Haley Stevens’ Islamophobia is As American as Apple Pie

Haley Stevens’ Islamophobia could no longer be contained.

She had been playing the sore loser since her narrow primary defeat to Abdul El-Sayed in the August Michigan Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The two were at odds largely over Stevens’ unwavering support of Israel, the significant amount of campaign donations she received from AIPAC, and El-Sayed’s clear stand against U.S. support of Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians.

But Stevens’ actions last weekend removed any plausible doubt about the underlying motivation for her lack of support for her fellow Democrat. On Sunday, just two days before the election, she publicly endorsed her party’s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.

The announcement followed a request from El-Sayed’s campaign that Stevens forgo any campaign appearances in the final days of the election cycle. That request came in response to a list of requests from Stevens that involved pulling an ad that was not produced by El-Sayed’s campaign and condemning the rhetoric in said ad, which El-Sayed had already done.

Being asked to step back from a unity appearance at a Souls to the Polls event could be exclusively interpreted as the final blow to Stevens’ ego. But the deeper motivation behind her eleventh-hour announcement is hard to deny, given her endorsement of Rogers and her own words.

In a Meet the Press interview as recently as October 25, Rogers defended Trump’s baseless Truth Social accusations that El-Sayed is a “Muslim Brotherhood Jihadist, who hates Jews and Blacks and AMERICANS,” further stoking Islamophobic rhetoric against El-Sayed. One week before that interview, Rogers himself stated in a debate that El-Sayed has been “bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood” and described him as a “risk to our national security.”

In announcing she would endorse Rogers, Stevens cited “hate” as a reason she could not support El-Sayed. However, she seems unable to cite a specific instance of El-Sayed expressing hateful rhetoric to back up her claim. More troubling, however, is the live statement she made at a press conference:

“At some point, you’ve got to look at who’s standing for country … My vote for Senate is going to be for Mike Rogers, and I will tell you why: Because we have to stand with country.”

This is the undeniable point of departure from being a sore loser to engaging in hate and fearmongering that puts Stevens squarely in the same camp as Rogers, Trump, and the like.

It is not coded. It is not vague. It is in perfect alignment with the brand of Islamophobia that paints Muslim candidates and politicians as a “risk to our national security.”

As people of faith, regardless of our political affiliations, we must stand against it. Haley’s actions and rhetoric prove that this is not solely a “Republican problem.” It is an American problem.

Prominent Democrats who have pushed back against New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign, as well as his democratic policies since he’s been in office, also prove this problem crosses party lines. The 40 House Democrats who did not sign on to a letter condemning the federal investigation of Representative Ilhan Omar prove the same.

For several months, I have served on the organizing team for the Colorado Clergy Alliance (CCA), a group of “multispiritual clergy organizing in love and solidarity with community, working for justice and peace, and honoring all that is sacred in creation.” At a mid-October meeting, we discussed several recent events illustrating a rise in Islamophobia both locally and throughout our nation, and our need to publicly address it as spiritual leaders.

Several of our leaders crafted a message that was endorsed and publicly released by CCA, ironically, the same day Stevens made her live Islamophobic announcement. In it, we specifically name the targeting of Representative Omar; the racist attacks against El-Sayed; a Muslim woman who was assaulted in broad daylight at a popular Denver park; Islamophobic statements by Colorado gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx; and, perhaps most disturbing of all, the U.S. secretary of defense promoting the idea of a public execution of a Muslim person.

Calling on everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to “show up for our fellow humans,” we clearly state:

“In these times of rising fascism, we are called to believe in and work toward new visions of democracy. That means not only voting, but showing up and investing in one another’s well-being in all facets of life … We need to understand the intentionality of what is happening and stand with those who are being targeted. We share a common humanity, and your liberation is tied up in my liberation — it is our liberation that we must co-create and protect.

“If there is any hope of democracy reaching its fullest potential in this country, it has to start with all of us collectively standing up for the rights, dignity, and livelihoods of those being marginalized and oppressed. This is how we live out the truth that all life is truly sacred.”

This is our sacred duty to one another, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or politics. This is what it means to be a person of faith in a political environment that is constantly trying to pit our faith identities against one another. This is what it means to be human in an age where countless forces are trying to strip away our collective humanity.