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The Danger of Islamophobia in Public Rhetoric: A Response to Senator Tommy Tuberville’s Bigoted Statements

Senator Tuberville,I am an American Muslim and a service-connected disabled U.S. military combat veteran. I write to categorically denounce remarks attributed to you that have been widely reported as questioning…

Senator Tuberville,
I am an American Muslim and a service-connected disabled U.S. military combat veteran. I write to categorically denounce remarks attributed to you that have been widely reported as questioning whether Islam constitutes a religion and as suggesting the removal of Muslims from the United States. Such rhetoric, as reported in multiple media outlets and on your official social media account (X/Twitter), is deeply concerning and stands in direct tension with constitutional principles and long-standing American values.

Islam has been part of American history since before the nation’s founding. Scholarly estimates indicate that between 10% and 30% of Africans forcibly brought to the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade were Muslim, many originating from West Africa, where Islamic scholarship and literacy were well established (Diouf, 2000; Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2025; Harvard Pluralism Project, 2016). Numerous enslaved Muslims were coerced into conversion, effectively erasing religious identities that predated the United States itself.

Muslims also fought alongside colonists in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture documents multiple African Muslims appearing on Revolutionary War military muster rolls, including Bampett Muhamed, Yusuf ben Ali (Joseph Benhaley), and Joseph Saba. Other soldiers, such as Salem Poor and Peter Salem, whose names suggest Islamic heritage, also distinguished themselves in battle (Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2025).

Muslim Americans have served and sacrificed in every major U.S. conflict, including the Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and contemporary military operations (Curtis IV, 2011; Gettysburg College Civil War Archives, n.d.). Today, Muslims comprise approximately 1–1.3% of the U.S. population and are represented across medicine, engineering, science, entrepreneurship, emergency response, and the armed forces (Pew Research Center, 2017). Their service has included combat operations, intelligence roles, medical care, and cultural advising—often under extraordinary risk (Sandhoff, 2022).

Several years ago, you also publicly questioned the seriousness of white nationalist ideology, suggesting in interviews that individuals labeled as “white nationalists” are merely “Americans,” while simultaneously criticizing efforts to confront extremism within the armed forces (Fox8Live, 2023). These statements prompted bipartisan criticism for minimizing the explicitly racist foundations of white nationalism. Proposals to exclude or expel U.S. citizens on the basis of religion or race constitute collective punishment, conflict with constitutional protections, and echo rhetoric historically employed by authoritarian regimes.

Empirical research on mass shootings in the United States consistently finds that perpetrators are overwhelmingly male. Analyses of public mass-shooting datasets further indicate that, in many cases, perpetrators are white, although definitions, inclusion criteria, and datasets vary across studies (National Institute of Justice, 2025; Schildkraut et al., 2025). According to the Gun Violence Archive, 2025, approximately 392 mass shootings have occurred in the United States so far this year, resulting in hundreds of deaths and countless injuries.

Comprehensive data on perpetrators’ religious affiliation remains limited. However, in instances where religious identification has been reported, some perpetrators have been identified as Christian—reflecting broader U.S. population demographics rather than establishing any causal relationship between religious identity and acts of violence (Tukachinsky et al., 2025). These findings underscore the importance of evidence-based public discourse and caution against drawing generalized conclusions about any religious or ethnic group.

Notably, public and political discourse has not included widespread or systematic calls to collectively expel or stigmatize white Christian Americans in response to this violence, highlighting an inconsistency in how collective blame is applied across different communities.

Alabama’s history of racial injustice should serve as a reminder to its political leadership of the enduring consequences of dehumanization. Rhetoric attributed to you—along with similar rhetoric from other public officials, including Florida Congressman Randy Fine and New York Councilwoman Vickie Paladino—reflects exclusionary frameworks historically used to justify slavery, racial segregation, the internment of Japanese Americans, and the climate of fear during the McCarthy era. Civil rights organizations, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have publicly condemned such rhetoric as contributing to anti-Muslim extremism.

Public campaign-finance records show that Senator Tommy Tuberville has received roughly $47,000 in contributions associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and affiliated pro-Israel political action committees (TrackAIPAC, 2025). These contributions are legal and publicly disclosed. At the same time, civil rights organizations have documented how elements within the broader pro-Israel advocacy network have, in some cases, financially supported organizations that promote anti-Muslim rhetoric. For instance, in 2015, Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran (CNFI) donated $60,000 to the Center for Security Policy (CSP), a think tank widely identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for American Progress as a major promoter of Islamophobic narratives. CSP’s founder, Frank Gaffney, has been repeatedly cited for advancing conspiracy theories depicting Islam and Muslim communities as inherently dangerous (Times of Israel, 2024). These overlapping financial and ideological relationships underscore concerns raised by civil rights advocates about how political funding structures may contribute to an environment in which anti-Muslim rhetoric gains legitimacy and influence in public policy debates.

Following the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani as the first Muslim mayor of New York City, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) reacted on social media to Mamdani’s decision to use the Quran during his swearing-in ceremony by stating: “The enemy is inside the gates.” This comment was widely reported as a response to coverage of the historic inauguration ([Mediaite][1]; [Fortune][2]).

Mamdani’s oath—taken on the Quran—was a symbolic and constitutionally protected act, reflecting the religious freedom guaranteed to all public officials ([Bridge Initiative][3]). However, Tuberville’s framing of the event as a threat was broadly criticized and reported as rooted in anti-Muslim sentiment ([AOL][4]).

The U.S. Constitution explicitly protects such religious expression. The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion, and Article VI, Clause 3 prohibits any religious test for public office. Together, these provisions affirm that elected officials may choose any religious text—or none at all—when taking an oath, and that disparaging this choice undermines foundational constitutional principles ([Inquirer.com][5]).

Tuberville’s remarks therefore raise serious concerns about the normalization of Islamophobic rhetoric in public office. Characterizing a Muslim official exercising constitutional rights as an “enemy” contradicts American commitments to religious freedom, equality under the law, and non-discrimination, and warrants accountability through ethical review and public reaffirmation of constitutional norms.

Recommendations

  1. Senator Tuberville should be held accountable by his Senate colleagues and leadership for promoting divisive and discriminatory rhetoric.
  2. Official ethics or Senate standards reviews should consider whether his language violates norms against hate speech and undermines public trust in democratic institutions.
  3. Political leaders, including from Tuberville’s own party, should publicly reaffirm constitutional protections and reject rhetoric that paints Americans of a particular faith as “enemies.”
  4. Alabama faces substantial domestic challenges that warrant sustained legislative attention:

Combating antisemitism by promoting or tolerating Islamophobia is neither effective nor ethical. Once normalized, hatred rarely remains confined to a single community. As a disabled U.S. military combat veteran, I reject attempts to redefine patriotism as exclusion. Minorities, immigrants, and all who value equal protection under the law should be deeply concerned by rhetoric that marginalizes entire communities—whether in Alabama or in the United States Senate.

This is not patriotism.
It is disgraceful.

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