Muslim group sues Parkland, Broward hotel over canceled conference, citing ‘racist’ campaign

A local Muslim group is suing a Broward County hotel, the city of Parkland and a business group over the hotel’s decision to cancel the group’s annual conference earlier this year, citing “unlawful discrimination” and “conspiracy to interfere with civil rights” against members of the group, as well as violating a contract made six months prior to the conference.

The lawsuit brought by the South Florida Muslim Federation, which represents over 30 of the region’s mosques, Islamic schools and community organizations, comes nine months after the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs Hotel & Convention Center canceled the group’s conference in January. The hotel, according to the federal lawsuit, cited “significant undesirable interest” for the move, which followed public and political pressure and an internet campaign labeling the group “Hamas sympathizers.”

“The Marriott’s cancellation of South Florida Muslim Federation’s annual conference was fueled by Islamophobia and hate-filled community leaders that believe all Muslims are terrorists,” said Jalal “Jay” Shehadeh, legal advisor to the South Florida Muslim Federation, at a Monday press conference outside the Fort Lauderdale Federal Courthouse, where the suit was filed.

The lawsuit claims that Parkland city leaders, including Mayor Rich Walker and members of the Parkland Chamber of Commerce, including its president, Doug Eaton, made multiple efforts to “intimidate, threaten and coerce” the Marriott to the cancel the conference.

The efforts, according to the lawsuit, included emails to the hotel from city officials, public petitions, social media posts by the Parkland Chamber of Commerce warning community members about a meeting with “pro-Hamas sympathizers,” and an email campaign where community members threatened to “boycott the Coral Springs Marriott” and “cancel all future bookings” if they did not comply.

Parkland Mayor Rich Walker, in a statement to The Miami Herald on Monday, said his driving concern was public safety.

“Having heard chatter in the community about safety concerns, I reached out to the hotel General Manager to ensure he was aware of those concerns,” Walker said in the statement. “The content of the event was not my concern. Safety, of course, is the number one priority of any elected official.”

The event cancellation and subsequent lawsuit came in the wake of the surprise attack in October by Hamas militant groups in southern Israel, which left some 1,200 dead and 240 people taken hostage and triggered protests across South Florida and the nation. Israel’s subsequent war targeting Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist group by the United States, has since killed an estimated 40,000-plus Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Walker said that, given the same circumstances, he “would do the same thing again.”

“How can I be expected to hear residents’ concerns about safety and just sit on that information? I have to communicate that to the General Manager so he’s aware,” Walker said.

In a statement sent to the Herald late Monday, the Parkland Chamber of Commerce denied the claims in the lawsuit.

“Assertions made against the Chamber of Commerce (and Douglas Eaton) are wholly inaccurate and without merit. We will vigorously defend ourselves in this matter,” a statement from the chamber said.

The Muslim Federation said the previous year’s conference was held at the Coral Springs Marriott and went on without a hitch. The conference was intended to allow members of the local Muslim community to “convene, share knowledge, tackle social problems and share our diverse cultures,” said Samir Kakli, President, South Florida Muslim Federation said in an interview with the Miami Herald earlier this year.

“This is a place that our community literally considered like a second home. Countless fundraisers, banquets, weddings, meetings from organizations in our community ... used to occur at this place all the time,” said Kakli at the press conference about the Coral Springs hotel. “Suddenly this place where we had countless events for decades … acted like they don’t know who we are.”

Coral Spring Marriott Hotel General Manager Jason Peters responded to the Miami Herald’s requests for comment in an email saying that they “don’t comment on pending litigation.”

The controversy over the event originally stemmed from an article published on Middle East Forum — a group Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a think tank that foments anti-Muslim sentiments — claiming that the scheduled conference would include “hateful speeches from some of the region’s most controversial Islamist voices.” The article, written by Joe Kaufman, was later referenced by local news outlet Coral Springs Talk, and sparked a series of emails with Parkland leaders, according to the lawsuit. Leaders of Muslim Federation said the hotel refused to meet with them after announcing the cancellation.

“[Coral Springs Marriott] canceled the contract with such short notice for a major event because other individuals told them to, and they listened,” said Christina Jump, Civil Litigation Department Head of the Muslim Legal Fund of America, a national nonprofit that that advocates for Muslims’ civil rights.

Jump, who is a part of the legal team representing the Muslim Federation, said the actions of the Marriott reflect unlawful religious and ethnic discrimination against members of a protected class.

“These individuals are community members,” Jump said. “It is a violation of the law. It is racist. It is discriminatory to assume that anyone who practices Islam must be a terrorist ... It is absolutely against the law.”

The lawsuit is seeking a declaratory judgment — a way for a court to formally recognize violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — as well as judgement that would prevent similar situations from occurring in the future and monetary damages.

“These egregious acts took part because of a concerted effort by multiple individuals, including local officials, many of whom are elected. Those local officials ignored their obligations. They turned their backs on members of this community,” Jump said.

Kakli said at the press conference that the Muslim conference took over six months of planning and that the cancellation derailed thousands of attendees, over 100 volunteers and 30 sponsors who were set to attend. The group eventually rescheduled the conference for February of this year.

“We couldn’t even publicize it in the normal way. We had to keep our location secret. It’s very challenging,” Kakli said.

This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.