Greek American tycoon Katsimatidis accused of Islamophobia
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Two days after prominent New York businessman, prolific political donor and former mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis said Muslims “hate gays and want to throw them off the roofs,” several Muslim-American New Yorkers — including the city’s only Muslim Council member — demanded he apologize.
“Mr. Catsimatidis is a high-profile New Yorker and a mainstay in New York politics,” said Council Member I. Daneek Miller, Democratic state Senate candidate Robert Jackson and Democratic state Assembly candidate Charles Fall, in a joint statement. “For him to espouse blatantly anti-Muslim sentiments is unacceptable to millions of New Yorkers and their allies. Instead of giving oxygen to Islamophobia and more hate in our society, our leaders should bring New Yorkers together.”
They demanded Catsimatidis apologize. He didn’t, really.
“Some of my best friends are Muslims,” he told POLITICO, though he declined to name them. “I have nothing against Muslims.”
