WMCA Condemns San Diego Mosque Massacre, Demands Elected Officials End Coordinated Campaign of Anti-Muslim Hate
The Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance (WMCA) today condemned the terrorist attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego that killed three members of the Muslim community, including a security guard who died heroically shielding worshippers and children from gunfire, and called on elected officials who have spent years promoting anti-Muslim hatred to take responsibility for the climate of bigotry their words have created.
"Three Muslims were murdered at their mosque today, and we refuse to pretend this happened in a vacuum," said Fauzia Qureshi, Executive Director of WMCA. "Elected officials who have built political careers on demonizing Muslims and portraying mosques as threats to America bear responsibility for this moment. Words have consequences. We are watching those consequences play out in San Diego today."
Law enforcement is investigating the shooting as a targeted hate crime. Early findings reportedly include anti-Islamic writings in the suspects' vehicle, a suicide note referencing racial ideology, and hate speech inscribed on the firearm used in the attack. The two suspects, ages 17 and 19, died at the scene.
An April 2026 report by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate documented a coordinated surge in anti-Muslim bigotry by elected officials. In just 13 months, 46 Republican officials published more than 1,100 social media posts targeting Muslim Americans, with monthly volume rising 1,450 percent. The campaign also produced eight pieces of anti-Muslim legislation and a formal 62-member congressional caucus. The report's authors warned that this rhetoric meets every criterion for speech likely to inspire violence. Today, we are witnessing that warning come true.
Just days ago, the so-called "Sharia-Free America Caucus" held its second congressional hearing, not to address healthcare costs, rising gas prices, or any real crisis facing American families. Instead, lawmakers chose to haul Muslim Americans before Congress as political scapegoats. As Representative Mary Gay Scanlon noted, Republicans had simply "made up a conspiracy theory about their Muslim neighbors" to frighten voters. Muslims make up barely 1% of the U.S. population. This is not governance. This is a manufactured distraction, and it has a body count.
"This is not a political disagreement. This is a coordinated campaign of dehumanization," said Qureshi. "And dehumanization has a body count."
WMCA is calling on elected officials at every level of government to:
Immediately and unequivocally condemn the San Diego attack as an act of anti-Muslim terrorism
Cease all rhetoric portraying Muslims, mosques, and Islamic institutions as threats to America
Denounce anti-Muslim caucuses and legislation rooted in Islamophobic ideology
Support robust federal hate crime enforcement and security funding for houses of worship
Engage directly and accountably with Muslim constituents in their districts
WMCA also calls on Wisconsin's congressional delegation to speak clearly and without equivocation. Silence in this moment is not neutrality. It is complicity.
"To the Muslim community in San Diego and across this country: you are not alone. We grieve with you, for the lives lost, for the families shattered, for the safety stolen from every Muslim who will walk into their masjid this week carrying this tragedy in their chest. And we make this promise: your grief will not be forgotten, and our fight will not stop."
— Fauzia Qureshi, Executive Director, Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance
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The Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to building Muslim civic power in Wisconsin through voter engagement, legislative advocacy, and community education. Learn more at wmcalliance.org.
