CAIR condemns Trump’s mockery of the name Muhammad at Georgia rally

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, on Saturday condemned President Trump’s mockery of the popularity of the name “Muhammad” during a rally in Dalton, Georgia, calling it and the broader rightwing obsession with American Muslims “a sign of political desperation and deep insecurity.”

At the rally, Trump mocked the popularity of the name “Muhammad” and said that guessing “Muhammad” for Middle Eastern names hits about a 65 percent success rate, according to the organization. CAIR noted that dozens of members of Congress have in recent years demanded the closure of mosques and other Muslim institutions, called for the expulsion and banning of Muslims, claimed Muslims are on the verge of taking over America, and even threatened violence against American Muslims.

“American Muslims make up a small percentage of our nation’s population, yet they have occupied nearly 100 percent of the attention of far too many hateful political leaders, lobbyists, and hate groups in recent years,” the Washington, D.C.-based organization said in a statement, accusing “anti-Palestinian extremists” of seeking to use Islamophobia to silence American Muslims and “desperate politicians” of manufacturing “a Muslim boogeyman” to distract from inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

The statement said such rhetoric ignores its potential to inspire violence, citing “the deadly attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, the firebombing of mosques in Minnesota, and the stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian Muslim child Wadea Al-Fayoume outside of Chicago.”

“President Trump can mock the name Muhammad all he wants, but it will not change the fact that the name Muhammad is mentioned with respect across our nation and will be mentioned with respect long after he leaves office,” the statement added, noting that Americans will continue to honor Muhammad Ali and that the Supreme Court chamber identifies the Prophet Muhammad as one of history’s great lawgivers.

CAIR’s latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025, the highest number recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996, the statement said.