Republican U.S. Representative Mary Miller recently spoke to voters in Illinois, expressing concerns about voter apathy and election integrity while claiming that Islam was “inside the gate.” Her remarks were not well received by many Illinois residents, who considered Miller a bigoted Christian extremist.
As reported by Muddy River News, Miller spoke for around 20 minutes to a Republican crowd. When talking about Muslims, she said, “They are not at the gate. They are inside the gate, and right now they’re trying to control the levers of power.” She also claimed that “Islam is not a religion,” arguing that it was a form of government “incompatible” with America.
Miller argued that Americans should therefore not tolerate Islam or its alleged “violence.” She also compared building a mosque to “conquering” an area, urging the crowd to oppose the construction of these religious sites.
Mary Miller Sparks Backlash From Illinois Residents
Locals on Reddit’s r/Illinois were appalled after reading about Miller’s speech, which some saw as an attempt to scare voters and win support. Someone said: “Just the new version of the ‘red scare.’ Republicans don’t have any original ideas.” Another angry user wrote: “And how is Islam worse than Christianity?”
Others were angry and argued that the right-wing representative had completely missed the point: “That’s the point. They are all supposed to be ‘inside the gate.’ The Constitution invites them in, and we’re stronger when we welcome them in. (…) It isn’t my place to tell anyone what to believe.”
Some seemingly saddened locals also chimed in: “It’s wild that immediately after 9/11 I think the elected Republicans were less anti-Muslim (on the surface) than they are today.”
Another resident argued that Miller’s concerns did not add up: “About 1.6% of Americans practice Islam, which is a pretty long way from ‘taking over.’ And that number is not just people who immigrated from majority Muslim nations. And the vast majority of Islamic Americans are not religious extremists.”
With anti-Muslim sentiment on the rise in the United States, rhetoric like Miller’s is becoming increasingly common, while the backlash on social media suggests that at least some Americans are rejecting these narratives.
