On FOX News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, host Carlson and guest Ayan Hirsi Ali responded to Biden’s address to Muslim American voters at Emgage Action’s “Million Muslim Votes” Summit. The summit, featuring Biden and numerous prominent elected officials, was unprecedented in the way that American politicians have addressed Muslim American communities.
During the show, Ali claimed “If he [Biden] is so desperate as to want the vote of the organized Muslim Brotherhood, then I think we are in big trouble,” thereby conflating Muslim American voters with the Muslim Brotherhood. Ali further claimed that Emgage Action, which hosted the summit, are part of “organized Islamist groups and the Muslim Brotherhood,” and “lured” Biden in to providing his address. Lastly, Ali insinuated that Biden was enforcing Shariah law by referencing a hadith of Prophet Muhammad, though biblical verses are referenced by politicians regularly without the same claims.
Host Tucker Carlson characterized Biden’s engagement with Muslim American voters as “pandering,” denied the existence of the Muslim Ban, and maligned Biden’s proposition to provide children with a better, more nuanced understanding of Islam in schools.
“From the intentional demonization of legitimate Muslim political and civic organizations, to the double standards when discussing Muslim Americans versus other religious groups– the views of both Ali and Carlson are Islamophobic and hateful. We condemn FOX News for giving either one of these discredited individuals the platform to spread hate and potentially inflict harm upon Muslim American communities. Biden’s address during the Million Muslim Votes Summit was intended to highlight the importance of the Muslim American vote and our positive contribution to America. However, this FOX News segment did precisely the opposite: it stigmatized Muslim American communities, unjustly associated us with radicalism, and maligned us for being civically engaged. We will not be intimidated or deterred: Muslim Americans will continue to exercise their constitutionally protected rights, which includes political organizing and engagement so we can build a better tomorrow for all of us” – Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action
Emgage Action is a Muslim civic advocacy organization, with national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and state chapters in Michigan, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York.