What legislation have Muslim members of Congress sponsored related to civil rights or foreign policy?
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Executive summary
Muslim members of Congress have sponsored and introduced civil‑rights and foreign‑policy legislation including Representative André Carson’s resolution to recognize January as “Muslim‑American Heritage Month” [1] [2] and well‑known Muslim lawmakers such as Ilhan Omar sponsoring First Amendment and war‑powers related measures [3]. Available sources list several major foreign‑policy bills debated in 2025 — notably multiple versions of Muslim Brotherhood designation bills and measures targeting organizations like CAIR — but those bills were sponsored by non‑Muslim members and committees; current reporting does not list those particular designation bills as being sponsored by Muslim members [4] [5] [6].
1. Who the “Muslim members of Congress” are and what they’ve sponsored
As of 2025, five Muslims have been elected to Congress; the historical first was Keith Ellison in 2006 [7]. The clearest example in the sources of legislation explicitly sponsored by a Muslim member is Rep. André Carson introducing the resolution to recognize January as “Muslim‑American Heritage Month,” a symbolic civil‑rights/cultural recognition measure entered in the 119th Congress [1] [2]. The sources do not enumerate a comprehensive list of every bill authored by each Muslim member; available sources do not mention other specific bills introduced by all Muslim members beyond high‑profile actions attributed to Ilhan Omar [7] [1].
2. Ilhan Omar: civil‑rights framing and foreign‑policy activism
Representative Ilhan Omar has a record of linking civil‑rights language to foreign‑policy debates. Sources note she introduced a 2019 resolution defending the right to boycott as First Amendment protected — a civil and human‑rights framing tied to foreign policy debates about Israel/Palestine — and in 2025 she continued to pursue foreign‑policy tools such as a 2025 war‑powers resolution regarding U.S. strikes in the Caribbean [3]. The sources present competing public reactions to her positions: some lawmakers condemned her past remarks while others defended her right to critique foreign‑policy choices [3].
3. Bills about Muslim organizations and terrorism designations — who sponsored them
Multiple high‑visibility 2025 bills sought to designate the Muslim Brotherhood or review the Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR) for terrorist designation. Congressional sources show H.R.3883 and related Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Acts were introduced and advanced by non‑Muslim members including Representatives Mario Díaz‑Balart and Jared Moskowitz as sponsors or co‑sponsors and had Senate companions such as one by Senator Ted Cruz [4] [5] [8]. H.R.4097 directing a State Department review of CAIR was introduced by Rep. Andrew Fine [6]. The record in these sources attributes sponsorship to those members, not to the Muslim members listed in the congressional roster [4] [6] [5].
4. Civil‑rights bills and the NO BAN Act coalition work
Efforts to prevent future religiously‑targeted travel bans have bipartisan sponsorship in the sources, with the NO BAN Act reintroduced by Rep. Judy Chu in the House and Sen. Chris Coons in the Senate; civil‑rights groups including Muslim‑led organizations endorsed the legislation [9]. The source frames this as coalition work rather than solely Muslim‑member sponsorship; Muslim advocacy groups publicly urged Congress to pass the bill [9].
5. Advocacy, lobbying and the wider context of Muslim community priorities
Community organizations such as CAIR and the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations organize annual advocacy days to push civil‑rights priorities — from protecting nonprofits to urging action on Sudan and Uyghur rights — and they meet with members of Congress to press legislation [10] [11]. These sources show a continuing pipeline from community advocacy into congressional proposals, but they do not map each advocacy ask to a specific Muslim member’s sponsorship [10] [11].
6. What the sources do not show (limitations and open questions)
Available sources do not provide a comprehensive roll‑call of every bill sponsored by every Muslim member of Congress in 2025; they highlight select examples [7] [1] [3]. They do not indicate Muslim members as sponsors of the Muslim Brotherhood designation bills or the CAIR review bills cited above; instead, those were led by other Representatives and Senators [4] [6] [5]. For a full legislative inventory tied to each Muslim member, committee records and individual member webpages or Congress.gov sponsor lists would be required — not found in the current reporting provided here [7].
7. Competing perspectives and hidden agendas to note
Sponsorship and advocacy cut two ways: bills labeling transnational Muslim organizations as terror groups are presented by sponsors as national‑security measures and have bipartisan support in some committees [5], while civil‑rights advocates view such measures as politically motivated attacks on Muslim civic institutions [11] [10]. Sources show explicit endorsements from both national‑security proponents and civil‑rights coalitions; readers should note the political incentives — security framing can attract broad support, while civil‑rights framing mobilizes Muslim and allied advocates [5] [10] [11].
If you want, I can compile a candidate‑by‑candidate list of bills each Muslim member officially sponsored in the 119th Congress using Congress.gov sponsor pages and committee records (not included in the sources you provided).