San Diego Islamic Center Shooting
- Austin Abbring
- May 27
- 5 min read
By: Austin Abbring
May 27, 2026
In case you missed it, a little over a week ago, there was a deadly shooting at San Diego’s largest mosque. This shooting involved 3 people tragically being killed (Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad), as well as the 2 gunmen who committed suicide. Following the shooting, more details have emerged on the perpetrators. They met on radical online platforms and have experienced mental health issues and identity crises. Both families expressed teaching their children love, acceptance, and the importance of diversity, but both of their sons ended up on an extremist algorithm, which ultimately led them to carry out this horrendous hate crime.
Unfortunately, Islamophobia in the United States is currently at an all-time high. This has been perpetuated via the war in Iran, the Israeli genocide of Palestinians, and by anti-muslim politicians and political pundits, especially on the Republican side of the aisle. There are plenty of establishment Democrats who are guilty of Islamophobia, predominantly stemming from military support to Israel, but the hatred of Islam, of Muslims, and Arab nations is heavily embedded in right-wing politics.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) documented over 8,000 complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discrimination in 2024. This is the highest amount of complaints since the organization began publishing its civil rights reports in 1996. We are currently experiencing more anti-Muslim sentiment than during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the first Trump administration’s travel ban from 2017. The most reported issue to CAIR was employment discrimination, which accounted for more than 15% of complaints. This was primarily experienced by employees who expressed pro-Palestinian views.
We have also seen an increased level of animosity towards college students who expressed their voices over the genocide being committed by the Israeli government against Palestinians. In the past year, there were several instances of ICE agents detaining international students for joining pro-Palestine protests on campuses. I find both administrations, Biden-Harris and Trump-Vance, equally responsible for bolstering Israel’s genocide, as well as candidates who are backed by AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobby groups. Our politics has been creating a horrific ecosystem of pro-Israel rhetoric and policy for decades, and it has culminated in one of humanity's most disgraceful eradications and tortures of another population.
In the wake of this violent shooting and the damning online rhetoric surrounding Muslim people and Islam, it is clear to see how the shooters fell down the far-right rabbit hole. Just look at the inflammatory language online “influencers” such as Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro, Megyn Kelly, and Tucker Carlson have used. I have some quotes compiled below:
Charlie Kirk:
“The vast majority of Muslims live in the 1300’s.”
“Islam is the sword with which the left slits the throat of America.”
Ben Shapiro:
“Israelis like to build. Arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage.
Megyn Kelly:
“I live in America. It’s a Christian nation. I’m fine with Muslims, but I certainly don’t need to go and listen to Allahu akbar while people are on their knees five times a day.”
In the context of assimilation, she explained, “Many in the Islamic community do not want to do their own thing, but rather want us to assimilate to their values.”
(On a personal note, I cannot begin to express how many times I’ve heard this line or a similar one where I live, and on town page Facebook posts where there is no Muslim or Islamic context from the original post. For reference, I live in a demographic area that is comprised of 98% Caucasians.)
Tucker Carlson: On a 2006 radio show, he claimed, “If there were a Democrat to come out in the 2008 election and say, ‘you know what the problem is? It’s these lunatic Muslims who are behaving like animals, and I am going to kill as many of them as I can if you’d elect me.’ I’d vote for you if you said that.”
You may think to yourself, "That is a quote from 2006, surely Mr. Carlson has changed.” Well, in 2019, when discussing Representative Ilhan Omar, he stated, “[she is a] living fire alarm, a warning to the rest of us that we better change our immigration system immediately, or else.”
Of course, all of these pundits’ quotes are reactionary. None of their claims are rooted in any empirical evidence, and it is all just conflations of Islam, Muslims, and Arab nations. If these young men are not hearing it online, then they are certainly hearing it from elected officials. I have a few detestable quotes from representatives and cabinet members.
Florida Representative Randy Fine:
“We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational.”
“If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles: “Let’s be honest, Muslim’s have no place in American society.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Here is an excerpt from his 2020 book, “American Crusade.”:
“Our present moment is much like the eleventh century. We don’t want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians one thousand years ago, we must. We need an American crusade. We Christians - alongside our Jewish friends and their remarkable army in Israel - need to pick up the sword of unapologetic Americanism and defend ourselves. We must push Islamism back.”
I could pull quotes and book excerpts from Fox News, right-wing pundits, Republican representatives, cabinet members, and legislators for months, but I think you get the picture. It is hard to believe we are facing historical levels of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric when you have the man in charge of the largest military on Earth genuinely believing we are in an active crusade. Another element from right-wing media and politicians is a focal point on the wrong 1% of society. The Muslim population in the United States is a little over 1%, but according to Pete Hegseth, Megyn Kelly, and Charlie Kirk, we are experiencing an active invasion in the United States and an offense against Christianity. A large portion of these pundits also like to claim that Islamic extremist groups are responsible for extremist political violence and other violent crimes as well. This is also not true. (ADL)
All of this, as crime in the U.S. has continued to trend downward over the past 30 years, except for a brief uptick during the Pandemic.
Another area that I believe has intensified the heightened Islamophobia is the online reach. Surely, Fox News, right-wing radio, and other media outlets heavily pushed these narratives in the aughts and contributed to our current climate. However, another massive and I think more, effective if you will, pusher is social media. Online algorithms have so easily sucked so many people into these dangerous, extreme-thinking spheres, and it is more prevalent than ever before. Any Joe-Schmo on Twitter or on Facebook reels can proclaim absurd obscenities against any group with no factual evidence and conflate anecdotal accounts with reality, and it reaches countless people in that feed and spreads like wildfire.
This is not a new line of inquiry in social media, but I think access to this type of media presentation by unverified people is helping this misinformation spread even more than televised or radio media could ever have dreamed of in the past. The only way to combat this is to get as much accurate, verifiable, empirical evidence into the media as widely and as quickly as possible. Frankly, the Democratic Party could do a better job. The phobias of all others are the bread and butter of right-wing politics. That is never going anywhere, and in this instance, Islamophobia is not going to evaporate under Republican leadership. It flourishes and motivates their voters to show up. It is ultimately up to Democrats and left-wing influencers to continue to better portray our Muslim neighbors and Islamic countries.
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