The group cited a Facebook post attributed to Hodges that read “New rule of thumb. If there’s a rag on your head. You want Americans dead.”

George L. Hodges is unfit to hold public office, the state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a strongly worded statement issued Thursday.

A Walpole man running for planning board in Saturday’s town election has been accused by an advocacy group of writing social media posts that are biased against Muslims and women.

“These shameful statements are beyond the pale for someone running for elected office,” said Dr. John Robbins, executive director of the council, in the statement.


The rag, the statement said, is an apparent reference to the headscarf, or hijab, worn by Muslim women.

One of Hodges opponents in Saturday’s election is Sarah Khatib, a Muslim woman, the statement said.

Khatib could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

In an interview Thursday night, Hodges, 60, denied the allegations of bigotry.

The realtor and musician said the “rag on your head” posting was an excerpt from a song he wrote condemning ISIS.

“I think, as artistic license, I stand by it,” said Hodges, a grandson of Syrian immigrants. “I’ve been called a rag-head. I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, because people knew that I was Syrian. I didn’t cry about it.”

Hodges, said he is not anti-Muslim, but strongly opposes Islamic terrorists.

“I’m not anti-Muslim American,” said Hodges, a Syrian Orthodox Christian. “I’m anti-ISIS ... and any kind of maliciousness against America or France or England or anything like that.”

In its statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations did not quote any of Hodges’s other Facebook posts. But the group called on the candidate to “recuse himself from the election.”

“How could the public possibly expect an individual in such a position to treat Muslim individuals or business owners fairly and without discrimination?” Robbins asked in the statement.


Hodges has no plans to withdraw his candidacy, but acknowledged the controversy may hurt his chances.

He also said people have objected to lyrics he posted in March that were critical of the Women’s March held in January.

Millions of women marched in solidarity in cities around the world, including Boston, to protest the election of President Trump, whose remarks about groping women caught on audio in 2005 drew widespread condemnation during his campaign.

As they marched, many women donned pink “pussy hats” as an act of defiance against all forms of misogyny.

Hodges said he was criticized for lyrics to the effect of, “I watched with dread/ women marching with vaginas on their heads.”

He said he planned to mesh the lyrics with a video asserting that “women who are home taking care of their families, they wouldn’t be at this march,” and that the marchers “must be lacking something in their life.”

Regarding the pussy hats, Hodges said, “I just didn’t think people should be exposed to that, not even adults. I’m not anti-woman at all. ... If my daughter thought I was a misogynist, she’d slap me upside the head.”

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.