WASHINGTON, United States: Republican leaders in the US Congress are facing mounting pressure to respond to anti-Muslim rhetoric after a series of inflammatory remarks and policy proposals reignited debate over Islamophobia in American politics.
The latest controversy was sparked by statements from House Republicans including Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Randy Fine of Florida that critics say cross the line from security concerns into hostility toward Muslims as a religious group.
The rhetoric has been emboldened by Donald Trump, say his opponents, pointing to the president’s first-term restrictions on entry from several Muslim-majority countries — a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban.”
Civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers argue the move — along with Trump’s past sharing of anti-Muslim propaganda on social media — helped normalize harsher rhetoric about Islam in American politics.
Ogles triggered the latest uproar on Monday when he posted on social media that “Muslims don’t belong in American society,” adding that “pluralism is a lie.”
