The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today commended Democratic members of Congress who defended American Muslims and constitutional religious freedom during yesterday’s House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on “Sharia law.” CAIR also condemned Republican members and witnesses for promoting anti-Muslim fearmongering and dangerous smear tactics amid rising anti-Muslim hate incidents nationwide.
Ahead of the hearing, CAIR submitted a formal statement and briefing materials to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, rebutting anti-Muslim conspiracy theories promoted by the hearing and warning that the proceedings risk legitimizing discrimination against American Muslims. CAIR’s submission argued that the hearing recycled long-debunked “Sharia hoax” narratives portraying ordinary Muslim religious practices and civic participation as inherently threatening.
CLICK HERE: READ CAIR’S SUBMITTED HEARING STATEMENT
CAIR said yesterday’s Republican-led hearing hysterically and falsely portrayed ordinary American Muslim religious life – including mosques, Muslim schools, halal food, prayer accommodations, Qurans, Muslim charities, Muslim civic organizations, immigration, and community institutions – as somehow evidence of a supposed civilizational threat to the United States.
Rather than presenting evidence that Muslims are attempting to replace American law or overthrow the Constitution, CAIR notes Republican members and witnesses repeatedly framed visible Muslim participation in American public life itself as inherently suspicious. Throughout the hearing, Muslim community institutions were described as “beach heads,” Muslim students and schools were portrayed as ideological threats, and ordinary religious accommodations were treated as evidence of infiltration and extremism.
CAIR previously designated the so-called “Sharia-Free America Caucus” organizing the hearing as an anti-Muslim hate group after multiple caucus members publicly called for banning the practice of Islam, expelling Muslims from the United States, or targeting mainstream Muslim organizations and communities.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“This hearing was not a serious constitutional discussion. It was a spectacle built around anti-Muslim conspiracy theories that treated ordinary Muslim life in America as inherently suspicious.
“Democratic members repeatedly made the devastatingly simple point that far too many Republican members of this committee were willing to demonize Muslim Americans for political attention during an election cycle.
“We thank Subcommittee Ranking Member Mary Gay Scanlon, Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, and Representatives Pramila Jayapal, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who forcefully defended the Constitution, religious freedom, and the humanity of the American Muslim community during today’s hearing.
“When halal meals, Qurans in libraries, prayer accommodations, Muslim charities, mosques, student groups, and Muslim community development projects are portrayed as evidence of extremism, this stops being about security and becomes an attack on the legitimacy of Muslims existing visibly in American public life.”
Key Quotes from Democratic Members and Constitutional Advocates Defending Muslim Americans
Subcommittee Ranking Member Mary Gay Scanlon
WATCH: Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA) Exposes Anti-Muslim Bigotry of ‘Sharia Hoax’ Hearing
Rep. Scanlon directly accused Republicans of manufacturing anti-Muslim conspiracy theories for political gain: “they’ve made up a conspiracy theory about their Muslim neighbors in order to scare and motivate voters. But repeating lies over and over and over again doesn’t make them true, and doesn’t make unconstitutional bigotry legal.”
She further dismantled the hearing’s core premise: “they’re not producing one ounce of proof to vindicate their fear-mongering.”
Scanlon also stated: “there’s no evidence of any plot …. It’s just not happening.”
She warned about the real-world impact of anti-Muslim rhetoric: “Words matter and stirring up hatred and bigotry. When that happens, real people are put at risk. Hate crimes against Muslims in particular have increased.”
And affirmed the constitutional place of Muslims in America: “Muslims were intended to be included within the fabric of American life.”
Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin
Rep. Raskin mocked the repeated hearings as political theater: “I can’t believe that the cupboard of Republican ideas is so barren now that in order to distract America from Donald Trump’s illegal, unconstitutional, ruinous war and his ruinous, illegal, unconstitutional tariffs and the spiraling price of gasoline and the unlivable economy he’s created that we have to go back and have this exact same hearing over and over again.”
He rejected claims that Muslims are trying to impose Sharia law through Congress: “We have 535 members of Congress and only four of them are Muslim, which makes it extremely unlikely…. and what is reassuring is I actually know some of these Muslim Americans who happen to be in Congress and they’re all civil libertarians who stand up for the Constitution.”
Raskin then defended the First Amendment: “The whole point of our First Amendment is that people can go believe whatever they want. The government’s not going to dictate to you what your religious worship and practice are going to be. The government is out of it.”
He further warned: “The real threat to our Constitution comes not from adherence of a particular religion, but from turning our backs on the Constitution and the First Amendment.”
And condemned attempts to turn Americans against one another based on religion: “Our freedoms are not under siege by a religious minority trying to build a community center, but they are undermined by lawmakers who would want to turn Americans against each other on a religious basis.”
Raskin also rejected collective blame against Muslims: “you wouldn’t blame all Christians for what [Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh] did any more than you should blame all Muslims or all Jews or all members of any religious faith because of what one person or one crazed fanatic group does in their name.”
Following the hearing, CAIR’s Maryland office welcomed Rep. Raskin’s forceful defense of the Constitution and religious freedom.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal
Rep. Jayapal condemned the broader anti-Muslim framing of the”… it is bizarre to me to listen to this hearing. Honestly, now we’ve [Republicans and Republican witnesses have] suddenly made all mosques the beach-head of terrorism across the country. This is a very important religion around the world and certainly here in the United States. Islam is a very important religion.”
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Rep. Kamlager-Dove denounced the hearing as election-season anti-Muslim fearmongering: “That’s right, it is election season, which means Republicans turn up the fear-mongering to level 10 and easy targets are members of our Muslim community. And this hearing allows my Republican colleagues to legitimize their religious bigotry.”
And added: “I am talking to my constituents every day. No one has brought up Sharia law. It is not a pressing issue, but it is a manufactured crisis.”
Democratic Witness Amanda Tyler, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty Executive Director Amanda Tyler strongly defended constitutional protections for Muslims and all Americans: “Targeting individuals and groups based on religion violates our country’s constitutional commitment to religious freedom for all.”
She warned that current political efforts targeting Muslims fuel fear and discrimination: “We have seen government initiatives that manufacture an imaginary threat of Sharia as a way of sewing anti-Muslim fear in the past.”
Tyler also condemned the use of broad stereotypes and accusations against Muslims: “When the government itself targets religious groups with broad generalizations and baseless accusations, it only adds to the culture of discrimination that already harms Muslim families and children. It models bullying rather than respect.”
Tyler additionally warned that legislation and hearings singling out Islam undermine constitutional protections: “Even proposed legislation targeting a particular religion can undercut our fundamental religious freedom by perpetuating harmful stereotypes and misinformation about Islam and Muslims.”
She also clarified the actual meaning of Sharia during the hearing: “Sharia… refers to the religious principles that guide Muslims in their beliefs and actions.”
And Tyler closed by condemning political fearmongering around Muslims and religion: “Rather than fear-mongering and distorting religion for perceived political gain, our country’s leaders should be actively working to make the constitutional promise of full belonging without regard to religion a reality for all.”
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CAIR will continue opposing anti-Muslim bigotry in Congress and challenging efforts to stigmatize Muslim civic engagement and participation in American public life.
The organization also warned about reports that Senator Ted Cruz is preparing another Senate Judiciary Committee hearing next week reportedly targeting American Muslim organizations and Muslim civic engagement activities. CAIR warned that continued congressional hearings promoting anti-Muslim conspiracy theories risk further legitimizing discrimination, harassment, and threats against Muslim communities nationwide at a time of rising anti-Muslim hate incidents.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com