A fatal shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, that left three people dead on Monday has sparked fierce condemnation and renewed scrutiny of rising anti-Muslim bigotry in American public life, with major Muslim-American advocacy groups tying the attack to the growing mainstream acceptance of anti-Muslim hate speech pushed by right-wing politicians and influential online figures.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the nation’s leading Muslim civil rights organizations, said in an official statement following the attack that while the violence left the group deeply disturbed, it was not an unexpected event. “Hate against American Muslims is completely out of control,” the organization emphasized, pointing to a year of increasingly extreme rhetoric from elected officials that has framed Muslim communities as an inherent threat to the United States.
CAIR specifically called out congressional Republicans, noting that just one week before the shooting, the chamber held a formal hearing that intentionally amplified anti-Muslim animus targeting Muslim houses of worship and even Muslim schoolchildren. The hearing was tied to the GOP’s Sharia-Free Caucus, a congressional bloc that counts more than 60 sitting House lawmakers among its members. Florida Congressman Randy Fine has emerged as one of the most high-profile figures pushing aggressive anti-Muslim rhetoric in recent years, CAIR added. The organization framed Monday’s attack as “as predictable as it is unacceptable.”
The Muslim Public Affairs Council echoed CAIR’s assessment, noting the shooting “did not occur in a vacuum.” The group’s internal tracking shows threats and violent attacks against Muslim-American communities have jumped 11-fold since January 2016. The organization also called out right-wing online influencers, including Laura Loomer and Amy Mek, as well as the advocacy group StopAntisemitism, for repeatedly spreading baseless conspiracy theories that paint Muslim Americans as a national security threat. In the wake of the San Diego attack, Loomer publicly called for the mass deportation of all Muslims living in the U.S., claiming the policy would keep Muslims “safe.” Last week, Mek testified before Congress that she employs private security to protect herself from Muslim groups, claiming “Islam is a hostile, totalitarian political ideology using our freedom to destroy us.” StopAntisemitism, for its part, has previously targeted the wife of the San Diego mosque’s imam with accusations of anti-Israel sentiment.
Multiple advocacy groups across the political spectrum have condemned the attack. Pro-Israel Democratic-aligned group J Street released a statement on X saying, “Our hearts break for the loved ones of the victims and at the images of children being led to safety. We must confront Islamophobia clearly, urgently and without hesitation.” American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) echoed that sentiment, noting “no community should ever have to fear for its safety while praying, teaching, or learning,” adding that an attack on a mosque is an attack on “all of us who believe in a just, inclusive, and peaceful society.” AMP praised the San Diego Islamic Center’s imam, Taha Hassane, as a leader committed to compassion and community organizing.
Hassane, who was in his apartment above the mosque when the shooting began, told The Washington Post he heard gunshots ring out across the property. At the time of the attack, the mosque housed an Islamic school with roughly 200 children in attendance. The first person targeted in the shooting was on-site security guard Amin Abdullah, who despite being shot, managed to radio inside the center to warn staff to lock all doors before succumbing to his wounds. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl called Abdullah’s actions heroic, confirming that his quick thinking “undoubtedly, saved lives.” The two other fatal victims were a local shopkeeper and a neighbor of the mosque. An official victim support fund has been launched to assist the families of those killed. The two teenage attackers both died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, law enforcement confirmed.
Middle East Eye reached out to the White House this week requesting comment on the attack, which is currently under investigation as a hate crime. Traditionally, sitting U.S. presidents publicly address violent attacks targeting religious institutions, but the White House directed all inquiries to Vice President JD Vance. Vance told reporters at Tuesday’s press briefing that he had learned of the shooting that morning, referencing his in-laws who live in San Diego and a restaurant near the mosque he has visited with the Second Lady. “I don’t know a single person who would say anything other than what I’m about to say, which is that that type of violence in the United States of America is reprehensible, and I urge every single American to pray for everybody who is involved and affected by it,” Vance said. “We don’t want that to happen in our country, and may God rest the souls of the people who lost their lives.” Multiple foreign leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have already released formal statements condemning the attack.
At a press briefing held Monday by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria — a pro-Israel Democrat who has previously aligned with anti-Muslim Zionist groups and denounced pro-Palestine protesters — Gloria was heckled by attendees who blamed him for creating a political climate that enabled the attack. “You emboldened Zionist propaganda, and you’ll keep doing it as long as it lines your fucking pockets,” one attendee shouted, as Gloria stood silently. “Our Muslim brothers and sisters have been talking to you for how long?”
In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, announced Monday he was increasing police deployments outside mosques across the city “out of an abundance of caution” to prevent similar attacks. Multiple Democratic members of Congress released statements on X condemning the violence, though none offered concrete policy proposals to address rising anti-Muslim bigotry or prevent future attacks. When pressed by journalist Mehdi Hasan on X, Republican Senator Ted Cruz responded, “Of course the attack on the mosque was horrific & evil. I unequivocally condemn it, and all other criminal violence.”
The attack aligns with findings from a recent 36-page report released last month by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), titled “Manufacturing the Muslim Threat.” The report documented that in 2025, Republican elected officials launched a coordinated national anti-Muslim campaign consisting of more than 1,100 social media posts, eight pieces of anti-Muslim legislation, and a 62-member congressional caucus — content that meets the legal and academic definition of “speech likely to inspire violence.”
Researchers analyzed social media content from 46 sitting Republican elected officials, including members of Congress, state governors, and a state attorney general. The study found that 71 percent of all anti-Muslim posts analyzed came from officials based in Texas and Florida, with Randy Fine and Texas Governor Greg Abbott responsible for the largest share of harmful content. Nearly half of all posts analyzed pushed the so-called “Sharia conspiracy,” framing Islam as an alien ideology seeking to take over U.S. institutions, and using loaded language like “invasion,” “conquest,” and “Islamification.”
This rhetoric, the report explains, actively promotes the dangerous Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which recasts Muslim Americans as an intentional demographic threat seeking to carry out “civilizational conquest” of the United States. Researchers warn that anti-Muslim rhetoric is expected to increase further as the November 2026 midterm elections approach, particularly in states controlled by conservative and Republican leaders.
“The anti-Muslim bigotry of these elected officials is helping build a narrative that positions Muslim Americans, their communities, their religious practices, and their elected representatives as an enemy within that must be expelled from the American social fabric,” the report concluded. “[This] is often the precursor to ethnic violence campaigns against rhetorically targeted groups.”
