House Homeland Security Republican urges US Muslim leadership to 'isolate extremists' after string of attacks

Rep.

Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., issued an open letter calling upon Muslim leadership in the U.S.

to condemn a spate of recent attacks in the country, arguing that their silence "legitimizes the concerns of millions of Americans" about Islam.

He specifically indicated that the message was directed toward "Mosques, Imams, and Muslim Religious Leaders Across the United States."
HOUSE CONSERVATIVE UNVEILS BILL TO END CHAIN MIGRATION, SCRAP DIVERSITY VISA IN SWEEPING IMMIGRATION OVERHAUL
"I challenge America's more than 3,000 mosques to publicly and unequivocally condemn these specific attacks, disavow the perpetrators, reject any religious justification for terrorism, and state clearly that murdering innocents or targeting houses of worship has no place in Islam or America," he wrote.

Ogles specifically pointed to four incidents, including the March 1 shooting in Austin, Texas, the March 7 attempt to detonate explosives near Gracie Mansion in New York City, a March 12 attack in which the perpetrator rammed a vehicle into the Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and opened fire, and a March 12 shooting episode at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Viriginia.

AUSTIN MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT AVOIDED FELONY IN 2022 CASE, MISDEMEANOR LATER DISMISSED AFTER PLEA DEAL: DOCS
"I stand ready for dialogue with leaders committed to this.

However, if no such peace is desired, I will not cease to further legislate and advocate that violent Islamists have no place in American culture, life, and civil government," he wrote.

REPUBLICAN SAYS ‘MUSLIMS DON’T BELONG IN AMERICAN SOCIETY,' DRAWS FIERCE DEMOCRATIC BACKLASH
Ogles asserted in a post on X last week that "Muslims don't belong in American society," and "Pluralism is a lie."