After the San Diego mosque attack, Texas Muslims are asking their leaders: whose side are you on?

DALLAS, United States (MNTV) – An open letter addressed to Texas public officials has sharpened debate over Islamophobia, political rhetoric, and public safety in the wake of a deadly attack on a mosque in San Diego, California.

The letter argues that rising hostility toward Muslims in the United States — and in Texas in particular — is being fuelled by political language that portrays Muslims as a security threat. It calls on elected officials to publicly affirm the constitutional rights of Muslim communities and to take a more active role in countering what it describes as escalating intimidation and discrimination.

Citing the San Diego mosque attack, in which three men were killed by two teenage attackers who later died by suicide, the letter frames the violence as part of a broader pattern of extremist targeting of religious minorities. Investigative reporting indicated that the attackers left behind ideological material expressing hostility toward multiple identity groups and drawing inspiration from earlier mass casualty attacks.

The letter also highlights what it describes as the growing influence of extremist frameworks, including accelerationism and the Great Replacement narrative, which have been cited in connection with a number of past mass violence incidents in the United States and internationally. It warns that such ideas are increasingly present in mainstream political discourse.

A significant portion of the letter is directed at far-right political activism in Texas, which the authors characterise as contributing to an environment of intimidation — pointing to demonstrations and remarks made at local government meetings as evidence of escalating hostility toward Muslim and immigrant communities.

The authors argue that Muslims in Texas, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, are being unfairly associated with extremism despite broad participation in civic life across education, healthcare, public safety, and community services. Such generalisations, they contend, contribute to social division and increase the risk of violence.

The document calls on addressed officials to publicly affirm that Muslims are welcome in Texas, condemn anti-Muslim discrimination, and engage directly with local Islamic communities. More broadly, it frames the moment as a test of constitutional principles and civic leadership — and of whether elected officials are willing to counter rhetoric that, the letter argues, is making their constituents less safe.