We at Americans for Peace Now know that fighting against intolerance is an intersectional issue: the struggles against antisemitism and Islamophobia must be fought in unison. Just as other communities show up for us, it is our duty to stand as allies alongside our Muslim friends and neighbors.

We are seeing a rise in Islamophobia in nearly every corner of the globe. Anti-Muslim rhetoric, bigotry and acts of violence have increased as white supremacist and Islamophobic hate group networks have grown in strength and inspired acts of anti-Muslim violence and terrorism, including the murder of a Muslim family in London, Ontario over the summer and the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shootings. 

This anti-Muslim bigotry must end.

That's why Americans for Peace Now is proud to support the Combating International Islamophobia Act, which will require the State Department to create a Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Muslim Bigotry. Sponsored by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and modeled on the already existing position of Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism, this vital legislation passed the House of Representatives this week. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Senate companion to the bill on Tuesday.

Sadly yet unsurprisingly, the debate around this bill has been vitriolic. Opponents of the bill have lobbed horrific and false accusations of terrorism and have tried to use unrelated claims about Israel’s security and the threat of antisemitism to push back against this legislation.

We will not let detractors divide or distract us from the real issue at hand.

To see the full text of the legislation, click here.