Rep. Keith Ellison says anti-Muslim speech won't end without political clout

WASHINGTON – Americans can speak hatefully about Muslims in ways that would never be tolerated if they were speaking about blacks, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, told reporters Tuesday.

At a news conference to discuss Islamophobia in the U.S., Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, said the ability to promote bigotry and discrimination against Muslims with impunity will not end until Muslims "build up political cachet."

Ellison spoke alongside Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana, the second Muslim elected to Congress.

The two addressed a proposal by presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States as a response to terrorist attacks carried out by radical Muslims in America and other parts of the world. Both agreed that the only real solution to what they consider a call to religious discrimination rests at the polls.

"Hold Trump to account by voting," Ellison said.

The Minnesota Democrat said Muslim hate speech spikes with presidential election cycles. He also pointed to past anti-Muslim statements made by politicians, including former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

There is also "an official aspect" to anti-Muslim discrimination "that has to be addressed," Ellison said.

Legislative solutions to religious discrimination might exist, Ellison and Carson said. But whether bills that ban religious litmus tests or force security officials to detain people based on behavior rather than appearance can pass the House and Senate depends on the Muslim community's clout.

Trump's appeal in calling for a Muslim immigration ban and a wall along the border with Mexico is really an "appeal to tribalism," said Ellison, and the tribe is white working-class men.

Ellison and Carson each has faced threats from people who hate Muslims and from radical Muslims who embrace terrorism. They called on Americans to try to engage around shared interests — things like good schools and the availability of decent jobs.

Asked by a Mexican journalist after the news conference what could be done about Trump characterizing many undocumented Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers, Ellison replied that there was only one way to "make Trump wish he never said that:" Vote.

Jim Spencer • 202-383-6123