DuPage Township Muslim administrator faces racist comments at public meeting

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Reem Townsend attended a DuPage Township town hall-style meeting in early April as part of her duties as a trustee elected to a four-year position in 2021. It was a meeting like any other, except for the fact that she had to break her fast during the sunset meeting. As a practicing Muslim, Townsend observed the month of Ramadan.

Many voters gathered to voice their comments on the proposed location of a resource center and food pantry, and one voter in particular, who she said was quite passionate at the time, stopped by to comment on Townsend’s diet.

He said something like, you can just go back to eating your lunch, because I broke my fast during the meeting, Townsend, 36, told the Tribune. So basically he was laughing at me for practicing my religion. At that moment, I heard him, so I got up and said to him: Excuse me, I am fasting during Ramadan. We eat so late, and I’m going to sit here and eat my food.

The rhetoric escalated as the April 6 meeting progressed. The same man again approached Townsend and said he had voted for her in 2021. When Townsend thanked him, he replied saying he wouldn’t do it again, she recalled.

That’s when another man, who was taking video of the meeting, said something to the effect of, Well, he didn’t know she was a suicide bomber, Townsend recalled.

It wasn’t just an attack on my religion, she said. It was also an attack on me as a Palestinian. He was also sitting with people I ran against who attacked me for being Palestinian.

The racist outburst was immediately condemned by DuPage Township Democrats, Will County Progressives and the Council on American Islamic Relations.

Islamophobia and bigotry have no place in our society, and we urge local officials to take appropriate steps to address and prevent such incidents from happening in the future, the CAIR statement said. We also encourage the community to come together to support our Muslim neighbors and work to build a more inclusive and welcoming society for all.

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Despite the growing number of Muslims across the country, slurs against Muslims in elected office are nothing new, with even former President Donald Trump once posting racist tweets about four female lawmakers. However, more and more members of the community continue to engage politically in more visible ways, activists say.

According to a report released last July, which showed that Muslim states are the most diverse and one of the fastest growing religious communities in the country, there are now more Muslims per capita in Illinois than in all of other state.

In January, State Rep. Nabeela Syed, a Democrat from Inverness, became one of the first Gen Z lawmakers to serve in Springfield after beating an incumbent Republican for a seat representing the northwest suburbs.

Qasim Rashid, a human rights lawyer from Naperville who also lived in Bolingbrook for around 10 years, said he contacted Townsend after hearing about what had happened and offered his support. In solidarity, he attended the upcoming DuPage Township meeting on April 18 because, he said, being able to call out and condemn this kind of bigotry in a public place can show others how to become better allies and is a great way to stop hate in its tracks.

There is not a single piece of this country’s major history that Muslims have not been a part of, Rashid said. Not only are Muslims part of this country, but this country never existed without Muslims. There is no America without American Muslims. I want my 7 year old Muslim American daughter to grow up and not have to experience this fanaticism, and that only happens if we play an active role in our communities without turning away from our faith and our origins .

Townsend said both of her parents are first-generation immigrants from Palestine and she wears her religion and culture on her sleeve. She said she was 100% very proud and very vocal about it.

Townsend lives with her family in Bolingbrook, which she says makes up most of DuPage Township as well as small parts of Naperville and Romeoville. She works for the township part-time while working full-time as an executive assistant for the CEO of a healthcare company.

She said she heard similar discriminatory remarks when she ran for administrator and that her family had also been subjected to some negativity from the community.

I just think it’s so ignorant, Townsend said. There are millions of Muslims in the world and even in DuPage Township we have a large Muslim population, and people don’t even know it was just Ramadan? I practice my religion, but I also make sure that I fulfill my duties in the public service. It’s just disrespectful and offensive that there are still people like that.

The other people running against me even said racist and hateful things, not just about my religion, but about being a Palestinian, Townsend said. I grew up hearing this stuff, so it was like, really? You always say the same thing. Then I’m in the office and you always say that stuff.

Townsend said that at another township meeting on April 18, township supervisor Gary Marschke made an announcement saying that anyone who made comments similar to those made earlier about Townsend would be removed from the meeting and would not be allowed to return.

At that meeting, Townsend said several people came out to support her in light of what happened earlier in the month.

Suzanna Ibarra, president of Will County Progressives, said she had known Townsend for a few years, even before they both got involved with the Will County band. She said she was happy to show up at last week’s meeting to show solidarity with Townsend. Ibarra, who is Catholic, said not speaking out against hateful voices is to allow them to continue and perpetuate themselves.

Silence never solved anything, she says. For me, silence is actually complacency, and complacency can lead to violence. Silence is violence.

The Tribune contacted the DuPage Township Republican Organization for comment. Antonio Timothee, president of the DuPage Township Republican Organization, said in a statement Friday that he was repulsed and saddened by the situation.

As an immigrant and a person of color, I understand what Trustee Townsend must be going through, Timothees’ statement said. It is disheartening to see that in our time we still have to deal with ignorance and insults directed at people because of their ethnicity. My hope is that people learn from this situation and that it doesn’t create more division and hatred. It’s times like these when we need to reflect on our own biases and try to grow as individuals for the good of our communities. As for any people of color who may one day have the desire to run for office, that should increase your resolve.

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