Krishnamoorthi Raises Alarm Over Rising Islamophobia at Intelligence Hearing Marking 25 Years Since 9/11

WASHINGTON - Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, today raised alarm over rising Islamophobia and antisemitism during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing marking 25 years since 9/11, days after the killing of three people at a San Diego mosque.

"More than twenty years after 9/11 happened, Islamophobia in the U.S. has not gone away," Krishnamoorthi said. "Just this weekend, we saw the horrific killing of three people at a San Diego mosque."

Krishnamoorthi asked witnesses whether they agreed that "Islamophobia and hate have no place in America" - receiving unanimous agreement. Jamil Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, who identified himself as Muslim, echoed Krishnamoorthi's concerns and warned that antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate are rising together.

"As a Muslim, I don't like Islamophobia," Jaffer said. "We have seen a rise in both these trends - antisemitism and anti-Islamism - here in the United States."

Jaffer added that "the same people who hate Jewish people hate Muslims just as much," emphasizing that Americans are "stronger together than at each other's throats."

Krishnamoorthi also condemned rhetoric from elected officials equating Muslims with terrorism and explicitly calling for "more Islamophobia."

"Hate has no place in America and it's counter to all of our values," Krishnamoorthi said.

Krishnamoorthi also raised concerns that diverting FBI counterterrorism resources away from preventing threats to the homeland risks making Americans less safe.

"It was a surprise to me that the FBI diverted counterterrorism efforts like the JTTFs to support the president's immigration agenda," Krishnamoorthi said. "According to data acquired by Senator Warner of the Senate Intelligence Committee last October, nearly half - 45% - of FBI agents in major U.S. field offices were reassigned from counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and other work to aid ICE in its immigration efforts. And I think that's just plain wrong. I think it makes us less safe as a country."