Muslim advocates decry California councilwoman’s Facebook posting over murder trial

Muslim advocates decry councilwoman Facebook post

LANCASTER, Calif. — Muslim advocates are demanding an apology from a California city councilwoman for posting anti-Muslim comments on her Facebook social networking page.

Muslim organizations in California on Friday called on Lancaster Councilwoman Sherry Marquez to apologize for a comment last weekend about the 2008 beheading of Aasiya Hassan in New York.

It included the comment, “This is what the Muslim religion is all about.”

Kamal Al-Khatib, president of the American Islamic Institute of Antelope Valley, denounced the remarks as bigoted and divisive to the community 50 miles north of Los Angeles.

Marquez told the City Council this week she was horrified by the killing and apologized for the effect her comments had on the city.

She did not immediately return a call for comment.