Hawaii Passes Islam Day Resolution, Haters Call for Boycott

High on the list of reasons I lost my heart so completely to Hawaii?

The diversity. You’ve got your Pinoys, your Japanese, your mainland surfers, your Native Hawaiians, your Portuguese and Spaniards, the descendants of European shippers and missionaries, a whole mess of “hapa” types who are half one thing, half something else, be it Scottish, Korean, Hawaiian, Jewish ...  If you’re looking for a slice of world culture, you’re as likely to find it in Hawaii as anywhere. All those cultures make for a lively and appealing place.

But a few spoilsports are calling for a boycott of travel to the islands because the Hawaii state Legislature recently passed a resolution recognizing “Islam Day.”

From the Honolulu Star Bulletin:

Hawaii already designates April 8 as Buddha Day and March 21 as Baha’i New Year’s Day. Good Friday is even enshrined as an official state holiday, with public offices closed.

So state Rep. Lyla Berg thought that marking Sept. 24 as Islam Day would not be out of line in Hawaii, with its multicultural fabric. But her seemingly innocuous resolution has attracted worldwide attention—and a flurry of phone calls and e-mails, including threats to boycott Hawaii.

Also in the Star, news that Governor Lingle doesn’t support the resolution. “Gov. Linda Lingle told a radio interviewer that her office had received ‘a lot of angry calls from the mainland saying, ‘We’re not coming to a place that’s having an Islam Day.’”

‘Here we are, in a very difficult economy, and it was just unnecessary,’ said Lingle, who had no authority over the resolution. ‘It didn’t make any sense. You know it’s going to get this kind of attention.’”

The goals for the resolution are modest and laudable. From sponsor Lyla Berg:  “I was hopeful we would have an opportunity to become more informed on what the religion is about and the people who are connected with it, so that we don’t make the broad generalizations that are happening now.” Based on the call for a boycott, one could conclude that the resolution is already failing—and that the need for a more informed public is still as vital as ever.

In an interesting twist, the ACLU objects to Islam Day—“As Daniel Gluck, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Hawaii explained, ‘This resolution sends the State down a dangerous path.  The Legislature should not be picking and choosing among religions to honor, no matter how well-intentioned the action.’”

 

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