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Mike Johnson says Rep. Andy Ogles’ anti-Muslim remarks reflect ‘popular sentiment’

(RNS) — Claims that Muslim Americans are seeking to impose Islamic religious law on the country have become popular talking points among Republican lawmakers recently.
Mike Johnson says Rep. Andy Ogles’ anti-Muslim remarks reflect ‘popular sentiment’
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., speaks after being declared the winner in his Republican primary race, Aug. 1, 2024, in Franklin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Fiona André

(RNS) — A day after Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said on social media that Muslims don’t belong in America, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said that although he questioned Ogles’ choice of words, he pointed to a widely shared sentiment among Americans.

“Muslims don’t belong in American Society. Pluralism is a lie,” Ogles posted on his X account on Monday (March 9).

Johnson told reporters at a congressional retreat in Doral, Florida, on Tuesday that he spoke about Ogles’ remarks with members of Congress and discussed what language they should use on the issue. Ogles’ selection of words, he said, is “a different language than I would use.” Still, Johnson said he believes his comments resonated with many Americans who view Islam as incompatible with American culture.


“There’s a lot of energy in the country and a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose Shariah law in America is a serious problem,” Johnson said. “I think that’s a serious issue. Shariah law and the imposition of Shariah law is contrary to the U.S. Constitution.”

Anti-Muslim rhetoric and claims that Muslim Americans are seeking to impose Shariah, or Islamic religious law, on the country have become popular talking points among Republican lawmakers recently, especially in midterm election races. Claims that Muslims are plotting to impose Shariah gained traction in the early 2010s, leading to dozens of anti-Shariah bills being passed in some states.

RELATED: New GOP caucus signals resurgence of anti-Shariah movement

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on X in response to Ogles’ comments, “Disgusting Islamophobes like you do not belong in Congress or in civilized society.”

Richard Grenell, who was appointed by President Donald Trump as special presidential envoy and executive director of Washington’s Kennedy Center, also condemned Ogles’ comments on X, saying, “Stop attacking the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Ogles, who has represented Tennessee’s 5th District since 2023, has been one of the fiercest anti-Muslim voices among Republican lawmakers and announced his plan to introduce a bill in Congress that he refers to as a “Muslim ban,” seeking to limit entry to the U.S. for immigrants from some Muslim-majority countries.

“America’s moral exemplar is a meek carpenter who rose from the dead, not a warmonger with 12 wives and countless slaves. My bill will preserve this truth,” Ogles wrote in a Monday press release announcing the bill, disparaging Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.


The 54-year-old lawmaker is also a member of the newly formed Sharia Free America Caucus, a congressional group that alleges Shariah violates the U.S. Constitution and that has raised concerns about the growing number of mosques across the country, which they see as a sign of Muslims overtaking American society.

Shariah, Arabic for “the path” or “the way,” reflects how God expects Muslims to live their lives. Anti-Shariah campaigns often flatten the concept of Shariah, which can’t be reduced to a set of laws, Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at Arizona State University, previously told Religion News Service.

RELATED: Anti-Shariah conspiracy theories, a staple of 9/11-era rhetoric, resurge around Mamdani

Ogles has made derogatory comments against Muslim Americans before. Last week, he published a video on X depicting an image of the Quran, Muslims’ sacred text, with a red-bolded caption reading “Islam = Incompatible,” presumably referring to the United States. 

“We’ve seen it across Europe — I literally was with leaders from across Europe and one of the things they talked about is that they are losing their countries to mass Islamic Muslim migration,” Ogles said in the video.

Ogles also repeatedly attacked New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Muslim faith throughout his campaign, arguing that Mamdani’s true motives were to impose Shariah in New York. Ogles also called for a Department of Justice investigation into Mamdani’s path to citizenship.

“I say NO to Sharia law — which is why I’ve presented an argument to have Mamdani sent back to Uganda based on information he clearly withheld,” he wrote in an October X post.


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