Republican Islamophobia Comes Unleashed Amid The War In Iran

This week, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama compared Zohran Mamdani’s mayorship of New York City to nan Sept. 11, 2001 panic attacks.

“The force is wrong nan gates,” he posted. Later, Tuberville, a erstwhile caput shot coach astatine Auburn University, felt compelled to explain his statement. “To beryllium clear, I didn’t ‘suggest’ Islamists are nan enemy,” he posted. “I said it plainly.”

This is not nan first clip Tuberville has made Islamophobic remarks. Earlier this year, erstwhile Ghazala Hashmi became nan first Muslim lieutenant politician of Virginia, Tuberville made nan aforesaid statement. And successful December, aft nan deadly wide shooting targeting Jews successful Australia’s Bondi Beach, he said, “Islam is not a religion. It's a cult,” adding, “We've sewage to SEND THEM HOME NOW aliases we'll go nan United Caliphate of America.”

When The Independent asked Tuberville astir those remarks astatine nan clip and nan truth that Alabama, wherever he is now moving for governor, is location to 22,000 Muslims, he said, “If we person Muslims that travel present and assimilate and spell by our laws and our Constitution, I request them to thief maine conflict backmost against nan group that are not present for that reason.”

And Tuberville is not alone. Earlier this week, Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee posted connected X that, “Muslims don't beryllium successful American society,” adding that “Pluralism is simply a lie.” This is besides not nan first clip that Ogles has engaged successful rampant Islamophobia. Last year, aft Mamdani won nan Democratic information for mayor, Ogles called for him to beryllium denaturalized and deported.

And these sentiments are not caller among immoderate Republicans.

The quality is that successful nan past, Republicans took awesome lengths to opportunity that they opposed extremist Islamic terrorism, but not Islam arsenic a whole. In 2015, erstwhile then-presidential campaigner Donald Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown” connected Muslims coming into nan United States, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan denounced nan remarks.

And pinch nan United States engaged successful warfare pinch Iran, Republican diatribes against Muslims will surely go much communal successful nan party.

But this week, during nan House GOP’s retreat — held astatine Trump National Doral, nary little — House Speaker Mike Johnson responded to questions astir nan rhetoric by saying that while he said pinch those Republicans astir “our reside and our messaging ... there's a batch of power successful nan state and a batch of celebrated sentiment that nan request to enforce Sharia Law successful America is simply a superior problem.”

Johnson said it is “different connection than I would use” — nan aforesaid refrain he utilized erstwhile Trump uttered a slur for group pinch disabilities — and past each but gave his imprimatur connected nan language. This is simply a crisp break from erstwhile his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, stripped Steve King of his committee assignments for racist rhetoric.

Essentially, acknowledgment to Trump, this rhetoric is now modular fare.

Unsurprisingly, after a fishy named Ayman Mohamad Ghazali rammed his vehicle into a Michigan synagogue Thursday, Rep. Randy Fine of Florida said, “We request much Islamophobia, not less,” and that “fear of Islam is rational.”

Like Ogles and Tuberville, this is acold from Fine’s first clip spewing anti-Muslim rhetoric. Earlier this year, he responded to a Muslim activistic successful New York who called dogs “unclean” by saying, “If they unit america to choose, nan prime betwixt dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”

All of these remarks generated justifiable outrage among Democratic lawmakers, pundits and commentators. But nary of that genuinely matters. Fine, Tuberville and Ogles each hail from staunchly Republican areas. If anything, they will apt beryllium rewarded for their anti-Muslim rhetoric from their constituents.

What matters astir is what legislature activity thinks.

Speaker Johnson has shown an occasional willingness to smack down members of nan convention for bad behavior. He did truthful past week pinch Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, whom he encouraged to not activity re-election amid Gonzales admitting an extramarital matter pinch a joined staffer. But neither he nor Senate Majority Leader John Thune has taken immoderate steps to reprimand their troops.

So expect much Islamophobia from Republicans.