A freshman San Juan Capistrano, California city councilman is under fire after mentioning in a public meeting that he named one of his dogs Muhammad, after the Muslim prophet, in order to “make a political statement.” Dogs are considered unclean to devout Muslims. In a blog post on Patch.com, which has since been deleted, councilman Derek Reeve added that his other dog is named “America,” writing:
“While playing with our family’s two new Basset Hounds, Muhammad and America (Muhammad is the bitch), I was thinking …”
Other council members were outraged by Reeve’s comments in the meetings and asked that he apologize. “As leaders we should be setting a higher standard of behavior,” said Councilman Larry Kramer, a 30-year Navy officer and submarine captain, writing a memo asking the council to take actions to ensure “decorum” among its ranks. Mayor Sam Allevato also condmened Reeves, saying, “These types of comments are not acceptable.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on Reeve to apologize.
But that seems unlikely as Reeve took offense to the rebukes, saying, “To hell you say — I will teach [my kids] and educate them on these principles until the day I die.” Since being elected in November, he’s pushed a bill to allow people to openly carry guns in city parks (which the council overwhelmingly rejected) and introduced a “Right to Work Act” that would force the city to crack down on undocumented immigration.
Traditionally conservative Orange County, California — in which San Juan Capistrano sits — has become a bit of a hot bead of Islamophobic activity, which came to a head in March at a highly-publicized protest where elected Republican officials joined anti-Muslim activists in shouting ugly slurs at attendees of an Islamic group’s fundraiser.