AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Minnesota chapter strongly condemned Donald Trump, the U.S. President, for reposting an anti-Islamic post about Muslim children. The Muslim civil rights advocacy organization announced that the dissemination of such content by a high-ranking political official places the children in the image and their school at risk of threats and danger.
According to a statement issued by CAIR, Donald Trump on social media reposted an image of Muslim students from an elementary school in Minnesota who had participated in their kindergarten graduation ceremony. The post attempted to portray the presence of Muslim girls wearing the Islamic headscarf (hijab) in a demeaning and negative manner. Trump wrote sarcastically beneath the post, "Here is a kindergarten in Minnesota and all the girls are wearing hijabs!"
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and its Minnesota chapter stated in a joint statement, "President Trump, by using his global platform to promote anti-Islamic bigotry and target Muslim children at this elementary school, is endangering their lives." The organizations noted that only two months ago, two individuals affiliated with white supremacist groups had attacked a mosque and a private school filled with children in San Diego.
The statement further emphasized that children should feel safe in their schools and communities, and when a political leader legitimizes hate-mongering, extremist individuals interpret it as a green light to target children belonging to religious and ethnic minorities. The organizations called on all conscientious individuals, regardless of political affiliation, to confront what they called a "dangerous escalation of religious hatred."
This stance comes as CAIR had previously warned about racist and xenophobic statements against the Somali-American community. Also, the organization's latest civil rights report shows that in 2025, a total of 8,683 complaints related to discrimination and anti-Muslim bias were registered in the United States, the highest number since the organization began publishing its annual reports in 1996.
**************
End/ 345E
