Texas Republican Congressman Chip Roy delivered a forceful speech warning that Islamist ideology, not Islam as a faith, poses a growing and organized threat to American constitutional order, drawing an immediate backlash from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Speaking on the House floor, Roy argued that the danger comes from a well-funded political movement that rejects assimilation and seeks to impose Sharia law, stressing that his remarks were aimed at ideology rather than religion or ethnicity. He cited the stated goals and slogans of the Muslim Brotherhood to underline his claim that the movement defines itself in political and revolutionary terms, including jihad as a central principle.

CAIR responded by accusing Roy of engaging in an “anti-Islam rant,” placing his remarks under its “Islamophobia Watch.” Roy’s supporters rejected that characterization, saying he quoted Islamist groups’ own language and focused on national security and constitutional concerns rather than peaceful religious practice.