The recent election of two high-profile Muslim politicians who took their oaths of office in January using the Quran triggered Christian Nationalists. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was sworn in using his grandfather’s Quran, as well as another Quran of historical value on loan from the New York Public Library. Ghazala Hashmi, Virginia’s new lieutenant governor, also used a Quran when she was sworn in.
But as AU Public Policy Coordinator Mariel Montero noted on AU’s “Wall of Separation” blog, instead of celebrating the unity and rich religious diversity that this moment represented for our country, some responded with bigotry.
None were louder than Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R). “The enemy is inside the gates” is how Tuberville described both Mamdani’s and Hashmi’s elections on the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter.
Tuberville has a long history of hateful and anti-Muslim language and has been classified as an anti-Muslim extremist by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Some of his other comments have included declaring that “Islam is not a religion, it’s a cult” and that Muslims “aren’t here to assimilate … they’re here to conquer.” Additionally, when asked if he believed Christian Nationalists were racist, he declared, “They call them that; I call them Americans.”
On AU’s blog, Montero made clear there is no legal requirement that an elected official must swear an oath of office on a Bible or any religious text. Other elected officials have opted to swear their oaths on a copy of the Constitution or other secular texts of personal significance.