April 28, 2011

At the Villa Park City Council meeting Tuesday night, Mayor W. Bill Mac Aloney issued a strong statement against fellow Councilwoman Deborah Pauly's hate-filled speech against Muslim Americans, which she delivered at a rally in Yorba Linda, CA, on Feb. 13.

Mac Aloney fervently stated that Pauly has caused them embarrassment as she brought undue, negative attention to Villa Park, in addition to costing the city $14,000 for additional security and police protection. In to reprimanding Pauly, he demanded that she personally reimburse the city $14,000 for the additional expense she caused the city.

Pauly delivered her offensive remarks at a rally which led to protesters verbally attacking attendees of a charitable fundraiser organized the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), which raised money for women's shelters and to help relieve homelessness and hunger in the U.S.

Captured in a video which has been viewed by more than 700,000 people online within the first three days of it being posted, Pauly called Muslims "terrorists" and said she knew "quite a few Marines who would be very happy to help these terrorists to an early meeting in paradise."

Villa Park Peace Coalition Chairperson Nadia Hassan said she publicly thanked the mayor for being a man of conscious and a man of principle.

“I also commended him for his courage in speaking up and speaking out against injustice even if it was against his own colleague; a quality and a principle that Muslims are taught to uphold across the board at any cost,” Hassan said.

Hassan encourages all concerned citizens to write to Mayor Mac Aloney at bmacaloney@villapark.org to thank him for his exemplary leadership in holding Pauly accountable for the damage caused by her anti-Muslim hate speech.

Pauly has yet to issue an apology or retract her statement as she stands by her statements. A recall process has been started at www.recallpauly.com.

"We need to work together to remove representatives from office that are perpetrating hate within our communities," Hassan said.

-- Marium F. Mohiuddin
(marium@mpac.org)
Communications Coordinator