Texas Republicans are using anti-Muslim rhetoric in their campaigns

TEXAS — Targeting Islam and stopping what many conservatives call the “Islamification” of Texas is an increasingly popular campaign promise. Islam is a faith practiced by over 300,000 Muslims in Texas. 

“There are a variety of Islamist movements operating across Texas,” said Samuel Westrop, the director of the Islamist Watch project at the Middle East Forum.

The national conservative think tank Middle East Forum is dedicated to defeating what it calls radical Islam, a claim that people within the faith want to impose their own religious law on secular society. Westrop wants to see politicians distinguishing between people whose interpretation of Islam threatens others and those who peacefully practice the religion.

There is still a dangerous impact on the Muslim community, according to Sameeha Rizvi, a policy and advocacy coordinator for the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. In November, Gov. Greg Abbott designated CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization.

“At this point, Islam, extremists, etc., have been conflated with one another. And then also on top of that, they’re attacking civil rights groups like CAIR and using terrorist imagery to depict us when we’ve only denounced terrorism,” said Rizvi.

In his bid for reelection, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, ran an ad outlining his opposition to CAIR.

“I’m fighting to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,” said Cornyn.

And when an ad from a PAC on behalf of Cornyn called Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, his top opponent, “weird,” Paxton called out Cornyn for his support of “radical Islamic Afghans.”

Candidates in the race to replace Paxton as Texas attorney general are using similar rhetoric. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, said he would use the office to defend Texas from “Islamist extremist networks.”

“This is a coordinated political effort to Islamify Texas and you gotta say it,” said Roy.

Westrop describes the scrutiny of the religion as protecting taxpayers from funding something that could cause them harm.

“Really working to limit the influence and effect of Islamist groups and certainly making sure that public monies doesn’t subsidize their extremism,” he said.

According to the Pew Research Center, 42% of Muslim U.S. voters identify with the Republican Party. Rizvi says the anti-Muslim rhetoric could isolate Muslims from the right.

“When you end up as a party, smearing your neighbors because of their religion, it betrays not only your values as a party but also the values of what it means to be a Texan,” said Rizvi.

The impact that faith-targeted ads will have on Republican voters could be clear after the primary elections on March 3.