Friend,

The recent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and last week’s 20^thanniversary of 9/11 reminded us all of how the terrorist attacks changed our country in fundamental ways.

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Ann Beeson wrote last week of how the anti-Muslim backlash that followed 9/11 ushered in an era of executive overreach and a broad range of government abuses – such as racial profiling, warrantless wiretappings, illegal detentions and secret deportations – perpetrated in the name of keeping our country safe from terrorism.

But also arising from the ashes of 9/11 was a far-right anti-Muslim movement fueled by bigotry and the supercharged nativist rhetoric that followed the attacks. This movement was led by activists who portrayed Muslims in general as potential terrorists and trafficked in dark conspiracy theories about Islamist extremists secretly infiltrating the government and the U.S. legal system under assault by Sharia law.

Ironically, a number of those anti-Muslim leaders were the ones who later infiltrated the government as President Donald Trump welcomed movement leaders into his orbit, appointed its staunchest allies to high-level national security and advisory positions and issued executive orders to implement a Muslim travel ban.

Today, this movement – a well-funded, tight-knit network of grassroots groups and policy-oriented organizations – has lost its access to the White House. But even though it is diminished in stature and sheer numbers, it remains a political force, particularly in right-wing media and politics.  

In fact, echoes of its fearmongering can be heard through the voices of right-wing pundits like Tucker Carlson, who recently warned his Fox News audience about the supposed dangers of Afghan refugees evacuated to the United States.

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In solidarity,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center