Texas Senate runoff sees surge of anti-Muslim rhetoric in campaign ads

Texas Muslim communities have been targeted repeatedly by campaign ads and legal challenges during US Senate runoff politics involving John Cornyn and Ken Paxton. Both candidates have tried to portray the other as too lenient toward Islam or insufficiently aggressive toward Muslim institutions. Shehla Faizi said anti-Islam messaging is used to frighten voters and force support. Experts and advocates reported that this year’s anti-Islam attacks reached a peak, supported by data. Paxton and allied groups ran ads accusing Cornyn of supporting Muslim mass immigration and having sympathy for radical Islam. Cornyn emphasized his record against radical Islamic extremism and drafted a bill to stop the spread of Sharia law in the US. Texas Muslims said Republican politicians are inflaming anti-Muslim bigotry and warned that hate and misinformation increase division, hate crimes, and attacks.

"Both candidates have tried to portray the other as either too soft on the supposed threat of Islam or insufficiently aggressive toward Muslim institutions. Every time it's an election year, this is one of the favorite cards that the GOP plays to get votes, said Shehla Faizi, a Texas Muslim running for state comptroller as a member of the Green party. We have a boogeyman, the boogeyman are Muslims, and we're going to use that to make people afraid and force them to vote for us."

"Yet the many experts and advocates interviewed for this story all agreed that the frequency and vitriol of this year's anti-Islam attacks seems to have reached a fever pitch an observation backed up by data. Specifically, Paxton and Paxton-allied groups ran ads accusing Cornyn of supporting Muslim mass immigration and having a special place in his heart for radical Islam. Cornyn, meanwhile, has responded by emphasizing his record fighting radical Islamic extremism and drafting a bill aimed at [stopping] the spread of Sharia Law in the U.S."

"Even though the Senate campaign will come to an end with the 26 May election, Texas Muslims say Republican politicians are fanning the flames of anti-Muslim bigotry that's already been at the center of many racist incidents in Texas. [Politicians] took an oath as an elected official to do the right thing, and the future of our state and our country depends upon it, said Sameeha Rizvi, a Texas-based civic engagement coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. What you are doing right now by instilling hate and fear and misinformation is only going to create more division, more hate crimes and more attacks like what we saw in San Diego."

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