Group takes back award for Muslim leader
‘We were trying to do what we thoughtwas best. We did not anticipate the intense reaction that we received’
SAN JOSE » The grassroots interfaith organization PACT has rescinded an award honoring Muslim lawyer and civil rights activist Zahra Billoo, a highly unusual move that she said came after alleged pressure from Jewish members of the organization who opposed her criticism of the Israeli government.
In a series of Tweets last week, Billoo, executive director of the Northern California chapter of the Council on American- Islamic Relations or CAIR, said PACT leaders reached out to her saying opposition to her award was mounting. She said they told her the San Jose- based organization’s “institutional funding” was at stake and its Jewish members were threatening to leave.
She said representatives from PACT — which stands for People Acting in Community — proposed honoring someone else from CAIR or honoring CAIR as a whole, but Billoo refused.
“As outsiders to our community and organization, it was unacceptable for them to attempt to dictate who our leaders are and to make an award to the organization contingent on the (executive director) not accepting it,” she said.
“All of these options were intended to appease the oppos-
“We did not anticipate the intense reaction that we received. We realized it could have and should have been handled differently.” — Executive director Akemi Flynn
ing Jewish leaders but would also minimize my defense of Palestinian human rights and role as an American Muslim leader. This was unacceptable.”
Billoo, who could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, said she refused to withdraw from accepting the award and told PACT leaders that if those were the only options, they’d have to rescind the recognition.
PACT officials came to Billoo’s office last week and, after a discussion, withdrew the award — a first for the organization. The story was first published Thursday by The Intercept.
Execut ive director Akemi Flynn on Thursday took full responsibility for the decision and said she was sorry for the pain it had caused Billoo and others in the community.
“We were trying to do what we thought was best, to be responsive to our membership and our community,” she said. “We did not anticipate the intense reaction that we received. We realized it could have and should have been handled differently.”
Flynn declined to go into specifics as to what led to the decision to rescind the award and who ultimately made the call but said some in the organization, including Jewish members, were upset about certain statements Billoo has made, which they felt were harmful to them and to PACT’s mission of building communities.
PACT declined to identify any of Billoo’s critics.
Billoo has often criticized groups like the Anti- Defamation League — a New York- based nonprofit aimed at protecting the civil rights of Jews and other groups — for allegedly failing to defend the civil rights of certain groups.
In a string of Tweets in May, Billoo criticized Muslims who work with the ADL and accused the organization of allegedly opposing civil and human rights activists during the South African apartheid; attacking Black Lives Matter activists after they supported a global Palestinian- led movement for freedom and justice and supporting Israeli bombings of Gaza, among several others.
The ADL did not spond to a request comment Thursday.
In March, PACT announced Billoo as one of its honorees for the group’s annual leadership luncheon on Oct. 8, which recognizes community members for their civic leadership.
The organization, part of the PICO national network, is a collaboration of faith organizations and congregations that advocate for disadvantaged communities on a variety of social issues, from im- refor migration to housing and homelessness.
Flynn said the organization is re- examining its award process and hopes the incident sparks dialogue in the community.
Billoo said the ordeal wasn’t about the award, but about silencing a Muslim voice.
“This was about their choosing to let bullies set their direction, policing the way in which I express anger over my brothers and sisters being killed, evidence of why Muslims hold back on interfaith work, and just sincerely upsetting,” she said. “I explained to them that the test of allyship is what you do when it’s challenging, in fact when it’s scary.”