Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-Crown Heights, Flatbush, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay) yesterday came to the heart of Brooklyn’s bustling Pakistani and Bangladeshi community in Midwood for an emergency community meeting to discuss President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders and what they mean for the Muslim community.
The meeting at Gourmet Sweets, 1017 Coney Island Avenue, drew an overflow crowd that spilled out of the storefront restaurant and out onto the street where immigrants from the sub-Asian continent mingled with neighborhood Christians and Jews there showing support for their neighbors.
Mohammad “Mo” Razvi, executive director of the Council of Peoples Organization introduced Clarke.
Clarke noted while preventing citizens from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days in the name of national security, they were countries chosen strictly because of Trump’s islamophobic bigotry.
“In fact, the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon. Yet, these countries are not on the list. I suppose that it’s only a coincidence that Donald Trump has business interests in these countries,” she said.
Clarke said she called the meeting to let the community know she shared its outrage. “I will fight in Washington to push back these terrible anti-Muslim orders through legislation, speeches, letters, and all other tools in my quiver. Good people of all political persuasions are outraged and together we will advocate for tolerance, decency, and humanity in our nation’s capital,” she said.
Clarke also came with people who provided a myriad of help. This included Tanhanie Aboushi, principal of the Aboushi Law Firm; Gemma Solimene, director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the Fordham University School of Law, Laurie Davidson, director of outreach with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA); and Debbie Almontaser, president of the Muslim Community Network.
Among the other elected officials that were in attendance were City Council Members Jumaane Williams and Mathieu Eugene, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte and Democratic District Leader Josue Pierre.
