Democrats are pressing legislation that would make New Jersey the first state in the nation to define “Islamophobia” for use in criminal prosecutions and civil trials. The proposal is an abomination that, despite its stated protections, would erode free speech rights under the First Amendment.
The bill’s definition of “Islamophobia” includes, among other things, “severe disparagement toward Muslim persons or their culture,” “hostility and fear of Islam,” and “making stereotypical allegations about Muslims.” It also covers certain claims about Muslims entering politics, terrorism, and a demographic takeover, as well as accusations that Muslim citizens are more loyal to a transnational Muslim community or to their countries of origin.
Disparagement, however severe, is speech. Aspects of Muslim culture, including the subjugation of women, vicious antisemitism that can lead to support for terrorism, and doctrinal support for the death penalty for sex outside marriage, deserve condemnation.
The First Amendment protects the right to disparage, condemn, and offend.
It is perfectly legitimate to oppose orthodox Muslims’ entry into politics if one believes their values are antithetical to America’s. Voters are entitled to consider what candidates believe and how those beliefs would shape their decisions in office.
The bill also singles out claims that Muslims have a unique propensity for terrorism. Sikhs, Christians, Hindus, Jews, atheists, and others have committed acts of terrorism. The scale of Islamist terrorism sets it apart.
There have been more than 48,000 documented acts of Islamist terrorism in more than 70 countries since Islamists murdered nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. The number of attacks by adherents of other belief systems is, by comparison, a small fraction of that total. Of course, many Muslims neither support nor commit terrorism. Americans have every right to debate the scale of Islamist violence and the beliefs that motivate it.
What about claims that Muslims pose a demographic threat? Of the roughly 350 million people in America, about 5.5 million are Muslim. Even assuming a birth rate above the national average, the projection puts a Muslim majority more than 300 years away.
Political influence, however, can grow much faster than a population. Small, vocal groups can exert outsized influence on policy.
Take New Jersey. The state has about 300,000 Muslims, or 3.5% of its population, and nearly 600,000 Jews, or a little over 6%. Yet left-wing state politicians are pushing for a definition of Islamophobia. New Jersey has no state definition of antisemitism, and those lawmakers have proposed none. The bill says “Muslims are among the most likely of all minority groups to be victimized by incidents of hate.” FBI hate crime figures, however, show that reported anti-Jewish hate crimes outnumber reported anti-Muslim hate crimes by about 3.5 to 1.
New Jersey’s proposal illustrates how a group can wield influence well beyond its share of the population. Lawmakers want to enshrine a special definition in state law for a group that holds a favored place in the Left’s multicultural and intersectional politics.
Finally, it is worth emphasizing a point many of us have made for years. “Islamophobia” is a misleading label intended to silence legitimate debate about whether Islamic precepts are compatible with the traditions and values of the West.
People who cleave to the ideals of Western civilization can have rational grounds for opposing religious doctrines and practices they regard as violent, bigoted, or barbaric. Calling that opposition a phobia turns a debate over beliefs and conduct into a judgment about the person raising the objection.
More than a decade ago, the late Christopher Hitchens spoke about efforts to move “Islamophobia” into mainstream political language. He warned, “Resist it while you still can.”
Now the first state legislature in America is being asked to make “Islamophobia” a defined offense in law. Other states will no doubt follow. We can expect such prominent Democratic Muslim politicians as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen.-elect Abdul el Sayed (D-MI) to promote this atrocious idea to the nation as a whole.
It is an assault on American values, and we are still falling for the casuistry of its advocates. Resist it while you still can.