Nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group condemns Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden

The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization is condemning bigoted remarks made by Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden in recent weeks. 

Following reporting Monday from the Milwaukee Courier, archiving Van Orden’s history of anti-Muslim and racist posts to social media and during radio appearances, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement on Wednesday. 

“An elected member of Congress should never traffic in conspiracy theories, collective smears, or dehumanizing rhetoric directed at an entire faith community. Representative Van Orden’s repeated amplification of hateful stereotypes about Muslims helps fuel the climate of hostility that has contributed to rising anti-Muslim discrimination and violence. Wisconsin leaders should make clear that this type of bigotry has no place in the United States Congress.”

Van Orden didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. His history of Islamophobia and racism is on full display on his Twitter accounts, including spreading baseless fears of American Muslims being terrorists and child rapists.

Just last week, Van Orden replied to a tweet that stated “Muslims struggle to denounce child rape.” The congressman wrote, “This is horrible and completely true.”  

The week prior, he agreed with a X account spreading an unsubstantiated claim that brown Muslim men raped 250,000 white children through grooming gangs. 

“Correct” and “It is shocking and shameful,” Van Orden wrote. 

On June 17, Matt Walsh, a right wing influencer, spread a lie that it’s part of the Muslim culture that “sexual torture and slavery of children is commonplace,” to which Van Orden replied, “This is an accurate statement.” 

When the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee was arrested by the Trump administration in April, Van Orden took to X to say, “I find it shocking that someone named: ‘Salah Salem Sarsour’ would be arrested for terrorism. This must be a mistake.”

A federal judge ordered the release of Sarsour earlier this month. 

In March, Van Orden found it “absolutely unacceptable” that nearly half of the doctors in a Texas hospital’s residency program were Pakistani. 

In February, during the Pepin County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner, Van Orden said the United States was susceptible to a domestic terrorist attack from people in big cities with Islamic populations. 

“It is indisputable that there are radical Muslim sleeper cells here in America murdering American citizens. It is also indisputable that there are people here in America that are being radicalized currently by foolish democrat politician’s hate America rhetoric,” he wrote on X on March 13.  

The congressman is running for reelection and has no primary opponent. He only won by about 2.7% in 2024 against Rebecca Cooke. 

The Democrats see an opportunity to flip the seat. Cooke is running again and being challenged by Emily Berge. The primary election is Aug. 11.