US Senator Mark Warner said Monday that the US was facing a rise in religious discrimination and hate-fueled extremism, accusing the Trump administration of contributing to growing Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment.
Warner said he took the Senate floor to condemn "the heartbreaking and anti-American rise in religious discrimination and hate fueled extremism, and to call particular attention to the ways this administration has fueled the flames of Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate."
"I rise today to specifically condemn the discrimination our Muslim and Arab American communities are facing because, unfortunately, this president and his administration have openly stoked and institutionalised Islamophobic discrimination," he said.
As an example, Warner pointed to comments President Donald Trump made at a Cabinet meeting last month about people with Somali roots, saying he referred to the community as “garbage” and said, “We don’t want them in our country.”
Warner said called Trump's remarks "disgusting, dehumanising, and un-American," arguing that they should be "roundly and loudly" condemned by all public officials.
Inflammatory rhetoric within Congress
The senator also criticised inflammatory rhetoric within Congress itself, noting that an unnamed fellow senator recently described Islam as “a poisonous religion” that is “fundamentally incompatible with our Western values.”
"All of us, but, especially those of us who serve in this body in public office, have a duty to end that silence and loudly and resolutely condemn Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate," Warner said.
Looking ahead to the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, Warner urged renewed commitment to confronting bigotry and discrimination.
"Next month marks the start of the holy season of Ramadan for our Muslim brothers and sisters, particularly during this time of reflection ... but frankly, throughout the whole year, it should be incumbent upon all of us to call out all forms of bigotry and discrimination against any religious community and to stand up for all our communities against injustice," he added.
