Can Interfaith Partners Please Stand Up Against Hate?

To our Christian, Jewish, and other friends of faith,

Picture a crowd at a political rally laughing at the name Mary. Or Moses. Or Joseph. Most of us would wince. Those names belong to people we hold holy, and to people we love at home: a mother, a grandfather, a son.

Your Muslim neighbors felt that wince last week. At a rally in Dalton, Georgia, on Friday, October 16, President Trump told the crowd that when you are not sure of someone's name from the Middle East, "just say 'Mohammad.' You have about a 65% chance." Then he turned the name on a Muslim Senate candidate from Michigan: "I can call you whatever the hell I want."

Reuters reported that the crowd's response was muted. That quiet is worth noticing. Many Americans know that making fun of a person's name, and the holy man it honors, is beneath the office of President.

Your Muslim neighbors are hurting this week. Many of them, or their fathers, sons, and brothers, carry the name Muhammad. They carry it because they love the Prophet, God's blessings be upon him. Here is how you can stand with them.

The broader context: attacks on Muslims in the name of Sharia

The joke did not come out of nowhere. For months, Muslim Americans have been treated as a threat in the name of "Sharia law," something no American Muslim organization has ever asked for. Muslims are not asking any court to replace American law with religious law. Yet laws and speeches keep coming as if they were.

• Laws against a danger that does not exist. In April 2026, Florida passed a law that bars its courts from using "religious or foreign law," and it named Sharia as the example. In September, Texas Governor Greg Abbott promised his party's convention that he would "fully ban Sharia law" in Texas. Senator Ted Cruz told the same crowd that "Sharia law has no place in America." In Congress, a Sharia-Free America Caucus now has more than 60 members.
• Pressure on ordinary Muslim life. Texas officials pressed a city to cancel a Muslim event at a water park. Under threat of losing state funds, the Dallas-Fort Worth airport dropped a plan for foot-washing stations that Muslim travelers use before prayer. The Texas Attorney General opened an investigation into a Dallas Islamic mediation group, which says it only helps families settle disputes and sends legal matters to Texas courts.
• Teaching children to look down on Muslims. In September, the Texas State Board of Education approved social studies lessons that describe the Prophet Muhammad as "brutal," God's blessings be upon him. Texas schoolchildren may soon be taught that the man their Muslim classmates love most was cruel. That is how hate gets passed from one generation to the next.
• Threats against Muslims who speak up. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, one of the most outspoken Muslims in public life, has been told by the President that she "should be in jail." On October 12, federal agents raided her Washington home, and news reports say the investigation aims to strip her of her citizenship and deport her. When an elected member of Congress can be treated this way for her views, other Muslims learn to stay quiet.
• A rise in bias. In its 2025 report, the Council on American-Islamic Relations recorded 8,683 complaints of anti-Muslim bias, the most since it began counting in 1996.

Seen together, these are not separate events. A joke about the name Muhammad at a rally, a classroom lesson calling him "brutal," and a law against a Sharia threat that does not exist all send one message: Muslims do not belong here. People of faith know where that message can lead.

Thinking points

• Silence can sound like agreement. When one faith is mocked and its neighbors say nothing, people assume nobody minds. A few words from a pastor or a rabbi can carry more weight than a hundred statements from Muslims.
• Mocking one faith makes the next one easier. History shows that when leaders mock one religious group, others follow. Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and Black churches in this country all know that story.
• These laws reach beyond Muslims. Sharia, Jewish Halacha, and Catholic Canon Law guide how believers pray, eat, marry, and settle family matters. None of them replace American law, and none can. A law written to scare people about Sharia can also be used against a Jewish beth din or a Christian mediation service. Baptist News Global has warned that Florida's law is a threat to religious freedom for all.
• Islam honors your prophets. The Quran speaks of Moses, peace be upon him, more than of any other prophet. A whole chapter carries the name of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Muslims cannot be Muslims without believing in Jesus, peace be upon him.

Talking points

• "I would not want the name of my faith's founder mocked from a stage. I will not stay quiet when it happens to my Muslim neighbors."
• "Muhammad is a name of honor for nearly two billion people. A President should show respect for all faiths."
• "The most famous American named Muhammad was Muhammad Ali, a man the whole country came to love."
• "Sharia is a Muslim's guide for prayer, fasting, charity, and honest living. It does not replace American law, just as Jewish and Catholic religious law do not."
• "Anti-Sharia laws are a solution to a problem that does not exist. They can hurt every faith that has its own religious rules."
• "Our faith teaches us to love our neighbor. This week, that means standing with Muslims."

What you can do

• Speak from the pulpit or the bimah. A few sentences in a sermon this weekend will reach people no Muslim can reach. Remind your people that every faith suffers when one faith is mocked.
• Initiate a joint statement. Ask your interfaith council or ministerial alliance to issue a short statement. Keep it about respect, not about any party or candidate.
• Visit a masjid. Many masjids hold open houses and welcome guests at Friday prayers. Bring two or three people from your congregation. Ask the imam to tell you about the life of the Prophet, God's blessings be upon him.
• Learn what Sharia really is. Read "What Christians, Jews, and Interfaith Partners Can Do for Sharia" and "Religious Laws and Freedom of Religion in the United States" at soundvision.com/sharia. You will also find a piece on the 1935 frieze in the U.S. Supreme Court that honors the Prophet Muhammad as one of the great lawgivers of history, God's blessings be upon him. Moses is honored in the same courtroom frieze.
• Talk to your state lawmakers. If your state is debating an anti-Sharia bill, tell your representative that it threatens religious freedom for everyone. Faith leaders carry weight in these calls.
• Ask your local masjid for brochures. Sound Vision has two short brochures written for neighbors of other faiths: one on how the U.S. Supreme Court honors the Prophet as a great lawgiver, and one on how American Muslims live Sharia. Put them in your church or synagogue library.
• Watch "The Greatest" together. Prime Video premieres this eight-part drama about the young Muhammad Ali on November 4, 2026. Pair your congregation with a nearby masjid for a viewing night, and talk about faith, courage, and what it costs to keep your name.

Muhammad Ali and the meaning of a name

When Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali in 1964, many sportswriters and fans refused to use his new name. Some mocked it. He refused to be drafted in 1967 because of his faith, lost his title, and was nearly sent to prison. In 1971 the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, eight votes to none.

By the end of his life, Americans of every faith loved him. He lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta in 1996. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. When he died in 2016, his funeral in Louisville was an interfaith service, with Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and other faith leaders taking part. He had planned it that way himself.

Ali showed that a man named Muhammad could become the pride of a whole nation. His story is a gift to every interfaith group that wants to talk about faith and dignity in public life.

We thank you for standing with us. We will stand with you.