Politicians and community members condemn anti-Muslim political tweeters in Collin County

Community advocates and politicians from both sides of the aisle say they were alarmed by the recent political posts containing anti-Muslim messages that have appeared in Collin County.

Posts and text messages with similar anti-Islamic language were reported in the Houston and San Antonio areas. Another similarity: The politicians targeted on the postcards were Republicans who voted for blame Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Dallas Morning News received two copies of the mailers, each targeting state Rep. Candy Noble, a Republican. People have also reported receiving similar mailings in Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach's Plano district. In emails to news, people reported seeing Islamophobic mailers in Dallas and Rockwall counties.

The Texas Family Project, a conservative anti-LGBTQ group, was listed as the sender in the address line. The organization's president, Brady Gray, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

“Do you want your tax dollars to go to celebrating Muslim holidays? Candy Noble Does,” is written on one side of the card.

The other side asks, “Why is Candy Noble voting to celebrate Texas Muslims?” and lists resolutions passed in the most recent Texas legislative session that recognized either Muslim holidays or the Muslim community.

“As a Christian conservative seeking to represent my district with honor and integrity, I find these posts full of lies and false accusations abhorrent and unacceptable,” Noble said in a written statement. “These tactics do not represent who we are as Republicans, and I urge my opponent to denounce these tweeters and the people behind them.”

Leach, who has been criticized in the past for a bill some considered Anti-Islamicsent him a statement news condemning the messages and called on his opponent Daren Meis and the people who sent the material to report them.

A message left on Mei's campaign website was not returned.

Abraham George, Noble's opponent in the Republican primary for House District 89, said he was unaware of the mailers and said his campaign was not responsible. George resigned as chairman of the Collin County GOP in October.

“I have nothing against Muslim voters, and I think a very good portion of them are good Republicans, conservatives at heart,” George said.

State Rep. Salman Bhojani, whose House resolutions 1069 and 1168 were cited in the post, said he stands by his efforts to recognize people's beliefs and backgrounds. Bhojani said he believes the people who mailed the cards in Collin County are a “tiny minority” of the Republican party.

Bhojani, a Democrat representing District 92, is one of the first Muslims elected to the Texas Legislature.

“We are 30 million people in Texas of all different faiths, backgrounds, ideologies, and we should celebrate that diversity because that's what makes us strong,” he said.

Plano resident Sumbel Zeb, who described herself as a progressive, said she was alarmed by the anti-Muslim posters but not surprised.

“I've been civically, politically engaged since I was a teenager,” Zeb said. “So I've seen things like this in the past.”

Zeb said she plans to spread awareness of the messages through social media and in person.

Khalid Is'haq before ran for a seat in Plano ISD school board and considers himself a Muslim with conservative values.

Ishaq, who said he has donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates in past elections, thinks xenophobic rhetoric is alienating immigrant communities from the GOP.

“They're not looking at this and thinking this is just Islamophobic — because it's a clear Islamophobic statement — but they're looking at this as anti-immigrant,” Ishaq said.

Suzanne Harp, whose campaign website describes her as “America's First Conservative,” is challenging Keith Self in the Republican primary for District 3 of the US House of Representatives. She described the posters as “disgusting and grotesque”.

“Republicans need to come up with a better strategy,” Harp said. “We have to reach out and implement our principles of being fiscally conservative, family values, traditional American values, making sure we're not $36 trillion in debt, closing our border and being America first.”

Cal Jillson, who teaches political science at Southern Methodist Universitysaid that political rhetoric that attempts to discredit candidates by associating them with a “non-Anglo other” has been a tactic used for decades.

“It can be effective, often not with the general electorate, but with a Republican primary electorate, sometimes you can make a breakthrough with issues like that,” Jillson said.

Harp said she thinks people who identify as Republicans only benefit Democrats when they demonize an entire population based on their religion.

“If I'm going to reach out to my Muslim brothers and sisters, I'm going to try to find whatever we have in common,” Harp said. “We believe in family. We believe deeply in conservative fiscal responsibility. They came to this country for freedom and liberty.”