in common than what divides us,” Jones said.
A coalition of 21 Alabama Muslim organizations sent a letter of congratulations after his election, inviting Jones to visit a mosque to meet with members of the Muslim community and better understand that part of his constituency.
Jones responded to the invitation that was sent after his election from Alabama Muslims who said they supported him statewide over the Republican nominee for senate, former Chief Justice Roy Moore. Moore had made several derogatory comments about Muslims during the campaign.
More than 20,000 Muslim voters – about the margin of victory for Jones – turned out and voted in December almost without exception for Jones, said Khaula Hadeed, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Alabama.
Hadeed said Moore had called Islam a “false religion” and made other disparaging remarks about Muslims and their faith. Muslims invited Moore to visit a mosque last year but did not receive a response, she said.
“The fact that Alabama rejected Roy Moore was a really big deal around the country,” Jones said. “It sends an incredible message of dignity and inclusion.”
Jones, a longtime member of Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook, said it was the first time he has been inside a mosque. Officials with CAIR of Alabama said they were not aware of any Alabama senator having previously ever visited a mosque in the state.
