Mehdi Hasan’s Response to Backlash over Islamic Call to Prayer

Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan has expressed his frustration online following a wave of reactions to his defense of the Islamic call to prayer being heard in American neighborhoods.

The call to prayer, or adhan, is broadcast five times each day and serves as a significant auditory reminder of the Muslim faith. Hasan launched into a passionate defense on social media, denouncing what he labeled as right-wing intolerance and asserting that Muslim Americans are facing rising hostility from conservative circles.

“I think if we can play church bells, we should also hear a call to prayer,” Hasan stated in a viral video. This was in response to Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill, who took to social media that same day to engage in a debate over Hasan’s comments.

Hasan highlighted that Gill’s wife is Indian-American and the daughter of immigrants, while mentioning that her father, Dinesh D’Souza, is a well-known Christian conservative filmmaker.

In his reply, Gill remarked that his wife is a Christian who “doesn’t want to hear the oppressive prayers of Islam,” and quipped, “If you want to live in a Muslim country, go back to Britain.” Hasan, who was born in England to Muslim parents, fired back by accusing Gill and other Republicans of bias.

“Several incumbent Republican congressmen now sound like Ku Klux Klan wizards. The level of ignorance, racism, and Christian nationalism is alarming. Good luck to the Muslim Americans living in this person’s district,” Hasan tweeted.

In addition, Hasan clashed with Matt Walsh from the Daily Wire after Walsh claimed that America was built by free individuals, not enslaved people. Walsh stated that the foundation of the country was not reliant on slavery, particularly not attributed to a small percentage who owned slaves.

“I thought your response would be, ‘Slavery wasn’t that bad,’” Hasan challenged him, arguing that the infrastructure of the country was built through the labor of enslaved individuals, stressing the significant contributions made by Muslims long before Walsh’s ancestors arrived.

He elaborated, “One in three slaves who built this country were Muslims. If you know your history, you might realize that MAGA has a problem with that.” It’s worth noting, however, that historians estimate that only about 15% to 20% of enslaved Africans brought to America were actually Muslim.

Hasan’s outburst comes on the heels of controversial comments he made regarding Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast’s combat injuries, which drew criticism after he laughed at a joke about those experiences during a recent event in Michigan.