One year ago, I wrote about how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott amplified a racist, Islamophobic tweet to further a conspiracy theory about a North Texas Muslim community. The conspiracy was that the planned community, EPIC City, was going to enact Sharia Law and circumvent state and federal laws.
The nonprofit think tank Center for the Study of Organized Hate, recently released a reportthat tracks how that initial conspiracy-laden tweet set off a cascade of anti-Muslim hate speech. Specifically, they found that 46 Republican elected officials have over the last nine months collectively published more than 1,100 Islamophobic posts on official media accounts. The report notes:
The “Sharia” conspiracy appeared in 48% of posts, serving as the campaign’s master frame. The language of “invasion,” “conquest,” and “Islamification” mirrors the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, recasting Muslims as a population threat engaged in deliberate civilizational conquest.
Recently, the Republican hate-machine led by Gov. Abbott took another swipe at Muslims in Texas.