USA: the tattoo of Pete Hegseth, defense secretary who scandalizes Muslims

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the main organization of defense of the civil rights of Muslims in the United States, strongly criticized the tattoo in Arabic of the defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who carries the word kafir (“Disbeliever” in Arabic). According to the CAIR, this choice is a brand of hostility towards Muslims and deep personal insecurity.

Already controversial for its positions on Islam, Hegseth also features a tattoo with the Latin expression Deus Vult (“God wants it”), which served as a rallying cry of the crusaders. Cair Executive Director Nihad Awad denounced this accumulation of symbols, seeing it as an opposition assumed to Islam and a lack of respect for the millions of American Muslims, including those serving in the army.

This controversy comes as the Cair had already expressed its opposition to the appointment of Hegseth, recalling in particular accusations according to which it would have made violent and Islamophobic remarks in the past. The organization asks the American Senate to question the defense secretary on his commitment to respect the religious rights of Muslim soldiers under his command.