With Immigration Losing Its Edge, Republicans Find A New Boogeyman: 'radical Islam'

Imagine if a campaigner for, say, nan California Assembly appeared astatine a governmental arena and delivered nan pursuing remarks:

“No to kosher meat. No to yarmulkes. No to celebrating Easter. No, no, no.”

He, aliases she, would beryllium roundly — and rightly — criticized for their bigotry and earthy prejudice.

Recently, astatine a candidates forum extracurricular Dallas, Larry Brock expressed nan pursuing sentiments arsenic portion of a lengthy disquisition connected nan Muslim faith.

“We should prohibition nan burqa, nan hijab, nan abaya, nan niqab,” said nan campaigner for authorities representative, referring to nan coverings worn by immoderate Muslim women. “No to legal meat. No to celebrating Ramadan. No, no, no.”

Brock, whose comments were reported by nan New York Times, is plainly a bigot. (He’s also a convicted felon, sentenced to 2 years successful situation for invading nan U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6. No to hand-slaughtered lamb. Yes to despoiling our spot of government.)

Brock is nary outlier.

For galore Texas Republicans moving successful nan March 3 primary, Islamophobia has go a cardinal information of their predetermination plank, arsenic a longtime governmental lance — forbidden migration — has grown dull astir its edges.

Aaron Reitz, a campaigner for lawyer general, aired an advertisement accusing politicians of importing “millions of Muslims into our country.”

“The result?” he says, pinch a tough-guy glower. “More terrorism, much crime. And they moreover want their ain forbidden cities successful Texas to enforce law law.” (More connected that successful a moment.)

One of his opponents, Republican Rep. Chip Roy — co-founder of nan “Sharia-Free America Caucus” — has called for amending nan Texas Constitution to protect nan state’s tender ungraded from Islamification by “radical Marxists.”

In nan fierce GOP title for U.S. Senate, incumbent John Cornyn — facing a perchance career-ending challenge from authorities Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton — has aired 1 TV spot accusing his chap Republican of being “soft connected extremist Islam” and different describing extremist Islam “as a bloodthirsty ideology.”

Paxton countered by calling Cornyn’s assertions a hopeless onslaught “that can’t erase nan truth that he helped extremist Islamic Afghans invade Texas,” a reference to a visa programme that allowed group who helped U.S. forces — successful different words friends and friends — to travel to America aft being cautiously screened.

There hasn’t been specified a concentrated, sulfurous governmental battle connected Muslims since nan angst-ridden days pursuing the Sept. 11 attacks.

In conscionable nan latest instance, Democrats are calling for nan censure of Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine aft he wrote Sunday connected X: “If they unit america to choose, nan prime betwixt dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” He’s since doubled down by posting respective images of dogs pinch nan words “Don’t tread connected me.”

In Texas, nan venom starts astatine nan apical pinch Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who’s waltzing toward reelection to an unprecedented 4th term.

In November, Abbott issued an executive order designating nan Muslim Brotherhood and nan Council connected American-Islamic Relations — nan latter a salient civilian authorities group — arsenic violent organizations.

Not to beryllium out-demagogued, Bo French, a campaigner for Texas Railroad Commission, called connected President Trump to information up and deport each Muslim successful America. (French, nan erstwhile Tarrant County GOP chair, gained notoriety past twelvemonth for posting an online canvass asking, “Who is simply a bigger threat to America?” The choice: Jews aliases Muslims.)

Much of nan Republican hysteria has focused connected a projected existent property improvement successful a corn- and hayfield 40 miles eastbound of Dallas.

The master-planned organization of astir 1,000 homes, known arsenic EPIC City, was initiated by nan East Plano Islamic Center to service arsenic a Muslim-centered organization for nan region’s increasing number of worshipers. (Of course, anyone could take to unrecorded there, sloppy of their belief faith.)

Paxton said he would analyse nan projected improvement arsenic a “potentially forbidden ‘Sharia City.’ ” The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development past week jumped successful pinch its ain investigation — a move Abbott hailed — aft nan Justice Department softly closed a probe into nan project, saying developers agreed to abide by national adjacent lodging laws. That investigation came astatine nan behest of Cornyn.

The rampant resurgence of anti-Muslim sentiment hardly seems coincidental.

For years, Republicans capitalized connected nan issues of forbidden immigration and lax enforcement on nan U.S. -Mexico border. With forbidden crossings slowed to a trickle nether Trump, “Republicans can’t tally connected nan separator rumor nan measurement [they] person successful nan past,” said Jim Henson, head of nan Texas Politics Project astatine nan University of Texas astatine Austin.

What’s more, cracking down connected migration nary longer brings together Republicans nan measurement it erstwhile did.

General support for Trump’s get-tough policies surpasses 80% among Texas Republicans, said Henson, who’s spent astir 2 decades sampling nationalist sentiment successful nan state. But support falls dramatically, into astir nan high-40s to mid-50s, erstwhile it comes to specifics specified arsenic arresting group astatine church, aliases seizing them erstwhile they make required tribunal appearances.

“Republicans request to find thing other that taps into those cultural-identity issues” and unifies and animates nan GOP base, said Henson.

In short, nan fearmongers request a caller scapegoat.

Muslims are astir 2% of nan big organization successful Texas, according to nan Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study, completed successful 2024. That useful retired to estimates ranging from 300,000 to 500,000 residents successful a authorities of astir 32 cardinal residents.

Not a immense number.

But capable for heedless politicians hell-bent connected getting themselves elected, moreover if it intends tearing down a full group of group successful nan process.