Sam Rasoul, a Muslim American, was asked if he would represent his constituents ‘regardless of faith and beliefs’.
(AL JAZEERA) A Muslim political candidate for lieutenant governor in the US state of Virginia has received an outpouring of support after he was asked a question in a televised debate that critics describe as “Islamophobic”.
Sam Rasoul is a Muslim American politician and the leading Democratic candidate in the race for the state’s lieutenant governorship.
During the campaign’s only televised political debate on Tuesday night, WJLA TV anchor Dave Lucas, one of the moderators, asked Rasoul a question that prompted widespread accusations of Islamophobia, and a slew of condemnations on social media.
“The Washington Post reported your fundraising effort is ‘category-leading,’ because of some out-of-state donors connected to Muslim advocacy groups – there’s nothing wrong with that – but that was the case,” Lucas said during the debate which was held at George Mason University in Fairfax.
“Talk a little bit about your fundraising efforts and can you assure Virginians, if you’re elected, you’ll represent all of them regardless of faith and beliefs?”
Rasoul, 39, the son of Palestinian immigrants and one of six candidates running, responded that he was “proud to have a campaign that’s 100 percent funded by individuals, with the majority of contributors coming from Virginia”.