(PHILADELPHIA, PA, 3/21/2023) – The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations today welcomed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Wrestling division’s decision to remove a Twitter post featuring comments denigrating Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Penn State athlete Aaron Brooks.
The NCAA deleted a video from its Twitter feed in which Aaron Brooks attributed his success to his Christian faith, thanked Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit but then proceeded to say, “…no false prophets, no Muhammad or anyone else, only Jesus Christ himself…”
In a statement, CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Tekelioglu said:
“We appreciate NCAA Wrestling’s decision to remove footage of the disparaging and inappropriate remark Aaron Brooks made about the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him).
“Every athlete should be able to express their own religious beliefs, but it was completely unacceptable for Mr. Brooks to disparage another religion while representing Penn State and its diverse student body at a competition.
“We again encourage Mr. Brooks to engage with the Muslim community to build bridges, exchange perspectives on religion, and learn how to respectfully disagree.”
He noted that yesterday, CAIR-Philadelphia called Brooks’ comments “unnecessary and inappropriate” and invited him to engage with his Muslim classmates.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, PhD; 617-401-5397 (mobile), atekelioglu@cair.com.
