Muslim Quaker Running For Governor of Texas

[SF-TX]

Shami campaign has new take on his religion
Candidate says Quaker, Muslim labels miss key parts of his faith.
By Corrie MacLaggan

When Farouk Shami's gubernatorial campaign officials were asked in November what his religion is, they said he is Quaker.

But on Monday, other campaign officials said he is not.

Regardless of what religion the Palestinian-born U.S. citizen is — his campaign says he's not Muslim, but family members say he is — the fact that his campaign is putting out conflicting information could become a political liability.

Shami, a Democrat, said in a written statement Monday that he is "not a member of any specific religious tradition."

"To say simply 'I'm a Muslim' or 'I'm a Quaker' is to ignore major parts of my faith," said the statement by Shami, a Houston businessman who has said he'll spend $10 million of his money on his campaign. "I know it seems complicated that I do not have a pat answer to questions about what religion I am, but without my exposure to many different cultures and religious beliefs, I wouldn't be the person I am today." {It is not complicated. He just refuses to answer the question. Why?}

Shami's campaign director says the statement about Shami being Quaker was the result of a misunderstanding between the candidate and former staffers, an assertion one of them denied.

"The reason for the differing answers from the campaign is a result of a miscommunication between Farouk and his previous team," said Vince Leibowitz, the current campaign director for Shami, who will face former Houston Mayor Bill White in the primary March 2. "Farouk did go to Quaker school ... so I think that was part of the reason for the misconception."

Late last year, Shami fired several campaign staffers, including campaign manager Joel Coon and spokesman Jason Stanford. When Stanford was still with the campaign in November, he said Shami is Quaker.

Stanford said on Monday — and Coon confirmed — that when Coon asked Shami what religion he is, Shami replied, "I am a Quaker."

Stanford added, "I'm not exactly sure where the miscommunication came in."

This is not the first time questions have been raised about Shami's truthfulness. He said he voted for Barack Obama for president, but Montgomery County records show he did not vote in 2008.

Eric Bearse, a Republican political consultant, said it's important for candidates to be clear about their personal history.

"When a candidate or his campaign says two completely contradictory things about that candidate's background, it immediately creates a question within the mind of some voters: 'What's he or she trying to hide?'" said Bearse, who has worked for Gov. Rick Perry. Perry, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and businesswoman Debra Medina are competing in the Republican primary.

Bearse said Shami's faith is less important than his ability to "identify with the values, ideals and concerns of the electorate he's trying to persuade."

"Faith is a delicate issue, but Texas has long been a state that welcomes people of all backgrounds, ethnicities and spiritual traditions," Bearse said.

So what is Shami's spiritual tradition?

In his statement, Shami said he grew up with family members and friends who practiced Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

"I was born in the land of Abraham, believing in Moses, Jesus and Mohammad, and believing in one God," Shami wrote.

He said he begins each day with prayer and meditation and has a "strong personal relationship with God."

Shami campaign spokeswoman Kelly Love Johnson said that Shami's parents were Muslim but that he is not and that he does not observe Muslim traditions such as fasting during Ramadan.

But according to one of Shami's grandsons, the entire family — including Shami — is Muslim. Basel Badran, 19, of The Woodlands, who described his relationship with his grandfather as extremely close, said that the family is not especially religious.

And Shami's son Basim Shami, also of The Woodlands, said of his father, "He's a Muslim." He quickly added, "We believe in all religions, to tell you the truth, but we were brought up as Muslims."

Basim Shami said that his daughter goes to a Catholic school.

"We're not very strict about what religion," he said.

Here's how Farouk Shami put it in December, according to a report by KSAT-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Antonio: "My religion is American ... I'm a Muslim Quaker. Have you ever heard of that?"

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[Warrior-Mentor]

Something is rotten in the state of Texas.

[MackallResident]

I can see this going well. /sarcasm.

My Grandfather once told me that the greatest men to hold any politically charged office are the ones that never do, because they are above the deceit associated with such seats.

[craigepo]

Originally Posted by MackallResident

My Grandfather once told me that the greatest men to hold any politically charged office are the ones that never do, because they are above the deceit associated with such seats.

Your grandfather was, unfortunately, correct. The result is that less and less-qualified people win elected office. Hopefully, the people who would be good candidates out there will tire of watching from the sidelines and run. Obviously, the alternative is bad.

[Richard]

Because of the changes to the Texas Constitution during Reconstruction which remain in effect today, being Governor of Texas is tantamount to being crowned Homecoming King in high school - good for the ego but virtually meaningless.

Now, if he was running for Lieutenant Governor, it might be something to seriously ponder...but the guy's waffling on the question makes him toast anyway.

Too bad that all the people who know how to run this country are busy driving taxis and cutting hair.
- George Burns

Richard's $.02

[rubberneck]

I got a headache reading that. It really is a simple question. Why it is being met with so many answers by so many different people close to the candidate stinks. According to his family, and they should know, the guy is a muslim but is most likely worried that the baggage that being a muslim brings will end his career. Frankly if he had been honest about it up front it probably would have done as much damage to his chances of being Governor than this pathetic kabuki dance around the subject.

[jw74]

Originally Posted by SF-TX

:his campaign says he's not Muslim, but family members say he is :

he has an ice cube in hell's chance for election in Texas, but I think the above quote shows how many Muslims do not recognize the possibility that someone born into Islam could opt out.

