Manufacturing Anti-Muslim Hate

On April 21st, 2026, the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) released a new report shining a light on the resurgence of anti-Muslim bigotry among federal officials in 2025. In their report, they note that official Republican social media accounts have published more than 1,100 posts fueling anti-Muslim sentiment in a span of 13 months, from February 2025 to March 2026.

For context, one of the most pernicious anti-Muslim conspiracy theories has to do with Sharia law. As our colleagues at the Shoulder to Shoulder campaign explain, in Arabic, the word “Sharia,” means “path” or “way”, and it refers to the broad tradition of teachings about how Muslims should live out their Islamic commitments. However, for decades, anti-Muslim groups have spread conspiracies about Sharia law and argued that it poses a threat to the American judicial system with little to no evidence. In reality, these groups have used these conspiracies as a pretext to dramatically curtail Muslims of their rights.

The authors of the CSOH report note a few key findings. First, they document that the hate campaign began with a social media post by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on February 24, 2025, stirring up opposition to a Muslim housing development near Dallas by calling it a “Sharia city.” Second, they note that the 1,111 social media posts targeting Muslim Americans with bigotry and conspiracy theories were posted by 46 elected officials. Of those forty-six, 5 members of Congress accounted for 73% of all posts, including U.S. Rep. Randy Fine (FL-06), who accounts for 29% of the posts alone. The conspiracy around Sharia law has key parallels with the Great Replacement Theory and its imagined idea that minority groups secretly plot to invade the majority and assume power and control. The authors of the report stress that stoking these anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and engaging in this rhetoric has a strong likelihood of leading to violence.

Finally, the report notes that these efforts culminated in the creation of the “Sharia Free America Caucus” in the U.S. Congress, which launched in December 2025. In just 4 months, 62 members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives joined the caucus. These disturbing findings mark a track record of elected officials using their platforms to engage in anti-Muslim bigotry and to incite violence.

As Interfaith Alliance has repeatedly noted, anti-Muslim bigotry is a threat to the promise of religious freedom for all people. When Muslim candidates and faith leaders are harassed and attacked, it’s critical for people of diverse faiths and beliefs to stand in solidarity and to reject the normalization of that rhetoric and behavior.

That is why we were proud to co-organize an action last month with our colleagues at the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign to protest against the normalization of anti-Muslim bigotry among members of Congress and to confront U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson directly. As defenders of religious freedom, we are also calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to formally censure Congressman Randy Fine and strip him of all committee assignments for his grotesque anti-Muslim bigotry. We are grateful for the work of our affiliates to address these issues at a state and local level as well. The leaders of our Chicago affiliate, Rev. Anna Piela and Rev. Michael Woolf, published a book entitled, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church, and they hosted a Faith Over Fear workshop with our partners at the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign to learn how Christians can challenge anti-Muslim bigotry.

The findings from this report are startling, but they are no surprise. They build on a long history of reporting on the intricate networks that fuel anti-Muslim racism and undermine the promise of religious freedom for all. Together, we will continue to resist the normalization of anti-Muslim bigotry, to stand in solidarity with our Muslim neighbors, and to build a country where all people can live and thrive.  

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Zev Mishell is the Senior Programs Strategist at Interfaith Alliance.

The views and beliefs expressed in this post and all Interfaith Alliance blogs are those held by the author of each respective piece. To learn more about the organizational views, policies, and positions of Interfaith Alliance on any issues, please contact [email protected].