MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Two mid-state legislators are reacting strongly to a report on Islamophobia highlighting legislation they sponsored in the Tennessee General Assembly in 2011.
The report, released late last week by the influential Council on American-Islamic Relations, is entitled “Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its impact in the United States.”
Murfreesboro Republican State Senator Bill Ketron and Tullahoma GOP State Rep. Judd Matheny were singled out in the CAIR report for their sponsorship of a piece of 2011 legislation that CAIR says was written to vilify “the entire religious tradition of Islam.”
Speaking to WMOT News Wednesday morning, Rep Matheny and Senator Ketron continued to insist that Islamic Sharia Law is a threat that needs to be addressed. Senator Ketron commented,
“The year after I brought a bill and passed it and made it law that says Tennessee laws for Tennessee courts. Meaning that any other laws will not be recognized by our court systems in Tennessee, whether it be Sharia or any other faith.”
Rep. Mathey also reacted strongly to the CAIR report, saying:
“Anytime a criminal organization is critical of my actions I’m proud. So I’m proud that I’m listed in there as one of their nemesis.”
Matheny was referencing five year-old charges that CAIR participated in plans to divert funds to the Palestinian group Hamas. He went on to note that the legislation CAIR condemns now makes it a class “A” felony to provide material support to terrorist organizations.
CAIR spokesman Corey Saylor tells WMOT the organization categorically denies ties to Hamas or any other terror organization. He went on to note that CAIR was exonerated of all involvement in the Hamas affair by both the Bush and Obama Administrations.
EDITOR'S NOTE: You can review CAIR's response to allegations of ties to Hamas at (see item #6): http://www.cair.com/about-us/dispelling-rumors-about-cair.html