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← Signal: State & Power

Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Persists as Political Tool 25 Years After 9/11

Confirmed1 source · Sep 4, 2026

Muslim candidates and officials face intensified Islamophobic attacks during election season, while post-9/11 counterterrorism laws designed to target terrorism are increasingly being weaponized against other groups.

Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Persists as Political Tool 25 Years After 9/11
Image via The Intercept

What happened

According to journalist Rozina Ali, anti-Muslim rhetoric has become institutionalized in American politics and intensifies during election cycles. Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, has been called a terrorist and radical Islamist in ads funded by super PACs. New York City's first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has faced suggestions he should not attend World Trade Center commemoration events. Ali notes that rhetoric has shifted toward claiming "Islam is not a religion, it's a political ideology," with efforts underway to codify this into law—a policy shift from even a decade ago when Trump called for a Muslim ban.

Context

The source traces a 25-year trajectory from post-9/11 counterterrorism measures—including the Department of Homeland Security, Guantánamo Bay, and warrantless wiretaps—that enabled systemic anti-Muslim discrimination. Historical cases cited include NSA surveillance of Arab American attorney Abdeen Jabara and imam Yassin Aref's 15-year conviction under the ambiguous "material support" for terrorism law. Ali argues that broad executive powers granted during the war on terror have created a legal framework now being applied beyond the Muslim community: the same "material support" charges used against Aref were recently applied to anti-ICE protesters, and Ali warns that administrations could designate any group—including leftists—as terrorists under existing law. This reflects civil rights lawyers' longstanding warnings that counterterrorism tools would eventually be weaponized against dissidents and political opponents.