Interfaith Alliance Supports Boycott of Cruz’s Anti-Muslim Hearing

National interfaith organization condemns cynical and conspiratorial effort to cast suspicion on American Muslims

WASHINGTON — Interfaith Alliance, a national leader in defending religious freedom and multifaith democracy, today applauded the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee  who announced they will boycott Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing, “Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, is scheduled to convene the hearing Aug. 5. Cruz demonizes American Muslims by portraying an entire faith community as a hidden threat.

Originally scheduled for May 20, Cruz postponed the hearing after three people were killed two days earlier in an attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Now, less than three months later, he is reviving the hearing and returning to his anti-Muslim agenda.

Interfaith Alliance released the following statement following the boycott announcement:

“Singling out people because of their faith is profoundly un-American. Interfaith Alliance applauds the members of the  Senate Judiciary Committee for refusing to dignify this cynical attack on Muslim Americans with their presence. We call on all members of the Committee to boycott it and again call on Sen. Cruz to cancel it. 

We need our leaders to come together to solve real problems. That does not require lending credibility to a conspiratorial attack on a faith community for political gain. Senator Cruz himself signed a letter warning against using ‘the awesome powers of the federal government,’ including counterterrorism tools, to chill protected speech. He should follow that principle here.”

The organization has continued calling on Cruz to cancel the hearing. More than 1,600 of Interfaith Alliance’s supporters wrote to Sen. Cruz asking him to cancel.

The hearing is part of a broader surge of Islamophobia in Congress. In March, following anti-Muslim rhetoric from Rep. Randy Fine, Rep. Andy Ogles and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Interfaith Alliance joined the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign in a multifaith action at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office to demand that congressional leaders reject the bigotry.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ben DePasquale, [email protected]

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Interfaith Alliance is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism, while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government.