- “Your posts play into some of the worst stereotyping of America’s Muslims, who are a vastly diverse and overwhelmingly law-abiding community.” – Dina Chehata, CAIR-LA Civil Rights Managing Attorney
By Vanguard Staff
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) has demanded that San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow publicly apologize and retract recent anti-Muslim social media posts following the election of New York City’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
According to CAIR-LA, Dow reshared several posts on his public X account, including one from Amy Mek — a known anti-Muslim extremist — that falsely equated the election of Mamdani with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The organization said these posts reinforced the harmful stereotype that Muslims are inherently tied to terrorism simply because of their faith.
CAIR-LA also called for an independent investigation into Dow’s conduct and his fitness to continue serving as district attorney. Separately, the organization requested that Dow meet directly with CAIR-LA representatives and local Muslim community members to gain a deeper understanding of the American Muslim experience and the impact of rising Islamophobia nationwide.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said, “Dow’s decision to repost content that weaponizes bigotry and baselessly ties an elected Muslim official to terrorism is appalling and reflects the deeply rooted dehumanization and fearmongering in this country that American Muslims have had to endure for decades. As a district attorney, Dow has a professional and moral responsibility to remain impartial and equitable — yet his actions call into question his ability to engage in fair prosecution of, or respect the due process rights for, Muslim defendants in SLO County.”
“We cannot allow public officials to make hate-based claims without accountability,” Ayloush continued. “We call on Dow to immediately retract his bigoted, dangerous social media posts and we demand an investigation into his conduct to ensure the safety and fair treatment of Muslims under his jurisdiction.”
The press release references local media coverage of the controversy, including The Tribune article titled “SLO County DA shares posts linking New York’s first Muslim mayor to 9/11 attacks.”
In addition to the public statement, CAIR’s Greater Los Angeles Area Office sent a formal letter to Dow on November 6, 2025, demanding that he retract and apologize for the posts. The letter, signed by CAIR-LA Civil Rights Managing Attorney Dina Chehata, called the comments “anti-Muslim bigotry” that undermines “the impartiality and integrity of the criminal justice system.”
“Your posts play into some of the worst stereotyping of America’s Muslims, who are a vastly diverse and overwhelmingly law-abiding community,” the letter stated. It added that by drawing a “false and dangerous equivalence between Mayor-elect Mamdani’s election and 9/11,” Dow’s actions promote “the tired stereotype that Muslims are inherently tied to terrorism.”
CAIR’s letter further noted that the rhetoric raises serious concerns about how Dow’s office might treat Muslim individuals — whether as suspects, victims of hate crimes, or members of the public who depend on fair administration of justice.
The letter also acknowledged Dow’s military service and his explanation in The Tribune but maintained that this does not excuse what it described as “hostility toward people of a particular faith.” It emphasized that American Muslims have served this country, died on 9/11, and provided first-responder services that day.
In its demand, CAIR urged the district attorney to publicly retract his posts and issue an apology, meet directly with Muslim community members, and educate himself about Islam and the diversity of the Muslim American experience.
CAIR-LA also pointed to recent national efforts by CAIR and CAIR-New York calling Zohran Mamdani’s victory a “historic turning point” for Muslims in politics and a “rebuke of both Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian politics.” The organizations jointly urged New York’s congressional delegation to confront the growing wave of Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, and anti-Palestinian hate in Congress.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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C’mon DG, the article never even shows the posts it condemns. Readers are asked to accept that they were anti-Muslim without seeing them or judging context. Why do you (and many others) do this as a style of reporting, assuming your readers will accept your always-far-left assessment as “fact” ? Dan Dow’s comments make clear he was attacking Zohran Mamdani’s politics, not his religion. He called Mamdani an “un-American socialist” and said he opposed his beliefs. That is harsh but political speech, not religious bias.
The coverage also left out that Dow publicly said he has strong ties with the local Muslim community and supports them. I don’t know if the “Muslim community” there agrees or not, but at least he said it, which puts him up for great local scrutiny if it’s not true. The missing context makes the story sound like a crusade against Muslims when it was a reaction to a politician’s far-left ideology. I do agree that the use of 9/11 images was tasteless and unnecessary, but also implied that Mamdani’s sort of politics and beliefs are the problem — not the Muslim religion as a whole.
It is also worth noting that this Vanguard article lists no author, just “Vanguard Staff”, once again. That is odd for a site that promises to identify every writer and also provide a bio (except in extreme cases for protection — is this extreme?). I’ve pointed this omission out repeatedly, but you never explain why. Leaving the author anonymous on such a topic makes the piece look more like support for political attacks for those you disagree with than credible journalism.
Dow’s comments are not about faith; they are about politics. CAIR is the one blurring that line by treating criticism of one activist’s views as an attack on all Muslims. Mamdani is an outspoken socialist and anti-Israel activist, which doesn’t describe Islam as a whole. Dow’s comments targeted that worldview, not that religion. Painting every criticism of a Muslim politician as bigotry only serves as a poor attempt shut down debate.
So where’s the Vanguard article about Democrat DA Jones of Virginia threatening messaging about killing a GOP colleague and hoping his young children die in his wife’s arms?
How would you like to be a conservative having to get judged by him?