Bill Essayli, California’s first Muslim Assembly-member, walked out of of the legislature in protest after a controversial drag group that has been described as “anti-Catholic” was honored.
The California legislature’s LGBTQ caucus honored a member of the drag group the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” during a daylong celebration at the state capitol. The drag queen group has drawn criticism for sexualizing Jesus and mocking Catholic nuns. Participants in the drag group have dressed up as “pink Jesus” while mimicking a crucifixion during a parade, and danced sexually on a cross while others pretend to be nailed to the cross. (RELATED: ‘Tons Of Children Present’: Transgender Person Chases Reporter At Pride Parade With Breasts ‘Completely Exposed’)
The Los Angeles Dodgers have drawn criticism for honoring the group during a Pride night game. The group was originally disinvited, then re-invited as the MLB team apologized and vowed to “educate” themselves.
Essayli walked off the legislature floor holding a sign that read, “religious bigotry is bigotry,” as the group was being honored. In an interview with the Daily Caller, Essayli said his own faith motivated him to stand up for Catholic Americans.
Imagine a world where the first Muslim state legislator in California’s history stood up in solidarity with Catholics against hate speech….and no major media outlets covered it…
His name is @billessayli and it’s real. pic.twitter.com/HCy4u0aSH0
— Faulkner ☠️ (@chrisfaulkner) June 6, 2023
“As a member of a minority faith in the US, I know what religious bigotry looks like,” Essayli told the Caller. “I know what caricatures of a faith look like, I know what it’s like when people make fun of you for having certain beliefs. And that’s why when I saw this group and the way they mock Christianity, specifically Catholics, by exaggerating their wardrobe or by these outrageous displays using crosses and Jesus, I say it’s just highly, highly offensive.”
“I really believe all of faith is under attack, and today’s Catholics might be tomorrow’s Jews, and the day after that the Muslims — it’s a very dangerous precedent.”
Democrats have been seething ever since he took this stand, Essayli told the Caller, trying to paint his stand as evidence of anti-LGBTQ bigotry.
“And they’re now trying to paint us as being anti-LGBTQ. And we’ve made it very clear, we’re anti-religious bigotry, which is what this particular group stands for. So they want to conflate the issues and we’re not going to let them.”
Essayli says that more and more Muslims are going to be taking a stand against wokeness like he did, especially Muslim parents.
“Having someone like me up here, gives voice to a lot of conservative Muslims, and I think we’re seeing them now feel comfortable speaking out to this radical leftist ideology.”
Muslim and Christian parents gathered outside the headquarters of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland in June to protest a school’s policy that would not allow parents to opt out of LGBTQ curriculum for kids.
“I guarantee you’ll see more of it,” Essayli said, referring to the stand taken by these Muslim parents. “Because these issues are coming to a head and there’s a red line that’s been crossed and it has to do with our children.”
“We are we are in a really weird and perilous time in the United States. Our values are under attack, our Constitutional Republic and faith is under attack. And we cannot afford to have division among the different faiths between Christianity and Islam. I think it’s time for us to unite and to take on this existential threat that faces all of us together.”