Mayor Whitmire’s speech at Houston’s 25th annual Ramadan event interrupted by protestors, ‘no ceasefire, no Iftar’

HOUSTON – Houston’s 25th annual Ramadan dinner with the Mayor of Houston, coordinated by the Houston Karachi Sister City Association was held Sunday evening, as planned, with Mayor John Whitmire to be a keynote speaker. However, what was meant to be an evening for Houstonians to break bread with local dignitaries during soon turned heated after demonstrators spoke out during the mayor’s speech.

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Security was heightened at the annual event, after dozens of local organizations in early March called for a boycott and for Mayor Whitmire’s invitation to be rescinded due to what they described as “ignored calls” for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Seconds after Mayor Whitmire took to the podium, shouts from protesters erupted. The mayor continued his speech, but demonstrators, who held signs saying “No Ceasefire - No Iftar,” kept on until they were escorted by security.

This comes days after organizations like the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) - Houston said it would be withdrawing from the annual event saying in part, “we have emailed, we have spoken up, we have asked Mayor Whitmire to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and he has repeatedly declined to do so.”

“If Mayor Whitmire - or ANY elected official anywhere cannot listen to us, cannot meet with us, and refuses to hear our agony over the ongoing GENOCIDE happening in Gaza, why should we listen to him?” the release concluded.

Regardless of how the evening played out, Mayor Whitmire took to social media calling his attendance a demonstration of “peace, respect and unity.”

“To be an effective mayor, I plan to work across Houston with people of all faiths,” the mayor said on his Facebook post. “The Muslim community will always have a place at the table as long as I am mayor.”