Virginia: Muslim state senator introduces bill to criminalize ‘Islamophobia’
Feb 4, 2026 5:00 pm
By Robert Spencer
12 Comments
This bill is a classic example of the proverbial camel getting his nose under the tent. The bill “would define ‘Islamophobia’ ‘as it relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims.'”
No sane person is in favor of assault and battery of any innocent person. All “hate crime” laws are problematic because they venture, however gingerly, into the realm of criminalizing speech, and they aren’t actually necessary: assault is assault, and should be punished accordingly, and the penalty should not be heavier or lighter depending upon the racial, ethnic or religious identity of the victim, and whether or not the attacker said something about that identity. But even worse in the case of “Islamophobia” is that the word has been used for years to refer not only to assaults on innocent people, which no reasonable person condones, but also to honest discussion of the motivating ideology behind jihad violence. It has been quite clear for years that efforts to criminalize “Islamophobia” are actually efforts to restrict criticism of Islam and honest analysis of the jihad imperative under the guise of criminalizing assaults against innocent Muslims.
Saddam Salim’s bill is clear enough, but if it passes and becomes Virginia law, how long will it be before someone is arrested and prosecuted for “Islamophobia” not because he assaulted a Muslim, but because he spoke about jihad violence as being intrinsic to Islam rather than as a hijacking of the religion of peace? I don’t believe it will be very long at all.
“Muslim state senator introduces Virginia bill defining Islamophobia as hate crime in assault cases,” by Rachel del Guidice, Fox News, February 3, 2026:
A Bengali-American state senator from Virginia has introduced a bill to criminalize Islamophobia.
The bill, introduced by state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, would define “Islamophobia” “as it relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims.”
The summary for Salim’s bill says that the Islamophobia definition “applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam, provided that the perpetrator targeted such victim based on a perceived adherence to such faith. The bill also clarifies that religious conviction includes Islam.”
The bill “directs the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to include the bill’s definition of ‘Islamophobia’ in its hate crime reporting central repository.”…
The summary for Salim’s bill says that the Islamophobia definition “applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam, provided that the perpetrator targeted such victim based on a perceived adherence to such faith. The bill also clarifies that religious conviction includes Islam.”…
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