Politicians pivot to anti-Muslim rhetoric, legislation as election season heats up
A growing number of politicians are adopting Islamophobic rhetoric in a bid to build their supporter base ahead of the elections. Lawmakers’ anti-Muslim campaign strategies or bills aren’t looking to tamp down as one organization has tracked steady increases leading up to state primaries and general elections.
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani was promoting violence with “intifada” and “jihad.” Both faced accusations of spreading Islamophobia.
Vinny Minchillo, a Texas-based Republican strategist, told CNN the tactics are working as candidates shift messaging on immigration away from the borders to ideological differences. He called it “solid gold” for how it has animated Republican voters.
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), a think tank focused on the prevalence of hate in the U.S., released a report Tuesday that focused on Congressional Republicans’ social media posts, legislation and membership in the Sharia-Free America Caucus.
The report did not examine anti-Muslim posts, legislation or comments made by Democrats the same time period. Other prominent Democrats like former N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made similar comments. Cuomo ran against Mamdani in Democratic primary and general mayoral election, losing both times.
Cuomo faced scrutiny after he said New York City would face issues under Mamdani’s leadership if it suffered another terrorist attack. His campaign also posted an AI-generated video of Mamdani eating rice with his hands exaggeratedly as a person warned about the former assemblyman’s ideas. Mamdani denounced Cuomo’s actions as Islamophobic and racist.
“The ongoing rhetoric paints any and all Muslims as threats, and it constitutes dangerous speech — since it can make people more likely to commit or condone violence against members of another group, in this case, Muslims,” according to the CSOH report.
Posts targeting Muslims explodes in growth
The think tank tracked thousands of posts where researchers found 46 Congressional Republicans made 1,111 posts targeting Muslims using “bigotry and conspiracy theories” over a 13-month period from February 2025 to this March.
A review of the report showed that monthly posts increased substantially from one post in February 2025, to 263 posts in March. Of those 1,111 posts, researchers found that five Republicans accounted for 73% of them all. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., had the largest single-share at 29%.
Nearly half of the posts focused on Sharia law, evoking fears about an invasion or proliferation of the religious law.
“Nearly a third of all posts (322) framed Muslims through the lens of terrorism and national security,” according to the report. “Sixty-four called explicitly for the deportation or denaturalization of Muslims. Sixty-three used dehumanizing language, labeling Islam and Muslims as ‘demons,’ ‘death cult,’ ‘cancer,’ and ‘plague.’”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which was founded to help minorities in 1971, found Islam wasn’t a focal point of campaign messaging in 2024. But that turned as Mamdani gained popularity across the nation during his mayoral campaign and lawmakers sought to criminalize the religion.
House bills likely to face First Amendment challenge
At least 10 bills have been introduced in Congress regarding Islamic practices and conspiracy theories in the U.S. The SPLC noted that those laws are likely to violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause because they single out a religion for regulation.
The latest iteration of those bills is Rep. Chip Roy’s MAMDANI Act, which stood for Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists. The Texas Republican sought to denaturalize, deport, deny citizenship or entry to anyone who is part of a socialist, communist, Chinese Communist or Islamic fundamentalist party.
Roy added that his bill further penalizes people who advocate for the parties. Mamdani was elected as New York City mayor as a member of the Democratic Socialist Party.
“By targeting the Red-Green Alliance,” Roy said in a release, “this legislation deploys new tools to fight back against the Marxist and Islamist advance that has devastated Europe and has now arrived on our doorstep, especially in my home state of Texas.”
How the actions will hold up come midterms is unknown, as Pew Research found in a survey that most Muslims (53%) identified with or leaned toward the Democratic Party. Some voters strayed from the party following dissatisfaction with former President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. About 60% of all Muslims felt Biden favored Israelis too much, the center learned.
“Looking at issues where there are significant partisan gaps, we find that Muslim Americans do not align consistently with either political party,” according to the center. “On some issues, the balance of opinion among Muslims is similar to that found among Democrats. On other issues, Muslims tend to agree more with Republicans than Democrats.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
