A Republican congressman from Tennessee, Andy Ogles, has ignited controversy by posting Islamophobic comments online, drawing widespread condemnation from fellow lawmakers and Muslim advocacy groups, according to NBC News and NPR.
Ogles, a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Pluralism is a lie, Muslims don’t belong in American society.” He has previously called for a “Muslim ban” and intends to introduce legislation restricting entry to the US from certain Muslim-majority countries.
Earlier, on February 17, 2026, Ogles posted, “No more public displays of Islam please. It is not American.” His remarks follow a pattern of Islamophobic statements made by other House Republicans on social media. Few Congressional Republicans responded publicly, while Democrats quickly denounced the comments.
“Disgusting Islamophobes like you do not belong in Congress or in civilised society,” Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader and Democrat from New York, wrote in response.
The remarks coincide with a warning from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that Islamophobia in the US reached record levels in 2025, partly fueled by former President Donald Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests and restrictive immigration measures.
CAIR reported 8,683 anti-Muslim and anti-Arab complaints in 2025, up from 8,658 in 2024, marking the highest number since the organization began tracking such incidents in 1996. The complaints were primarily related to employment discrimination (12.7%), immigration and asylum (6.5%), hate incidents (6.4%), and travel discrimination, including government watchlists and screenings (5.6%).
CAIR also highlighted Trump’s targeting of Somali Americans in Minnesota, a predominantly Muslim community, accusing them of fraud while granting pardons to individuals with past fraud convictions. The organization said isolated cases were used to justify collective targeting of Muslim communities, further exacerbating anti-Muslim sentiment nationwide.
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