Islamophobes pump fear to push political agenda in Texas

Islamophobes pump fear to push political agenda in Texas
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An event hosted by a Tarrant County conservative group featured warnings that Muslims are seeking to dominate Texas and the United States, drawing roughly 100 attendees and featuring speakers from an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated an anti-Muslim hate group.

Krista Schild, Texas Director at RAIR Foundation USA, told attendees at a True Texas Project presentation that Texas is “ground zero” for Muslims wanting to take over the nation.

The talk focused on what she described as a Muslim “power network” in government, warning that if action is not taken America could become an Islamic nation. Texas’s Muslim population is estimated at around 313,000, representing approximately 1.1% of the state’s population.

Before the presentation, Republican elected officials and candidates including a district court judge, a district clerk and a state senate candidate addressed the crowd and solicited votes.

Schild credited RAIR with helping persuade Governor Greg Abbott to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations — a move that prohibits both from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas. She also labeled the Muslim Student Association and CAIR as dangerous organizations engaged in what she called Islamic infiltration.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified RAIR Foundation as an anti-Muslim hate group that promotes conspiracy theories and vilifies American Muslim communities.

CAIR has said the group spreads Islamophobia and has aligned with known white supremacist individuals and organizations since 2013.