The Boston Police Department has promoted its first Muslim to Captain. In his new role, Haseeb Hosein wants his officers serving as ambassadors for the Department by going to schools and reading to children.
As Boston police Captain Haseeb Hosein, a former science teacher and a firm believer in the power of reading, assumes leadership in Mattapan as the department’s first Muslim captain, he plans to have his officers walking not only the streets, but school hallways.
“I want my guys to go into the schools and spend 30 minutes and read” with a child, said Hosein, 52, who received his captain’s shield Wednesday in a ceremony at police headquarters. “I hate that police officers are always the bad guy. We should be an asset.”
Hosein’s promotion makes him the highest-ranking Muslim in the department, according to a police spokesman, and one of three minority captains .
“The promotion to captain of Haseeb Hosein goes directly to my commitment of making the police department more reflective of the community we serve,” Police Commissioner William Evans said in a statement. “It is both historic and an honor for me to promote the first black Muslim captain to my command staff.”
Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Hosein is “a fantastic addition to the leadership.”
“He is an exceptionally skilled, qualified officer, with over two decades of experience in our neighborhoods,” Walsh said in a statement. “He will be a strong advocate and continue to build upon the strong community relationships we have developed in Mattapan.”
Those inclined to believe that whatever the officers will be reading to children will be strictly secular should perhaps read the last two paragraphs of the Boston Globe article:
As the department’s first Muslim captain, he said, he feels he can inspire young Muslims to join the force and serve as an ambassador for a faith that is often viewed negatively.
“I can be a voice to denounce violence, and let people know that the 1.6 billion Muslims [in the world] are just like them,” Hosein said. “I hope to be that voice that speaks out loud.”
The facebook and twitter pages of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC), which was attended by the Boston Marathon bombers and was founded by convicted terrorist Abdurahman Alamoudi, announced the promotion with pleasure. Comments on the mosque’s facebook page are overwhelmingly supportive of the announcement.
Shouldn’t Bostonians and Americans be employing their critical thinking skills to determine why this is so?
Coincidentally, two days after Hosein’s promotion was announced, it was learned that the Imam of the ISBCC – Suhaib Webb – will be leaving, presumably for another city. Webb was also at one time the Imam of the Oklahoma City mosque attended by Alton Nolen, who beheaded a woman in September.
Webb belongs to the Muslim American Society (MAS), a group confirmed by its former Secretary General Shaker Elsayed to have been founded by Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
Bostonians should be demanding to know what Police Officers in Boston will be reading to their children in public schools.