Dear Gov. Quinn, with your bigotry you just forfeited my vote in November

Dear Governor Pat Quinn,

At a time when there is unprecedented anti-Muslim incitement and vilification in this country, one of the few comforting things is living in Chicago, a cosmopolitan city that feels like a safe haven. Illinois too has no history of the political extremism that has gripped many parts of the country.

I am therefore utterly revolted by your bigoted, ignorant and offensive statements likening American Muslims -- your fellow citizens -- to people who would desecrate Auschwitz or Pearl Harbor, by building a community center on their own property in Manhattan.

You are the governor of Illinois, not the governor of Lower Manhattan. You have hundreds of thousands of Muslim citizens of Illinois whose safety, well-being and human rights are threatened by the atmosphere of vilification that is being incited against them by politicians and the yellow media. You should be protecting them and speaking out against bigotry instead of adding your own ignorant comments to further legitimize this hate campaign.

Governor Quinn, if we must make comparisons to Nazi Germany, this is the one I would make: the collective vilification of Muslims, the conspiracy theories that they are planning to take over the country, the racist portrayals of them and their faith, the anger directed at a small minority that is reviled and misunderstood, recall the escalating campaign of organized hate against Jews in 1930s Europe and the casual, accepted anti-Semitism against them in the United States. As a descendant of Irish immigrants you should also be aware of what your ancestors went through in this country as Catholics and immigrants.

Governor Quinn, you have failed to protect and uphold my civil rights and those of the people of Illinois. I will not consider voting for you in November unless you make a full apology. I will not be complicit by endorsing your demagoguery with my vote.

Yours sincerely,

Ali Abunimah
Registered Voter
Chicago, IL

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