Dem compares Islamophobia to racial segregation

An African-American lawmaker took to the House floor on Tuesday to warn of similarities between discrimination against Muslims and racial segregation.

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said he could relate to Muslims facing hostility in the aftermath of recent terrorist attacks, including GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s call to ban them from entering the U.S.

“I understand what it’s like to be a part of a community that is treated unjustly,” Green said. “I lived through segregation in the United States of America. I know what it’s like to go through the back door. I know what it’s like to drink from filthy ‘colored’ water fountains. I know what injustice looks like. I’ve seen its face.

{mosads}“So I don’t want to see anything like that, similar to that, anything that’s remotely similar, occur to someone else.”

Green urged against using the term “Islamic terrorist,” arguing that members of extremist groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) don’t actually adhere to Islam.

“To demean Islam by adding the word terrorist with it is an injustice to the religion,” Green said. “Islam is a peaceful religion. No religion condones the taking of innocent lives intentionally.”

“The Islamic faith is not — is not — the motivating factor behind all of this injustice that we see being perpetrated by ISIL,” he added.

Debate over using “radical Islam” or “Islamic terrorist” has roiled the 2016 presidential race. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” this month that she doesn’t use the term because it “sounds like we are declaring war against a religion,” which some fear could potentially fuel ISIS recruiting efforts.

President Obama has also made a point of avoiding the terms. But Republican presidential candidates have argued that practice fails to accurately label the terror threat the Western world faces.

Multiple lawmakers have made a point of showing solidarity with the American Muslim community in recent days. A small group of House Democrats attended prayer services this month at a Northern Virginia mosque that had been attacked with a fake explosive device. 

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) also visited a mosque last week in his home state of Arizona, which earned him praise on the Senate floor from the Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat.