CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WVEC) -- A Facebook post shared by Chesapeake School Board Chairman Christie New Craig has some Muslim groups upset.
On Monday night, dozens of people signed up to speak at the School Board meeting. The majority, in support of New Craig.
At the center of the controversy, a post that was shared on Craig's personal Facebook page that is not related to Chesapeake Public Schools. It reads: "Muslims hate pork, beer, dogs, bikinis, Jesus, and freedom of speech. My question is, what the hell do they come to America for?!"
A half dozen members of the local Muslim community signed up to address the board.
A physician from Yorktown was among them. Obaid Jafri calls the post unbecoming and unprofessional of an elected public official.
"It sends the wrong message to our children the fabric of American society is made up of Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians, Hetero & Homo sexuals, as well as other groups. If we allow our public officials to joke on any one of these groups, we start to pull on the threads of that fabric," explained Jafri.
He went on to say, "Everybody has a freedom of speech, but that freedom comes with responsibilities."
The members of the community who spoke out in support of New Craig defended her character and the First Amendment.
"Her character and reputation should stand for itself," said Kathryn Tucker
"Our Constitution and Bill of Rights grant us the freedom 'of speech' not the freedom from speech that you don't agree with," exclaimed Jimmy Frost.
Earlier this month, the Washington based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling for an investigation into what it calls an "anti-Muslim" Facebook post.
The CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper also sent out a letter to all Chesapeake School Board Members asking them to review the post. The letter read in part: "We respectfully request an immediate investigation and appropriate actions based on the results of that investigation."
"It's very sad someone that is educating our children is using that language," said M'hammad Abdous, the President of the Muslim Community of Tidewater.
Abdous believes Craig should apologize for sharing the post online.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but as a public figure she should have thought twice about that," he said.
Monday night, 13NewsNow spoke to New Craig before the meeting, here only response as "No Comment, this is has gotten out of hand."
Earlier this month, Chesapeake Public Schools released the following statement:
The School Board of the City of Chesapeake and the Chesapeake Public Schools comprise an equal employment and educational opportunity school system. Together, the Board and its administrative staff strive to treat all employees and our students, parents and community members with the highest degree of respect. In doing so, the school system adheres to the principles of equal opportunity in employment and student achievement for every person working in and attending our schools. We therefore prohibit any form of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, color, religion, age, genetic information or disability.A recent social media post has resulted in some concern voiced by an advocacy group indicating its representation of a segment of the community. This post has had no effect on our commitment to maintaining equal opportunity and non-discrimination standards. The School Board welcomes and will consider communications from any person or organization with an interest in maintaining and/or improving the highest possible system of K-12 public education.
