Muslim leaders reel over what they see as Blakeman's Islamophobic social media post

Muslim leaders in Nassau are criticizing Republican gubernatorial candidate and County Executive Bruce Blakeman for stoking what they said was anti-Muslim sentiment ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

In a series of social media posts published on Monday, Blakeman said incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, was anti-feminist and tone-deaf for wearing a headscarf at a mosque visit last week. The post calls her "Hijab Hochul" and describes the religious covering her "latest costume" in pandering to voters less than two weeks before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Blakeman’s posts made their way through Nassau’s Muslim community within hours of appearing, angering faith leaders over what they said was the posts' Islamophobic sentiment.

"If she went to a synagogue, we wouldn’t be having this conversation," said Kevin Shakil, of Westbury, president of America's Muslim Network, a national media platform. "Calling the hijab a costume and immediately connecting it to 9/11 reinforces a stereotype Muslim Americans have spent 25 years fighting."

Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan, chairman of the Hillside Islamic Center and an adviser to the Muslim Community of Nassau County, a consortium of mosques and Islamic centers, demanded an apology from Blakeman.

"We firmly condemn this attempt to caricature Muslim religious veils and call on candidate Blakeman to issue an apology to his constituents in Nassau County ... as well as to the residents of New York," Bhuiyan wrote in a statement. "This behavior is unbecoming of the office Blakeman seeks to hold."

 Muslim voters are a growing bloc in Nassau. Just 0.8% of the county's population was Muslim in 2000, but two decades later, the community grew to 3.5% of the population with more than than 48,000 residents, according to the most recent statistics from the Association of Religion Data Archives.

Hochul’s campaign told Newsday the photo was taken last week at a visit to the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, part of a tour of religious houses of worship, a spokeswoman said. 

"Bruce Blakeman has been following in Donald Trump’s footsteps so long he’s forgotten what basic respect and decency look like," spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika wrote in a statement to Newsday. "Whether she’s at a church, a synagogue, or a mosque, Governor Hochul respects all New Yorkers’ faiths. And she leads with that respect rather than fanning the flames of division."

In an interview with Newsday on Tuesday, Blakeman said Hochul wearing a hijab and calling herself a feminist "don’t go together."

"This was not an attack by me on the Muslim community. ... Nobody has worked harder to build bridges in the Muslim community than me," Blakeman said, pointing to his appointment of the first Muslim chaplain to the Nassau police department in 2023 along with his visits to mosques.

‘Timing in politics is everything’

Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic political consultant, said highlighting Hochul’s visit to a mosque shortly before the 25th anniversary of 9/11 was an attempt to show her lack of sensitivity for the terrorist attacks.

"It makes her look like she is in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. "Timing in politics is everything."

Mike Dawidziak, a Republican political strategist, said the post could be interpreted as an attempt to pull on people’s prejudices against Muslims.

"The problem with that is, as President [George W.] Bush said at the time, Muslims are not our enemies. Islamic terrorists are our enemies," Dawidziak said.

It is typical for elected officials to visit houses of worship and meet with leaders from various faiths. Blakeman himself wore a head covering at a Sikh center in Plainview last year and posted a photo of it on Instagram.

Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips wore a hijab at a Valley Stream mosque for a Ramadan celebration in March. She posted several photos on Instagram with Muslim community members, including a senior adviser to Blakeman.

Asked about Phillips’ posts, Blakeman said she didn't post those photos a week before the 9/11 anniversary.

‘Basic respect’

Isma Chaudhry, a spokeswoman and board member for the Islamic Center of Long Island, said she found the post "disturbing."

"For this to come from somebody who took a pledge to stand by each and every law-abiding citizen of Nassau County, I’m shocked," Chaudhry told Newsday.

Chaudhry, who is a member of the Nassau County Minority Affairs Council and the District Attorney’s Office Faith Leaders Advisory Council, said she does interfaith work with various religious groups.

"When we go to a synagogue, I cover my head if there’s scripture being read," she said. "If a nun wears a head cover or a Jewish lady puts on a wig, or if we go into an Orthodox Jewish community, I’m respectful of the religious tradition."

Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State and Nassau County Democratic Party, also called the post Islamophobic.

The post "does nothing to recognize that Muslim Americans, like all Americans, are part of this country," Jacobs told Newsday.

"He knows full well that when you go to a religious institution, you respect that institution. If you go to a synagogue, whether you’re Jewish or not, you put on a yarmulke out of respect," Jacobs said. 

Alan Mindel, chair of the board of directors for the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, said, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with anyone wearing a hijab. It’s an expression from someone’s faith. ... People should feel free to wear a hijab just like I feel free to wear a yarmulke."

"The lesson of 9/11 is not whether or not people are wearing hijabs," he said. "This is not a time to be phobic to any group. It’s to remember what it means to be an American."