Republicans are elevating anti-Muslim rhetoric as a key part of their midterm pitch, prompting sharp rebuke from Democrats and political observers.
The attacks ramped up at Republicans’ first-ever midterm convention in Dallas this past week, where a host of top GOP figures called out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, two of the country’s most prominent Muslim American Democrats.
But Raqib Naik, the executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), said the rhetoric “legitimizes” prejudice and hate against Muslim communities.
An August CSOH analysis found that El-Sayed’s win in the Michigan Senate primary produced a “concentrated wave” of anti-Muslim sentiments online after observing a similar pattern last year, when Mamdani became the Big Apple’s first Muslim mayor.
There are roughly 5.5 million Muslims in the U.S., according to Pew Research analysis, up from 2.4 million in 2007 — about 1.6 percent of the total population.