Far-left, former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan has reportedly ignited controversy this week after defending the Islamic call to prayer being broadcast in American neighborhoods, sparking backlash from conservatives who questioned his remarks on faith, culture, and patriotism.
The adhan, or Islamic call to prayer, is played five times daily in Muslim communities around the world, but its use in U.S. public spaces has become a flashpoint in recent cultural debates.
In a video circulating on social media Tuesday, Hasan argued that opposition to the practice reflects anti-Muslim bias. “I think that if you can play church bells you can pray the [Islamic] call to prayer,” he said. “We are as American as anyone else and don’t take any BS.”
Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill reposted the video, triggering a heated exchange between the two men. Hasan responded by referencing Gill’s family background, pointing out that Gill’s wife is Indian American and the daughter of conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza.
Gill, whose wife is Christian, fired back that she “doesn’t want to hear your oppressive Muslim prayer calls.” He added, “If you want to live in a Muslim country, go back to the UK.” Hasan, who was born and raised in England to Indian Muslim parents, accused Gill and other Republicans of promoting “bigotry.”
“Multiple sitting GOP members of Congress now sound like Ku Klux Klan wizards,” Hasan wrote on X. “The levels of ignorance, racism, and Christian nationalism are off the charts. Good luck to the poor Muslim Americans who have to live in this guy’s district.”
Hasan also targeted conservative commentator Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire, after Walsh reposted the same viral clip. Walsh argued that Hasan’s framing of American history ignored facts about slavery and the nation’s founding. “This country was not built by slaves, much less the handful of Muslim ones owned by the 2 percent of Americans who ever had slaves to begin with,” Walsh wrote. “Every Muslim country on the planet had slavery for exponentially longer and relied on it exponentially more than the USA ever did.”
Hasan fired back, claiming that Muslims played a major role in building the United States. “One in three of the slaves who built this country were Muslims. They were here long before the Walsh family arrived,” he said. “You’d know that if you’d studied history but I know MAGA has an issue with studying. Oh, and I am guessing you don’t count slaves as people, or Americans.”
However, historical research does not support Hasan’s claim. According to Harvard Divinity School, between 15 and 20 percent of enslaved Africans brought to America were Muslims, a small fraction of the total enslaved population. While scholars acknowledge their contributions to early American life, no credible evidence suggests Muslims represented one-third of enslaved Africans or were uniquely responsible for “building” the country.
Hasan’s comments come just weeks after he drew criticism for laughing at a joke about Rep. Brian Mast, a Florida Republican and Afghanistan veteran who lost both legs in combat. Appearing at an event in Dearborn, Michigan, Hasan joined comedian Bassem Youssef in criticizing Israel’s military campaign against Hamas and appeared to mock Mast’s service injuries.
The controversies have reinforced Hasan’s reputation as one of the left’s most combative and dishonest media figures — and underscored the growing cultural divide over faith, free expression, and what it means to be American.
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