Muslim civil rights and advocacy group CAIR Arizona recently called again for Peoria Unified Governing Board Member Janelle Bowles to publicly apologize for social media posts the organization characterized as anti-Islamic. For CAIR Executive Director Azza Abuseif, Bowles’ online presence conflicts with her responsibility to the students she serves.
“An elected school board member has a responsibility to serve every child and every family in the district, regardless of their faith,” Abuseif said in a statement. “Statements denying the religious identity of Islam are deeply concerning when they come from someone entrusted with representing students and families.”
“Muslim children should not have to wonder whether their elected school board representatives respect their faith or see them as equal members of the school community.”
Bowles was reached out to for comment, but did not respond.
The controversial social media content in question comes from an image Bowles shared on Facebook on Aug. 30 at 7:43 p.m. The image depicts a road sign that reads “Islam is not a religion, it’s a political organization run by terrorists.” Additionally, the caption from the account that originally posted the image urges “American citizens” to call on President Donald Trump to deport “all the Islamic Muslim people who have invaded America” — written in all caps.
In another post Bowles shared on Facebook on Sept. 1, she characterized CAIR as a “state level terrorist and criminal organization.” The post includes a video clip from the public comment section of a city council meeting in McKinney, Texas, in which a resident cited Gov. Greg Abbott’s designation of CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
The Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) issued the following statement:
“Our commitment is grounded in our policies and daily support for students, not in the words or actions of any individual,” the district said in a statement. “Peoria Unified maintains clear nondiscrimination and antibullying policies and has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind. All employees complete annual training on the expectations in our Employee Handbook, and we hold ourselves to those standards without exception.
“We remain focused on learning environments where every student, regardless of background or belief, feels safe, supported and able to succeed.”
The traffic sign post the governing board member shared is not the first time she has faced public backlash for online activity the community and CAIR-Arizona characterized as Islamophobic. As previously reported in, Peoria Unified’s Governing Board meeting on June 9 included public comments from parents, staff, Muslim students and CAIR representatives calling for Bowles’ resignation, censure or apology. Following public comment, Bowles addressed the situation by saying she was willing to continue the conversation with affected students outside of the board meeting.
As part of her most recent call for Bowles’ apology, Abuseif additionally called on Peoria Unified leadership to address community concerns about Bowles’ conduct. According to representatives from PUSD and the Maricopa County Education Services Agency alike, due to Bowles’ position as an independently elected official, neither body has the authority to take action against her under Arizona law.
As outlined by the Arizona State Legislature, school governing board members can be recalled by voters through a petition process filed with the county school superintendent. Petitioners must collect signatures from qualified electors equal to 25% of the votes cast for the office at the last election. If enough valid signatures are submitted and the board member does not resign, a recall election is called.