(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/18/2026) – The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), America’s umbrella group of Muslim associations, today extended its condolences and prayers to the entire community at the Islamic Center of San Diego, including the families of the three victims killed by two gunmen in a hate crime earlier today.
USCMO praised the mosque’s security guard, Amin Abdullah, as a martyred hero for sacrificing his life to protect the worshipers and school children inside from the shooters.
USCMO also strongly condemned the attack, as well as the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric that endangers the American Muslim community by priming people to commit acts of hate.
Over the past few years, elected officials resurrected an anti-Muslim campaign, leading to the introduction of at least eight bills targeting American Muslims and the establishment of a 62-member anti-Muslim congressional caucus in just thirteen months, according to the Manufacturing the Muslim Threat report, released on April 21.
Many of these posts “satisfy all five criteria of the Dangerous Speech Project’s framework for speech likely to inspire violence,” according to the report.
USCMO Secretary General Oussama Jammal said in a statement:
“We denounce this horrific terror attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, a widely respected and beloved house of worship that has contributed to its neighbors and community for decades. We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this attack, and we pray that God grants them the highest rank of Paradise. To Allah we belong, and to Allah we return.
“Thanks to the heroic efforts of Amin Abdullah, the Islamic Center of San Diego security guard who gave his life to protect the worshippers, staff, and children in the center during the terror assault, an untold number of people were saved by the grace of God.
“We thank local law enforcement and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria for the massive police presence securing the area and protecting the Muslim community. We ALSO recognize Mayor Gloria for stating unequivocally that ‘no one in the city should live in fear because of their faith’ and that “hate has no home in San Diego, Islamophobia has no home in San Diego.”
“No religious community in America should ever suffer from violent hate and bigotry. The politicians and media personalities who have spent years either downplaying anti-Muslim hate or actively fomenting anti-Muslim hate to marginalize American Muslims or silence American Muslims advocating for justice must stop. Now. Islamophobia must no longer be considered an acceptable form of hate, but a bigotry just as condemned as racism and antisemitism.
“We pray for those slain by hate and terror today, and we ask God for His protection of the American Muslim community and all communities from the violence that such bigoted political and public hatemongering brings. Words have consequences.”
In March, the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) documented a “growing pattern of discrimination against American Muslims by public officials,” noting that 2025 had recorded a record rise in anti-Muslim discrimination.
The key findings of the recent Manufacturing the Muslim Threat report included:
- The hate campaign originated with a single post by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on February 24, 2025, amplifying a claim by anti-Muslim provocateur Amy Mek that a Muslim housing development near Dallas was a “Sharia city.” Within thirteen months, it grew into a coordinated movement spanning social media, legislation, and a formal congressional caucus.
- Some 46 Republican elected officials published 1,111 posts targeting Muslim Americans with bigotry and conspiracy theories between February 2025 and March 2026. Monthly volume increased by 1,450 percent over the study period.
- Five members of Congress produced 73 percent of all posts. Rep. Randy Fine alone accounted for 29 percent.
- Texas and Florida-based officials produced 71 percent of all posts.
- The “Sharia” conspiracy appeared in 48 percent 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.
- Nearly a third of all posts (322) framed Muslims through the lens of terrorism and national security. 64 called explicitly for the deportation or denaturalization of Muslims. 63 used dehumanizing language, labeling Islam and Muslims as “demons,” a “death cult,” a “cancer,” and a “plague.”
- Eight bills referencing Sharia were introduced across both chambers of Congress between June 2025 and March 2026, sponsored or co-sponsored by 48 Republican lawmakers. A tightly coordinated core of four Republican members of Congress drove the legislative effort – Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), and Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX),.
- The Sharia-Free America Caucus, launched in December 2025, grew to 62 members within four months.
- In total, 89 Republican elected officials participated in at least one track of the campaign: social media, legislation, or caucus membership.
- The posts satisfy all five criteria of the Dangerous Speech Project’s framework for speech likely to inspire violence.
In addition to Texas Gov. Abbot, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) also worked to drive this dangerous Islamophobic agenda against American Muslims.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, at Turning Point USA’s December 2025 AmericaFest, made the outrageous allegations that American Muslims use “laws or violence” to promote “Islamic principles” throughout the United States.
Comic commentator Bill Maher has for decades vilified Islam and Muslims and runs a bald-faced defense of extremist Rep. Randy Fine, denying that Fine called for the use of nuclear weapons against Gaza.
This bigotry must stop!
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