Islamophobia takes center stage

At the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas, speakers warned that leftists and "Islamists" were joining forces against the country.

Cruz's red-green alliance

Sen. Ted Cruz told the crowd that communists and Islamists were taking over the Democratic Party because they share the same enemies.

“We are witnessing a new and dangerous red-green alliance.”

Rogers invokes 9/11

Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers tried to tie his opponent Abdul El-Sayed to the 9/11 attacks by pointing to his campaigning with Hasan Piker.

“Together, they attack America. They excuse extremism.”

Lawmakers say it outright

Rep. Andy Ogles said Muslims don't belong in American society. Rep. Chip Roy said "No more Muslims." Indiana's lieutenant governor called Islam a death cult.

“we need more Islamophobia, not less.”

Prominent Muslims as targets

El-Sayed, Piker, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have all faced anti-Muslim attacks by name.

Rhetoric turns into policy

A House "Sharia Free America Caucus" has dozens of Republican members. Texas put a sharia ban in its party platform, and Gov. Abbott wants airport washing facilities probed.

Outspoken Muslim politicians aren't new

Ilhan Omar won a state House seat in 2016 and Rashida Tlaib reached Congress in 2018. Both were Muslim and openly critical of US foreign policy.

October 7 changed the tone

Republicans began calling the war a religious war. Rozina Ali notes that even the Bush administration avoided that framing after 9/11.

“we're in a religious war”

A generation that won't stay quiet

After 9/11, Muslims who criticized US policy were sidelined or watched. Today's younger leaders, like El-Sayed and Mamdani, speak up loudly.

Linking wars abroad to bills at home

These politicians tie foreign policy to inequality, rising costs and inflation at home. Ali says their refusal to apologize is what drives the backlash.

The failed wars opened the door

The war on terror once had support from both parties and the press. Then came losses in Iraq and Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and mass NSA surveillance.

A country that distrusts itself

Americans now deeply distrust their institutions, so any politician, Muslim or not, can criticize the government without paying much of a price.

“we actually have a society that has deep, profound distrust of its institutions.”

The GOP's loyalty test

At the convention, JD Vance framed politics around who loves the country. Ali sees a gap between that message and how the public actually feels.

“America belongs to those who love it, not those who hate it.”

Who is allowed to criticize

Vance has sharply criticized America's wars himself. Asked whether you can criticize the country if you look like Vance but not like Mamdani, Ali says yes.

Democrats set conditions too

At the 2016 DNC, Bill Clinton made Muslim acceptance depend on loyalty. Ali calls it absurd, given how much there was to criticize about the war on terror.

“If you're a Muslim and you love America and freedom and you hate terror, stay here and help us win”

One label for every opponent

Republicans are lumping Muslims, leftists, immigrants and people who look different into one enemy. Ali warns this creates a cultural, religious and racial divide.

“It's really creating this cultural, religious, racial divide, which is quite frightening.”

Testing whether hate wins votes

Anti-Muslim attacks tend to flare up in election season. The GOP tried them against Mamdani and failed, and is now testing them again in Michigan.

The part that could last

Texas is working to define Islam as a political ideology rather than a religion, to ban sharia and to block visible signs of Islam. If that works locally, it could go national.

El-Sayed, the all-American candidate

He's a married father of two, a high achiever and a former athlete. Still, his faith is the first line of attack whenever he criticizes US policy.

The Kennedy precedent

JFK's Catholic faith was once a constant issue, and now few people remember it. Ali thinks Muslims could get there, but only after decades and pushback from leaders at the top.

“I think we might, in decades' time.”