Jerrod Sessler, left, is running for a seat that U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, right, has held since 2015. (Photos courtesy of campaigns)
A Republican congressional candidate in Washington says he doesn’t believe “devout” Muslim Americans should serve in Congress but insists he will work with those there now if elected.
Jerrod Sessler, who is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse, said he is “not trying to take away someone’s constitutional rights” but does not believe Muslims can uphold the oath of office because “their fundamental belief system is anti-American.”
This is not a new view for Sessler but it has re-emerged following his recent interview with the Yakima Herald-Republic. “There is no way that a devout Muslim should be in Congress,” he told the newspaper. He made similar remarks during this year’s primary.
A Navy veteran and entrepreneur, Sessler is trying to win the 4th Congressional District seat Newhouse has held since 2015. The district covers rural central Washington, stretching from the Canadian border to the Oregon state line and includes the Yakima Valley, the Yakama Indian Reservation, Tri-Cities, Moses Lake and East Wenatchee.
Former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is backing Sessler, who is running to the right of the incumbent. Newhouse is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Cherissa Boyd, a Democrat, is running as a write-in candidate.
In his conversation with the Herald-Republic, Sessler pointed to passages in the Quran that call for the killing of non-believers as concerning.
“What if the majority of Congress was Muslim?” he said. “How safe and secure would our Constitution be? It wouldn’t be.”
Sessler defended his comments on social media on Wednesday, writing: “As divisive as it is in America, Muslims may legally take the oath of office. Some even place their hand on the Quran which unequivocally calls for the killing of anyone that is not Muslim.”
Political price to pay?
Newhouse did not respond to requests for comment on Sessler’s remarks.
But others did.
They say he’s misinterpreted the language in the Quran and the passage he cited has become a weapon to portray Muslim Americans as violent. They also contend Sessler’s position would prevent members of Congress from exercising their constitutional right to practice the religion of their choice — which he denies he would do.
Imraan Siddiqi, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, said the statements highlight “just how pervasive Islamophobia is in our society, and that it is viewed as an acceptable form of bigotry.”
For Sessler to tout his position shows he doesn’t “feel there is a political price to pay,” he said.
State Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, said that Sessler’s “flagrant disregard” of the law separating church and state and the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedoms “is fundamentally un-American.”
“The things that he is disrespecting are the things that make me proudest to be American,” she said.
Siddiqi said a survey his group did earlier this year found 82% of Muslims in Washington had experienced bias, hate, or discrimination in the past year. It also found that, In general, younger and less educated Muslims experienced more discrimination, and women and visibly Muslim people were more likely to feel unsafe due to their personal characteristics.
In light of the findings and views of candidates like Sessler, “it is imperative that Washington’s leaders stand up against Islamophobia,” Siddiqi said.
If Sessler is elected, he could be serving with three Muslims — Rep. André Carson of Indiana, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. All are Democrats.
“It doesn’t mean I am against them. I’m open to learning,” Sessler said in an interview, adding that he’s received only positive responses to his recently published comments.
“I am speaking what everyone is thinking,” he said.