Two years ago this month, the US State Department did the unthinkable. It fired Devin Brooks, a security specialist who worked as an armed protection officer at the State Department. The reason? He grew a beard in compliance with his Islamic faith.

His supervisors disregarded his Islamic beliefs and ordered him to shave. After he was left with no choice, he was forced to shave his beard. Subsequently, Brooks was fired.

That is preposterous!

Brooks then contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for help. CAIR sued the State Department on his behalf.

To say a beard can cause a safety concern is pure poppycock. It looks like our State Department subconsciously perceives staff with beards and mustaches as ISIS, despite the fact that staff are usually judged by their credentials and performance—not facial hair. Islamophobia rears its ugly head at the State Department, and Secretary Antony "Genocide" Blinken has clearly lost his mind to have allowed this to happen.

Today, 44% of men worldwide have full beards. And according to facts and stats, 33% of American males say they always keep a beard. In fact, men without beards spend more than 3,000 hours of their lives shaving.

Currently, about 5% of members of Congress have facial hair. Imagine for a minute if Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) were to order bearded members of the Senate to shave or else. That would be laughable and bizarre at the same time.

I could see Sen. Ted "Cancun" Cruz and Sen. Ron Paul blasting Sen. Thune as a fascist. So why hold Muslim government staff to different standards? There was no outrage expressed or condemnation by any US public officials or mainstream media. If that was not Islamophobia, I don't know what is.

Meanwhile, shortly after he was fired, Devin Brooks was able to get a job at the Department of Homeland Security. That further illustrates that the claim a beard can cause a safety concern is total BS! Tony "Liar" Blinken was just trying to save his neck.

Incidentally, during that time, leaked documents showed that Secretary Blinken received two explosive reports on Israel blocking aid to Gaza—right before he told Congress the exact opposite. In response, more than half a dozen officials in the State, Defense, Education, and Interior departments signed in protest over US policy in Gaza. Among them was Stacy Gilbert, who left the State Department after a 20-year career. Her reason was Secretary Blinken lying to Congress about Israel not blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Secretary Blinken repeatedly rejected any UN-sponsored resolution about a ceasefire in Gaza. In November 2024, he ordered the US ambassador to the UN to veto a UN Security Council draft resolution that demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Had the draft resolution been adopted, it would have demanded immediate access for civilians in Gaza to basic services.

It would have rejected "any effort to starve Palestinians"—a threat that has developed into famine throughout Gaza, where people go to sleep hungry, thirsty, and without any kind of medication. Had the US not vetoed such a resolution, Israel would have facilitated a full, rapid, safe, and unhindered entry of aid throughout Gaza to all those in need, according to a UN News report on Nov. 24, 2024.

It is interesting to note here that as Secretary of State, Blinken also ignored for four months countless requests to testify in front of Congress about the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. So, on September 9, 2024, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to be held in contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a duly issued subpoena.

Shamefully, Blinken never reinstated Mr. Brooks, nor did he apologize to him for illegally firing him or for lying to the US Congress about Israel not blocking aid to the 2.2 million starving people in Gaza.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelance writer for Islamicity.com and The Columbus Free Press.com. He can be reached at [email protected]