Massachusetts is pushing for a commission to allow Muslims to propose laws and officials of their choosing.
The project envisages 11 Muslims representing their religious interests in public policy.
Senate of Massachusetts
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The local media Spectrum News, from Worcester (Massachusetts), explains that Senate Democrats are pushing for a permanent public commission dedicated to «people who practise Islam.» The Bill S.2134, presented under the banner of «civil rights and inclusion», envisages an eleven-member body of Muslims charged with representing their religious interests before the administration. The paradox is striking: a state that 200 years ago removed the special religious status of Protestants is now preparing to to grant Muslims a new privilege that includes religious testing and a commitment to Islam in order to occupy a job. Beyond one's capabilities.
The commission would be made up of eleven Muslims appointed by various state authorities. Among its functions would be to study the needs of the Islamic community, advise the government on the impact of public policies, act as a liaison with Muslim organisations and, above all, «identify and recommend qualified American Muslims.» to occupy appointed positions at all levels of government. It should also «to foster unity among Muslims and their organisations and recommend policies that adapt to their needs. Thus, the state moves from guaranteeing religious freedom to helping to organise politically a community defined by its faith.
Priority: monitoring Islamophobia
The new commission would have among its central missions to study and combat «Islamophobia». The project plans to collect data on incidents against Muslims, analyse the trends, and review the measures that already exist in Massachusetts and in other states., Examine hate crime laws and propose new strategies, programmes and specific legislation..
The fight against religious discrimination thus ceases to be a general policy and, in the case of Islam, becomes a permanent structure with its own resources and interlocutors.
Religious discrimination but inclusive
The Democratic senator responsible for the law, Jamie Eldridge, says to the NY Post that«Massachusetts has always prided itself on being a leader in equality and civil rights, a legacy on which this bill is based.». And he adds that «American Muslims in my district and across the Commonwealth enrich our communities.». Eldridge himself organised a forum on Islamophobia awareness at the Islamic Society of Boston in 2024. Among the cases cited were Muslim students who were offended because others ate in front of them during Ramadan, hijab-wearing students being confused with one another, and a student's discomfort at the class discussing the Islamic veil. Critics accuse Eldridge and his allies of inflating ordinary episodes of coexistence into a justification for a commission to monitor Islamophobia.
Republican opponents have been enraged by the proposal. Republican candidate for governor of Massachusetts, Brian Shortsleeve, summed it up bluntly: «The Democrats have just introduced a bill to create a permanent state commission that prioritises Muslims for government jobs. Hiring on the basis of religion is not inclusion but discrimination., and is blatantly unconstitutional.».
The initiative also arrives, while the Donald Trump administration is dismantling federal diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and insists that public appointments be made on merit. and not on the basis of membership in protected groups. The White House has specifically defended «restoring merit and efficiency» in the face of policies it considers divisive. Massachusetts is thus moving in the opposite direction.
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