Brooklyn Group Board 13 chair Lucy Mujica Diaz faces mounting criticism resulting from a Fb submit by which she questions the non secular beliefs of Muslim residents sporting “Coney” shirts, sponsored by a pro-casino group in Coney Island. Her submit ignited an uproar inside the group, elevating non secular discrimination considerations and questioning Ms. Diaz’s position as a frontrunner chargeable for representing individuals of various religions, opinions, and cultures.
Lucy Mujica Diaz, an ardent opponent of bringing a on line casino to Coney Island, wrote on Fb that playing is a “grave sin” and “abominations of Devil’s handiwork” in response to the Quran and posted a photograph of members of Afadila Group Providers (a gaggle advocating for Islamic residents and youngsters) who wore white and blue shirts sponsored by a Coney Island consortium, which hopes to safe one of many three downstate on line casino licenses that New York is to award.
The consortium consists of developer Thor Equities, gaming operators Saratoga On line casino Holdings and The Chickasaw Nation, and Legends – the sports activities and leisure agency co-owned by the Yankees. The proposed on line casino could be established near the storied Brooklyn boardwalk and seashore.
In response, the Muslim founder and government director of Afadila Group Providers, Marie Mirville-Shahzada, wrote a letter dated August 17 to Mayor Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Councilman Ari Kagan (R-Brooklyn), explaining that the photograph that Ms. Diaz posted on her Fb web page depicts youngsters with disabilities, together with her personal autistic child.
She urged officers to take away Lucy Mujica Diaz from her place as a Brooklyn Group Board 13 chair resulting from her latest anti-Muslim assaults, bullying, and insensitivity to oldsters with disabled youngsters. In her letter to the politicians, Marie Mirville-Shahzada wrote that Ms. Diaz’s Fb submit unrightfully questioned her non secular beliefs and parenting expertise.
Brooklyn Group Board 13 Chair Refuses Allegations of Assaulting Muslims
Mirville-Shahzada defined that the controversial occasion came about on August 14. She stated that the occasion was a group celebration co-hosted by Afadila Group Providers and the Isaiah Whitehead Basis, and included meals, video games for youths, music, and basketball video games for kids with disabilities. Mirville-Shahzada added that one of many occasion’s sponsors was Brooklyn USA Basketball, which additionally supplied the t-shirts at challenge, claiming there have been no on line casino discussions.
In an announcement, Ms. Diaz stated that her submit didn’t embody any assaults or hate language. She rejected Alfadila Group Providers and Councilman Ari Kagan’s claims that her phrases meant to assault Muslim residents.
Kagan acknowledged that Mujica Diaz shouldn’t have questioned Muslim residents’ religion within the on line casino debate and requested her to apologize and endure sensitivity coaching. Nonetheless, the councilman didn’t ask for Diaz’s resignation or elimination. Kagan instructed journalists from The Publish that he condemned Diaz’s actions and that incitements to hatred on grounds of race or non secular beliefs is a severe offense.
Mujica Diaz acknowledged she by no means questioned anybody’s religion and defined that her phrases have been wrongly understood. She even supplied emails, proving that she agreed to satisfy with Mirville-Shahazada and study extra in regards to the Muslim religion earlier than she urged politicians to ask for Diaz’s elimination.
