Republicans in Texas and Florida are leading efforts to target Muslim advocacy organizations in what civil rights advocates say is a coordinated effort to present Islam as a “national security threat.”
According to advocates, these politicians — including state and federal lawmakers as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) — have sought to restrict funding to Muslim organizations, particularly in the wake of the Israel-Gaza conflict, by tying them to terrorist groups.
Spike in online hate, violent threats
Several experts have maintained that recent rhetoric and legal actions have fueled a rise in online hate against Muslim individuals and organizations.
“Part of the problem here is that the tolerance for this kind of rhetoric has become normalized,” said Raqib Hameed Naik, the executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.