The 12th annual Santa Clarita Valley Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast drew over 250 political and community leaders together to pray for the city of Santa Clarita and its residents, and several protesters as well.

“If you believe that prayer works, what better way to support your elected officials than that?” said Event Chairman Joe Messina.

Event Chair Joe Messina. Photo courtesy of Joe Messina.

While the event draws on the common religious practice of prayer, Messina emphasized the event was a community gathering rather than a religious one.

“There were people there of all faiths and belief systems, and I advise people that this event is not political, is not a bash on people,” said Messina. “It is strictly so that we can pray for our leaders in the community.”

Seven community members protested outside the Hyatt Regency Valencia where the breakfast was held. Their main complaint was the keynote speaker of the event, William J. Federer, who some believe is islamophobic, according to Messina.

Federer — a nationally known speaker, author and president of the publishing company Amerisearch, Inc. — seemed to be a controversial choice to some because of his book, “What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur’an: A History of Islam & the United States.”

Keynote Speaker William Federer. Photo courtesy of Joe Messina.

However, Messina said, Federer spoke not about Islam, but about faith and the power it can have in the world.

“He basically discussed the history, the miracle moments of history in America. He talked a lot about prayer and fasting and the effect that it had on some of the little battles that we had early on,” Messina said, citing the Revolutionary War as an example.

“(George) Washington would call his troops to prayer and fasting for a day before they actually went into battle, and there were a couple things that (Federer) explained that were kind of weird,” he said. “A low fog would come in and hang out long enough for them to hide. (Federer) was just talking about things that happened that were tied to prayer and fasting.”

Photos courtesy of Joe Messina.