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Speakers urge council to condemn alleged antisemitic rhetoric and remove community appointee
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Summary
Public commenters accused the Chagrin Valley Islamic Center of spreading hate speech and urged council to condemn the rhetoric, remove Masroor Malik from a city committee and remove the CVIC from the city's anti-racism resolution language.
Several public commenters used the council's public-comment period to press city leaders on allegations of antisemitic and anti-Christian rhetoric by the Chagrin Valley Islamic Center and to call for concrete action by the city.
Adam Small said council members had previously advised residents to file police reports about the alleged conduct; Small argued that the mosque’s speech may be protected by the First Amendment but said the city’s policies and resolutions prohibit tolerating hate. He cited Solon’s DEI policies and named two resolutions — “antisemitism resolution 2023-86” and “antisemitism resolution 2020-201” (as referenced in his remarks) — and urged the mayor and council to publicly condemn the mosque’s speech and to remove Masroor Malik from the city’s Community Relations committee.
Small also pressed the council to remove the Chagrin Valley Islamic Center (CVIC) as an example in the city’s anti-racism resolution language, saying that inclusion of the CVIC in those materials was inappropriate given his allegations. He urged the mayor to act and to issue a condemnation specifically naming the mosque rather than offering a generalized statement against all forms of hate.
Council did not take formal action during the meeting. The record shows extended public comment on the topic but no council vote or staff report recorded at the meeting related to the petitioner’s requests.
