Navy veteran Zuhdi Jasser, the only Muslim running as a Republican in this year’s House races, is using his campaign to counter what he warns is a confluence of socialist and Islamist ideology from today’s Democratic candidates.
He calls these candidates the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ “red-green farm team.”
“That farm team is not necessarily emblematic of people who are Americans that happen to be Muslim. This is really a worldview group that is of the Islamist mindset,” he said in an interview with The Washington Times.
Though he is the Republican nominee in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District, he is warning of the threat from far-left candidates across the U.S.
He points to Democrats such as Abdul El-Sayed in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, Adam Hamawy in a U.S. House race in New Jersey and Rep. Aisha Wahab of California, who recently won a special election to replace disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell and is now running for a full term.
“CAIR folks are Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups,” said Mr. Jasser, referring to the transnational Islamist political and religious group that advocates for governance based on Islamic law and has been linked to terrorism.
Mr. Jasser, whose parents fled Syria to escape the despotic Ba’ath regime, said that like others with family in the Middle East, he understands the Muslim Brotherhood all too well.
“It’s not that they’re anarchists or terrorists. They believe in the rule of law, but they do not believe in Americanism,” he said, adding that they do not support separation of mosque and state but have a “Sharia mentality.”
“That is based on our rights coming from governments … rather than the American mindset, which is our rights come from God,” Mr. Jasser said. “Their cooperation is with the Marxist or the socialist movement.”
The Times reached out to Mr. El-Sayed, Mr. Hamawy and Ms. Wahab for comment.
Mr. Jasser, a physician with a longtime practice in the Phoenix metro district, is challenging four-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Greg Stanton. Mr. Jasser ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2024, when he failed to advance from the GOP primary.
He has an uphill climb in the solidly Democratic district. Mr. Stanton beat the Republican nominee Kelly Cooper last time by 7 points, and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district by nearly 7 points as well.
Mr. Jasser is also trailing far behind Mr. Stanton in the money race, with about $340,00 cash on hand compared to the Democrats’ roughly $2 million, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Still, Mr. Jasser said his odds are better than he gets credit for.
“Don’t be surprised in November if … $2 million or however much you might have in the bank is not going to be enough to actually [win in] Arizona, which is a very independent, maverick state,” he said.
His campaign isn’t all about fighting the Islamist and socialist movement. He is also focused on the top concerns of the district’s voters: affordability, healthcare costs, housing prices, border security and Chinese land purchases in Arizona.
Mr. Jasser accuses Mr. Stanton of being “socialist adjacent” and “Islamist adjacent,” citing the Democrats’ voting record against banning transgender athletes in women’s sports, against tax relief on overtime and tips, and his participation in press conferences alongside his party’s anti-Israel lawmakers such as Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona.
“He may vote with Israel but has never been able to prosecute the case against the radicals in his own party,” Mr. Jasser said.
Mr. Stanton has consistently voted to support military and security aid for Israel. He also backs Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, and has the backing of the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
He is critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has condemned settler violence in the West Bank as acts of terrorism.
Mr. Jasser was born in Canton, Ohio, and grew up primarily in Wisconsin, where he attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
He served 11 years in the Navy, including as the internist at the Office of the Attending Physician of the United States Congress.
He and his wife, Gada, settled in the Phoenix area in 1999 and raised three children there. He now leads the Jasser Center for Comprehensive Care.
Mr. Jasser founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, which counters Islamism and the Muslim Brotherhood. He has testified before Congress on the issue several times over the past 25 years.
He also founded the Children of Abraham, a Jewish-Muslim dialogue group. He has also been an adviser on Islamic affairs to the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands.
His advocacy, he said, made him a leading opponent of CAIR, whose campaign arm overwhelmingly supports Democratic candidates.
“I’m able to prosecute the case not only against the Islamists, but against that red-green axis,” Mr. Jasser said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the Republican who lost in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District in 2024.
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