The level of anti-semitic hate and anti-muslim hate and anti-moderate hate in the current CD5 election is the worst I have ever seen in the history of Maryland. It’s time for all good moral, decent people to stand up to demagogues like Terry Jackson, the biggest campaign supporter of Harry Dunn and say it’s not acceptable to pour out hate and attack good and the safely people like Len Foxwell
We have the moral responsibility that leaders have to reject bigotry. For those of you who are Christian, keep in mind the Bible warns us that when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, he will ask us when Terry Jackson spoke. WHY DID YOU STAY SILENT?
A Values‑Based Community Statement on Bigotry and the Responsibility of Leaders like Harry Dunn
Maryland’s civic life has always been strongest when we honor the full diversity of the people who call this state home — Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Sikh, secular, and everyone in between. That is why the Don’t You Wurie Act matters so deeply. It was inspired by the tragic deaths of two respected members of Prince George’s County’s Muslim community, who lost their lives on a pilgrimage to Mecca after being exploited by a predatory travel operator.
Delegate Adrian Boafo spent years pushing for stronger consumer protections so that no Maryland family — Muslim or otherwise — would ever again be placed in that kind of danger. The bill signing was not a “photo op.” It was a moment of solemn recognition for a grieving family and a long‑overdue safeguard for vulnerable consumers.
To dismiss that work as “BS,” or to belittle the tragedy that inspired it, crosses a line that Maryland’s political community should never tolerate. It is not “calling out” a candidate. It is anti‑Muslim bias — the same kind of prejudice our party has spent decades fighting in all its forms.
And just as we reject antisemitism wherever it appears, we must reject anti‑Muslim rhetoric with equal clarity. Bigotry does not become acceptable simply because it is aimed at a different faith.
When individuals who cluster around a campaign engage in this kind of behavior, it places a burden on leaders — not to accept blame for others’ words, but to set a moral boundary. To say, plainly, that prejudice is not welcome in their name. That they will not be used as a vehicle for attacking Marylanders based on their religion. That our politics must be better than this.
This is not about elections. It is about community standards.
It is about the dignity of the Wurie family.
It is about the safety of Maryland consumers.
And it is about the expectation that anyone who seeks public trust will stand firmly against bigotry, no matter who it comes from or who it benefits.
Maryland is at its best when we defend one another — not when we allow hatred to masquerade as political commentary.