[robert2854]

THIS TWO TIMING RELIGIOUS RELIGIOUS GOOF REMINDS ME OF OUR PRESIDENT, WHO BOWS TO THE WORLD BUT NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE


HAIL TO THE REDSKINS

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by robert2854

THIS TWO TIMING RELIGIOUS RELIGIOUS GOOF REMINDS ME OF OUR PRESIDENT, WHO BOWS TO THE WORLD BUT NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE


HAIL TO THE REDSKINS

No need to shout - and, you are giving him way too much credit.

[dr. mabuse]

*

[SF-TX]

Mixed messages from Shami campaign
Campaign says press releases not authorized, but Shami says they are
By Corrie MacLaggan

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Updated: 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010

Published: 8:36 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami and his own campaign staff released conflicting information Tuesday about who is allowed to speak on behalf of the campaign, signaling further turmoil inside a campaign that has already had its troubles.

Shami press secretary Charlie Ray said that David A. Díaz and Jessica Gutierrez, who have been sending press releases on behalf of the campaign, are not authorized to do so. But in an interview late Tuesday, Shami said that he hired Díaz several weeks ago and that both Díaz and Gutierrez, who frequently travels with him, are authorized to issue statements on behalf of the campaign.

"I think there is a misunderstanding there," Shami said. "I'll be in the office tomorrow, and everything will be fine. That's my job: to be a problem solver."

Just before 1 a.m. Tuesday, reporters received a press release titled "Bill White was early supporter of a plan based on racial profiling, says Farouk Shami."

Though the e-mail didn't look like Shami's other press releases - it came from Díaz's AOL account, not directly from the campaign - it said at the bottom "Pol. Adv. by the Farouk for Governor Campaign." Shami and White are running in the March 2 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

About 12 hours later, reporters got an e-mail from "PressTeam@Faroukforgovernor.com" apparently meant just for the campaign staff.

"Who in the hell is David Diaz?" the e-mail begins. "He is not authorized by the campaign to send out any press releases." The unsigned e-mail ends: "Seriously, can we hunt these people down and muzzle them?"

Shami press secretary Charlie Ray said he could not say for sure whether that e-mail came from Shami's campaign, though he added: "Let's be honest — it probably did. We are publicly embarrassed it came out."

Ray said the e-mail is accurate on this point: Díaz is not authorized to speak on behalf of the campaign and "is not affiliated with the campaign in an official capacity."

"We're a team of professionals," he said. "We're not sitting at home on AOL running this campaign in our underwear."

Ray said Díaz has sent out unauthorized statements in the past purporting to be from the campaign.

But Díaz said in an e-mail to the Statesman that he is "paid by Mr. Shami's campaign for legislative and news media consulting" and directed questions to Gutierrez, who he said is director of public and media relations for the campaign.

Ray said Gutierrez is in charge of Hispanic outreach. "She is not on the press team," he said.

But as recently as Monday, Gutierrez sent a press release from her campaign e-mail address in which she referred to herself as director of public and media relations.

Gutierrez, who has worked for Shami's Farouk Systems hair care products company, said Tuesday she is on a leave of absence from the company to work for the campaign.

This is not the first time there have been internal problems in the Shami campaign. Late last year, Shami fired several staffers, including campaign manager Joel Coon and campaign spokesman Jason Stanford.

As for the subject of the "racial profiling" press release, it was referring to White's support for a federal program that trains local law enforcement to identify illegal immigrants. As mayor of Houston, White did pursue the program, but when he couldn't come to an agreement with federal officials on customizing it, he pursued another program instead.

http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-...gn-245269.html

[SF-TX]

Shami’s top campaign staffers resign

By Corrie MacLaggan and Kate Alexander | Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 12:38 PM

Several top campaign aides to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami resigned today, said Charlie Ray, who had been the campaign’s press secretary.

Five staff members stepped down, including Ray, campaign director Vince Leibowitz, and communications director Kelly Love Johnson, Ray said.

The resignations come a day after the campaign’s internal chaos spilled into public when a bizarre e-mail exchange was, apparently inadvertently, sent to reporters.

On Tuesday, Ray and Shami gave out conflicting information about the roles of aides David Diaz and Jessica Gutierrez, both of whom had been sending out press releases on behalf of the campaign. Ray said that neither were authorized to speak for the campaign, but Shami said late Tuesday night that both had permission to give such statements.

“The role of David Diaz and Jessica was news to me and my services were clearly in conflict with theirs,” Ray said today. He said working with Shami was “challenging.”

Leibowitz said today that he still plans to vote for Shami — he just can’t work for him.

“Clearly there was a difference of strategic opinion between the professional political campaign staffers and Farouk staff,” Leibowitz said.

Just before 1 a.m. Tuesday, reporters received a press release from Diaz’s AOL address titled “Bill White was early supporter of a plan based on racial profiling, says Farouk Shami.”

About 12 hours later, reporters got an e-mail from “PressTeam@Faroukforgovernor.com” apparently meant just for the campaign staff.

“Who in the hell is David Diaz?” the e-mail begins. “He is not authorized by the campaign to send out any press releases.” The unsigned e-mail ends: “Seriously, can we hunt these people down and muzzle them?”

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