Arizona Republicans advance anti-Muslim resolutions weeks after attacks at a Phoenix mosque

Resolutions crafted by a GOP lawmaker who called Muslims “f***ing savages”, that would designate the country’s largest Muslim advocacy group a terrorist organization passed their first hurdle in the Arizona Senate on Monday. 

The measure from Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, will have no practical effect beyond serving as a statement of the legislature’s beliefs. House Concurrent Memorial 2002 urges President Donald Trump and Congress to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, as a terrorist organization. 

Last year, Gillette faced sharp criticism following a series of posts on X aimed at the Muslim faith. Many were laced with profanity, and the Kingman Republican has insisted that all Muslims are “savages” who don’t belong in the United States because they are pushing Islamic “Sharia law” onto Americans.

Sharia law does not exist in this country in the way that Gillette asserts. There are no Sharia courts, and the U.S. Constitution prevents the establishment of such religious courts. Some Muslim communities may have informal bodies to conduct arbitration or mediation based on religious rules, but they are voluntary for members and are not legally binding.

Gillette previously tried to link CAIR with terrorism in an attempt to attack Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who met with the executive director of the organization’s Arizona chapter in January 2023. 

In 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated CAIR a terrorist organization, claiming it had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The United States government itself has never designated CAIR as a terrorist organization, but has instead sought additional information as to why CAIR and other organizations’ were placed on the list. 

Gillette has previously acknowledged that the United States had not designated CAIR as a terrorist organization, but insisted that CAIR worked with other known terrorist organizations; the Mirror found no evidence to substantiate Gillette’s claim.

Gillette’s resolution, along with another one which seeks to declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, was also heard Monday in the Senate Federalism and Family Law Committee. The other resolution also includes language that claims that CAIR “is widely considered a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood.”

That claim largely comes from Gillette and supporters of the measure who previously made it during a committee hearing citing a 2008 court case as proof. 

The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development was the largest Muslim charitable organization in 2001 when it was designated a terrorist organization after being accused of providing material support to Hamas. 

The HLF trial in 2008 alleged that the organization sent money to Hamas through various organizations. Eventually, five men were convicted for “funnelling $12 million to Hamas” after a trial that critics have argued used “secret evidence” and was “constitutionally questionable.” 

An allegation that arose out of the trial was that CAIR was an “unnamed co-conspirator,” which anti-Muslim groups have seized upon in recent years. 

One of those anti-Muslim groups, Act for America, was recently thanked by Gillette online for helping him craft the legislation. 

Gillette was not present to speak to his resolutions Monday at the Senate committee, much to the frustration of Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, who called out his previous comments and actions. 

The Lake Havasu City Republican also made headlines last year after he advocated for the execution of a Democratic congresswoman for encouraging anti-Trump protests. He doubled down on the statement when critics denounced his violent rhetoric. 

“It’s atrocious and violent, and yet that person is trying to put forward this discriminatory, bogus… ‘boogie man’ resolution,” Ortiz said. 

Ortiz directly addressed members of the Muslim faith that came out to speak against the resolutions. 

“You belong here. This is your Senate — it means so much to see you all participating and sharing your thoughts with your government,” she said. “So, I’m sorry that you have to be here defending your rights to practice the religion you practice.”

Monday’s meeting started off on a contentious note between Ortiz and the committee’s chair, Sen. Mark Finchem, R-Prescott. 

“I expect decorum from everybody,” Finchem said at the start of the meeting, addressing those in attendance, prompting Ortiz to ask why Finchem assumed a protest might erupt from the crowd. 

“We have seen this repeatedly over the last month, I will not have it here,” Finchem said, referencing protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related legislation that moved through the Senate last month. 

In an appearance on “The Steve Bannon Show” last month, Gillette said that Muslims “tried to kill” during his deployments in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army soldier. He also claimed that members of the Muslim community harassed and threatened people at a committee hearing on the bills, leading to a person needing a security escort. 

However, video footage provided to the Arizona Mirror of all the individuals who left the meeting that day, which was obtained under Arizona’s public records law, shows no individuals being escorted by security. 

“CAIR has never been designated a terrorist organization by the United States government,” Martin Quezada, a former Democratic lawmaker who now is a staff attorney for CAIR-AZ said, noting the lengthy legal process to designate an organization a foreign terrorist organization. “If any evidence actually existed to justify that designation, those agencies would’ve acted long ago.” 

Quezada also brought up a recent attack on the Muslim community in Phoenix where a man shot a BB gun at worshipers at a local mosque. The same mosque has also seen damage to cars in its lot and faced major protests and other violence directed at it recently. 

Quezada also questioned the constitutionality of the resolution. 

Two similar measures are currently facing litigation in Texas and Florida, and a federal court in Florida this month temporarily blocked the Sunshine State’s designation on First Amendment grounds.  

“This HCM is using the same rationale to criticize CAIR and try to label us as a terrorist organization,” Quezada said, comparing it to the Florida and Texas measures. 

Its backers emphasized the fact that it has no practical effect in their support. Some also said hate and violence directed toward Arizona Muslims had nothing to do with the legislation. 

“There are issues on both sides of the fence,” Finchem said, citing a recent attack on a Michigan synagogue. “That is extraneous from this bill — well, excuse me, this postcard to Congress.” 

Quezada said his organization condemns all violence towards any religious group or institution, but that there is a key distinction between the issues. 

“None of those houses of faith have an HCM that you are voting on today that condemns them as a terrorist organization,” Quezada said, adding that community members at a local mosque he visited cited fears that the HCM could generate more hate against them. 

“When we curtail the civil rights of one group, we risk the civil rights of other groups,” Yamen Atassi, a local Muslim man who came to speak to the committee, told lawmakers. 

Atassi shared his experience growing up in the early 2000s after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which led to a surge in Islamophobia and the passage of bills like the PATRIOT Act, which gave broad surveillance powers to the United States government, often allowing officials to surveil Muslim communities. 

“To be viewed with suspicion, to be randomly selected at airports every time even though I was 10 or 11 years old,” Atassi said, adding that those same powers could be used on non-Muslims alike. 

“This memorial, this postcard, makes no sense and it wastes our time,” Sen. Priya Sundareshen, D-Tucson, said, adding that it sets a precedent for the government to pick a favored religion. “We should all worry about that. That is not what freedom of religion, freedom of speech should lead us toward.” 

Finchem defended the legislation and said he looks forward to a “robust debate on the floor of the Senate.” 

“But as a Christian who has been attacked by the radical left for the last 15 years because of my faith. I hear a lot of talk about equity and inclusion. That’s a problem for me,” Finchem said. 

Both resolutions passed out of the committee along party lines and will head next to the full Senate for consideration.