Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! had Sarwat Husain on to discuss a recent, and alarming survey that was sent to hundreds of Muslim leaders in Texas. More alarming is that the survey was sent by Republican Rep. Kyle Biedermann.
The inflammatory three-question survey asks leaders to state whether they believe the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization, whether they would sign a pledge for religious freedom and if they support the Muslim Reform Movement. It’s part of a campaign by Texas state Rep. Kyle Biedermann to expose what he calls "radical Islamic terrorism in Texas." Muslim leaders say it’s the latest Islamophobic attack in a state that has seen a spike in hate crimes since the election of Donald Trump—including a weekend arson attack that destroyed a mosque in Victoria.
Here’s hardware store owner and Christian conservative Biedermann dressed as “Gay Hitler.”
Under Trump, the “sieg heil” salute may go down well, but the gay thing is going to be a problem when Bannon gets around to scapegoating him. Maybe Biedermann thinks helping round up Muslim people will ingratiate him to his superiors—it won’t.
You can watch the interview with Sarwat Husain, founding member of the San Antonio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) below.