Rights Group Demands Democrats Push to Censure Randy Fine Over Islamophobic Attacks

The largest Muslim civil rights group in the United States on Thursday called for a censure vote over Rep. Randy Fine's latest Islamophobic attacks on progressive Muslim lawmakers—and noting that the Democratic Party's tepid response to Islamophobia has fostered an environment where politicians from both sides of the aisle seem comfortable expressing anti-Muslim bigotry.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued an action alert, urging voters to pressure their Democratic representatives in the House to support a censure vote against Fine (R-Fla.), who responded Tuesday night to Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Islamophobic remarks that have become commonplace for the first-term congressman.

"I'm sure it is difficult to see us welcome the killer of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists," said Fine after Omar said it was "shameful" for Congress and the Trump administration to welcome Netanyahu's third visit to Washington, D.C. this year.

He doubled down on the comments Thursday night in an interview with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, saying that "when you adopt the policies that Ilhan Omar has adopted, when you support Hamas in the way that she has, you're supporting terrorism."

Omar has not expressed support for Hamas and unequivocally condemned the group's attack on Israel in October 2023.

Fine also called Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and New York City mayoral candidate and state Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-36) "Muslim terrorists" last week.

CAIR said in a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that it welcomed a statement released by Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) a day after Fine posted the attack against Omar on the social media platform X. In their statement, the Democratic leaders called Fine's comments "unhinged, racist, and Islamophobic" as well as "bigoted and disgusting," and demanded an apology—but made no mention of formally condemning him through a House censure vote.

"We appreciate the joint statement," wrote Robert McCaw, director of CAIR's government affairs department, and Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action, the group's advocacy arm. "However, we must be honest: Rep. Fine will never apologize, this is far from the first time he and other members of Congress have engaged in such dangerous anti-Muslim rhetoric, and our community has been deeply concerned by the House leadership's failure to consistently and strongly counter various other attacks."

That failure, Elkarra and McCaw suggested, has allowed anti-Muslim views to fester within both the Republican and Democratic parties—as evidenced by other recent comments by lawmakers.

CAIR pointed to Rep. Brian Mast's (R-Fla.) statement on the House floor in November 2023—in the first weeks of Israel's U.S.-backed assault on civilians in Gaza—that "there are very few Palestinian civilians." While Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) proposed censuring Mast, CAIR noted that House leaders—who continue to insist that Israel's killing of more than 57,000 Palestinians has been the result of attacks targeting Hamas and that Israel is acting in self defense—"never spoke up against Rep. Mast's remarks."

The letter also noted Rep. Brandon Gill's (R-Texas) "hateful" remarks about Mamdani in late June, after the progressive lawmaker stunned the political establishment by winning the Democratic mayoral primary. Gill criticized Mamdani for the common South Asian cultural practice of eating with his hands, saying that "civilized people in America don't eat like this"—expressing bigotry not only toward the mayoral candidate himself but also millions of people in the U.S. whose families are from parts of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

Republican lawmakers are not alone in expressing Islamophobic, xenophobic bigotry, CAIR emphasized, pointing to Rep. Josh Gottheimer's (D-N.J.) reported comment in a closed-door Democratic caucus meeting in October 2023 that Muslim members of Congress were excluded from a vigil for victims of Hamas' attack on Israel and Israel's attacks on Gaza "because they're all guilty." Some lawmakers reported that Gottheimer's exact words were, "They should feel guilty."

Democratic leaders did not condemn Gottheimer's comments.

"When such sentiments go unchallenged by Democratic caucus leadership, they further normalize the dehumanization of Muslim Americans at a time of rising hate and violence," said Elkarra and McCaw, who noted that CAIR received 8,658 complaints of anti-Muslim attacks and bias last year—the highest number since it began tracking civil rights violations.

Although a censure vote in the Republican-controlled House would likely fail, wrote Elkarra and McCaw, "the introduction and advocacy for the resolution will send a message that House Democratic leadership takes bigotry seriously and that no member of Congress can smear and threaten Muslim and Palestinian members of Congress without facing consequences"—with the message hopefully getting not only to Fine but all federal lawmakers.

Zeteo journalist Prem Thakker reported that as of Thursday, five Democrats had signaled they would support a censure vote: Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.).

The latter three lawmakers said they would vote to censure Fine after Zeteo contacted them; Ryan, Torres, and Goldman were among 22 Democrats who voted in favor of censuring Tlaib in 2023 for her use of the phrase "from the river to the sea"—a call for Palestinian liberation from the Israeli government's illegal occupation.

Thakker emphasized that the stark difference between the response to Tlaib's and Fine's comments from both political parties "is not just about hypocrisy or consistency." He wrote:

On one hand, Tlaib was punished for warning of the mass suffering that would come to her people, and pleading for the government she is part of not to be complicit in it.

She wasn't listened to. And then 2 million of her people were displaced. More than 50,000 were murdered.

On the other hand, Fine has thus far been unpunished by the same people who castigated Tlaib, while he has vilified an entire religion and demonized his colleagues—all under the flag of cheering for that same genocidal violence that has afflicted the people Tlaib was trying to defend.

The unequal treatment is doubly so, given that one member's humanity is punished while another's inhumanity is tolerated, even celebrated.

In their letter, Elkarra and McCaw urged Democratic leaders to publicly affirm their support and solidarity with all Muslim members of Congress and ensure Capitol Police is providing them with sufficient security and to "commit to institutional measures to combat Islamophobia in Congress."

"This moment is a defining moral test for the Democratic Party in Congress," said CAIR. "No member should endure slander, incitement, or threats without a strong defense from their leadership. This moment will be remembered."

"American Muslims are watching," the group added. "So are millions who believe that justice and safety must be defended for all, not only for some. The choice before your caucus is whether to meet this moment with courage or allow hate to go unchallenged."