United States: Congressman Randy Fine calls for “destroying” Muslims

ByMuhammad

American Congressman Randy Fine, close to Donald Trump, caused strong indignation by asserting during a parliamentary hearing that it was necessary to “destroy” Muslims whom he describes as “mainstream”. The elected Republican from Florida declared that he fully accepted his comments, affirming that he did not fear being accused of Islamophobia. Known for his hostile positions against Palestinians and Muslims, Randy Fine spoke during an exchange with the president of the Zionist Organization of America. He notably took up contested arguments on the situation in the West Bank. Faced with the controversy, his office clarified that it was targeting Muslims “in general”, and not just Palestinians.

The outraged reactions quickly multiplied. Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), denounced “genocidal” remarks, calling Randy Fine a “low-cost version of Benjamin Netanyahu.” In a statement to Al Jazeerahe accused the elected official of exclusively defending Israeli interests, to the detriment of those of the Americans, believing that he was now behaving like a “foreign spokesperson”. According to him, this outrageous rhetoric reflects a desperate attempt to satisfy his pro-Israeli supporters.

Other association leaders recalled that Randy Fine, elected earlier this year with the support of Donald Trump and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has distinguished himself in the past with a series of shocking statements: mockery after the broadcast of an image of a killed Palestinian child, remarks calling for “starvation” of Gaza or even justification of fatal shootings against pro-Palestinian activists in the West Bank. Hatem Abudayyeh, president of the US Palestinian Community Network, for his part denounced the lack of clear condemnation from Republican leaders, deeming it alarming that such hateful speeches could be made by an elected representative of Congress without provoking a firm political reaction.

Civil rights organizations have denounced openly genocidal rhetoric and called for explicit condemnation from the American political class. Despite a long history of racist and dehumanizing statements, Randy Fine continues to benefit from support within the Republican camp and regular exposure in several national media.

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Muhammad

Muhammad is a visionary thinker and passionate writer who has been contributing to Understanding Islam for several years.