By Farrah Hassen
The journey of my prayer rug reflects my own as a Muslim American. It has seen a lot, and despite its fraying fringes, remains resilient as ever.
Praying five times each day is one of the pillars of Islam. Each prayer includes recitations from the Qur’an.
My blue and gold prayer rug was a childhood gift from my late maternal grandmother, or nana as we called her, who brought it from Saudi Arabia. I still remember praying by her side. She taught me to read the Qur’an and would lovingly correct my Arabic.
Wherever I’ve been, I’ve prayed on that same rug. In a world that often leaves me feeling unmoored, my faith anchors me. It’s a sentiment so many Muslims and other people of faith in this country share.
The right to freely practice my religion is enshrined in our Constitution under the First Amendment. It protects this right for all people to practice any faith, or none at all, and prohibits our government from establishing an official religion.
You would think members of Congress, who swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution, would know this. Yet many continue to attack the faith of millions of Muslim Americans, including their own constituents.
Some have invoked “sharia” — which refers to the various rules Muslims follow, like prayer guidance — to preposterously claim that Muslims are trying to “replace” the Constitution. Islamic learning institutions — like the summer school where I first learned the Arabic alphabet in my youth — are a growing target.
When the Islamic Academy in Alabama tried to relocate from the Birmingham suburb of Homewood to a larger building in nearby Hoover, a local Islamophobic campaign ensued, resulting in Hoover city officials voting against the relocation late last year. In response, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said, “Islamic Indoctrination Centers have NO PLACE in our state.”
Would Tuberville have denigrated Catholic schools, Protestant youth groups, or Jewish summer camps this way?
Unfortunately, Tuberville is hardly alone. Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) recently compared Muslims to dogs and has labeled Muslim officials like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani “terrorists.”
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) declared this March that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” That’s not only hateful but ignorant. Among the first Muslims in the U.S. were enslaved West Africans who helped build this country. Despite significant obstacles, many preserved their Islamic faith and were guided by it in their struggle for liberation.
Since then, Fine and Ogles have only doubled down on their bigotry. In a March post on X, Fine wrote “We need more Islamophobia, not less,” while Ogles said Muslims “all have to go back.” Virtually no high profile Republicans have condemned this hateful rhetoric.
This racist fearmongering is a tried and true tactic — a cheap deflection from these leaders’ own failure to respond to their constituents’ actual needs, like affordable housing, health care, and groceries.
But it’s also more than that. The more Muslims are dehumanized, the easier it is for politicians to justify their endless, costly, and immoral wars on Muslim-majority countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iran, and the genocide in Gaza. Like clockwork, each new bombing abroad fuels more anti-Muslim racism and violence against my community at home.
Already, Islamophobic social media posts have proliferated since the war on Iran began. The NYPD recently foiled an assassination attempt against Muslim and Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani. And according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, anti-Muslim discrimination complaints in the U.S. have reached record highs.
Muslims don’t need to defend our existence. It’s the racists and religious bigots who don’t belong in Congress — or anywhere in a free society.
But while hateful politicians spew division, I see more people in this country refusing to do the same. Instead, multi-faith coalitions are uniting around real threats: war, billionaires controlling our economy, the climate emergency, and the alarming erosion of the constitutional rights we hold so dear, including the freedom of religion.
Farrah Hassen, J.D., is a writer, policy analyst, and adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at Cal Poly Pomona. Born in the United Arab Emirates, raised in the United States, Farrah holds a Master’s in International Affairs from American University’s School of International Service, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2007.
Mark says
This guy is nothing but a POS. Worthless to comment more about him.
Laurel says
“This guy” is a woman. You show just how much you pay attention, and your inability to see and learn.
Mark says
I would think the Mark above is referring to Randy Not So Fine.
Laurel says
Thanks for the correction.
Sherry says
@ mark. . . Just to be clear, are you talking about “Fine” or the author “Farrah”?
Engin RuslPostur says
As a American Jew, Randy Fine is especially embarrassing to me. He should know better than to make moronic statements like he did in the article and is clearly incompetent for his position. Bad people do bad things and that is NOT a function of their religious beliefs. If there is any kind of person that doesn’t belong in the USA, then it is bigots and fools who believe it is. Randy Fine is a representative of that vile class. Seems like Randy and the “ Fake Patriots” that support his vile viewpoint have forgotten that the USA was founded on the principle of religious freedom and our constitution specifically provides for that.
YankeeExPat says
He is no Ben-Gurion, thats for certain.
R.S. says
But then, Ben-Gurion et al. were responsible for or tolerant of the massacre of Deir Yassin. Fine is an incarnation of Meir Kahane–as are Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, and Mileikowski/Netanyahu.
Jim says
Randy Fine has shown himself to be a racist who is completely filled with hate. If he has any redeeming qualities, he keeps them well hidden.
As congressman for this district, he has done absolutely nothing for the people of this district. He doesn’t even live in this district.
The only reason he got elected is because Trump endorsed him. Sadly, in this district, that’s all it took to get Republican voters to vote for someone who barely campaigned and just took the seat for granted. And since being elected, he’s continued to basically ignore his constituents.
On Feb. 20, he introduced the Protecting Puppies from Sharia Act. While I’m sure the MAGA crowd thinks that’s important and vital to the continued safety of America (not to mention puppies), as with Trump and Vance’s claim that (in Ohio) “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,”. Oddly, after the election, no further mention of dog/cat eating.
This district has a hateful clown for a congressman. I have no doubt that he will be re-elected. Not because he’s done a great job but because he taps into the culture war subjects that bring Republicans out like flies to honey.
R.S. says
I’m always surprised how little confidence Fine has in the democratic institutions. If Sharia or Cannon law were to rule the roost, there should have to be several majorities to vote for it and approve it. Fashioning laws against any of these religious rules is simply a waste of paper: if they’d command majorities, they’d be in; if they were not to command majorities, they are not. A takeover from US-fundamentalist nuts at the moment is the greatest danger that faces us. Fine is simply a Kahanist at his worst.
Greg says
All Muslims are judged by the few bad Muslims. Just like all gun owners are judged like the few nut cake gun owners. Pretty sad isn’t it? It seems like the media, and politicians, have created this beast is beast of hatred in America. It seems to get worse every year. We need Jesus to help America straighten this hatred out, but Jesus can’t be discussed because it’s prejudice to do so, as it is deemed racist by the few, who hate Jesus.
Sherry says
@ greg. . . We really don’t need to invoke Jesus, or any religious icon, in particular to show caring, kindness and acceptance for our fellow human beings. Why not just personally open our hearts and minds to empathy and compassion for others without the need for religious dogma? Joy! Peace! Love!
DaleL says
Many people, including Muslims, respect and like Jesus, as depicted in the New Testament. However, there are many “Christians”, even though he is part of their triune God, don’t seem to his teachings. Jesus is the fellow who turned water into wine at a wedding. He also drank wine and told his disciples to do the same, in remembrance of him. And yet, I cannot buy wine on Sunday morning because of Randy Fine type “Christians” in government.
These days it seems that the godless heathen liberals follow the teachings of Jesus more closely than many “Christians”.
R.S. says
There you go: here’s fundamentalism at seeking power in a theocracy in the making. Greg, just keep your fundamentalism at your church and at your family. Spare the rest of us these allusions to the returning ET.
John Stove says
Randy Fine likes to call himself the “Hebrew Hammer”…..definitely fits him because he is a such a bigoted TOOL.
Tired of it says
Fear and hate mongering are the only tools of the Republicans have. THe have no decency and humanity left.
Deborah Coffey says
“Muslims don’t need to defend our existence. It’s the racists and religious bigots who don’t belong in Congress — or anywhere in a free society.”
Truer words were never spoken. Good job, Farrah.
Richard Conner says
I enjoyed reading your article, it was elegantly composed and stayed on point!
Me says
Phony.
Sherry says
@ Me. . . just to be clear, precisely who are you calling a “Phony”? Thanks!
PaulT says
Congressmen Tuberville, Ogle and Fine are rabble rrousers who hope to keep the votes of the hordes of racist bigots who populate America’s right wing. All three gained seats in Congress through Donald Trump’s direct support, though Trump publicly urged Randy Fine to run for the Fl 06 seat after Mike Waltz resigned..
Randy Fine is a loud mouthed right wing extremist, a provocateur. His amplified anti-Islamic cants appeal to the under educated, the segment of the population which many years agp supported the ‘Know Nothing’ Party and who in the 19th century. persecuted and vilified Irish Catholics. They used the same accusations as the current anti Islamic mob, Catholics they said, didn’t integrate into American society, owed loyalty not to America but only to their religion and pope, they were violent revolutionaries and should be excluded from political office.,
There will always be ‘Randy Fine’s’ in this country, spouting bigotry and racism. Fortunateyl we still have the power to remove them from political office. It’s called the right to vote and let’s hoope that articles like this will inform the electorate and voters will chuck these bigoted political bums out.
Send them back into the trash where they belong.
Sherry says
Thank you Paul T !
Jim says
The worst part of all of this is although people’s comments here are almost 100% negative about Fine, he’ll easily get re-elected in this district. For anyone who will vote for him, you should think about that. No one steps up to defend him (because he is so terrible, it’s virtually impossible) and yet you’ll vote for him? What does that say about you?
R.S. says
I suspect that Republicanism has turned to a religion in this county. You cannot challenge them with facts; it’s a matter of faith, pure, unchallengeable faith.