Hamilton County (TN) Sheriff Jim Hammond recently addressed a group of Republicans over lunch and told them that he would authorize the surveillance of the county's mosques. Hammond apparently believes that Tennessee muslims are joined in a conspiracy to "take over this country."
Contrary to what Hammond is saying, Tennessee Muslims just want to be left in peace to practice their religion. But Hammond's hate mongering has the potential to make their lives a misery. As a high-profile leader of the community, Hammond will be taken seriously. Officers under his supervision could easily construe his words to mean they can harass, detain, and verbally abuse Muslim community members at their place of worship and elsewhere.
Please join with me in demanding that the United States Department of Justice conduct an investigation into this anti-Muslim hate speech and, regardless of findings, make clear to state and local law enforcement that racial or religious profiling is expressly prohibited.
To the Department of Justice:
We the undersigned are concerned that the racist comments of Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond will cause harm to the Muslims of Hamilton County and quite possibly elsewhere in Tennessee. By threatening unwarranted surveillance of mosques, Hammond has made law-abiding community members of the Hamilton community vulnerable to police harrassment and verbal abuse by the police and civilians who will take their cues from their local sheriff. Most Muslims living in the United States are already targets of suspicion and prejudice--to varying degrees. It is exceedingly inappropriate for a community leader and sheriff to fan this suspicion. Please investigate Hammond's comments and, regardless of the outcome, issue clear guidelines to state and local law enforcement that racial profiling and discrimination will not be tolerated!
