Texas Agriculture Commissioner Doubles Down on Anti-Muslim Social Media Post Amid Record Islamophobia

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has maintained his refusal to apologize for his social media post, which showed Islam as a snake being killed with a knife. At the same time, he intensifies his attacks against Muslim Americans and civil rights organizations during a time of record-breaking anti-Muslim incidents in the United States. The Republican official shared an inflammatory Facebook image that showed a cowboy’s leg trapped by a snake labeled “Islam” as a knife labeled “solution” approached to deliver the deadly strike. The image received strong opposition from Muslim advocacy groups and community leaders who strongly condemned its message.

CAIR Condemns “Violent Anti-Muslim Imagery”

The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations denounced Miller’s dangerous hate speech because it generates threats against Muslim communities across Texas. Weak politicians often use minority stigmatization as an escape from facing responsibility, according to Shaimaa Ziadan, who leads CAIR-Texas as its Executive Director. The AhlulBayt News Agency published the statement. The civil rights organization warned that the graphic content promotes violence as a suitable answer to Muslim presence in society, according to IQNA News Agency. The post displays deep Islamophobia because it shows Islam as a threat to be eliminated, despite its practice by two billion worldwide believers and 100,000 Texans, according to CAIR-Texas Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan.

The criticism from Miller led to an intensification of the conflict. On Tuesday, he reaffirmed his stance about radical Islam in Texas while accusing CAIR of being Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas financial supporters despite their complete denial of these claims.

Pattern of Inflammatory Rhetoric Spans Decade

The recent controversy surrounding Miller joins a long list of anti-Muslim social media content he has posted since 2013. In August 2015, he shared a Facebook image depicting a nuclear mushroom cloud with text stating “Japan has been at peace with the US since August 9, 1945” and “It’s time we made peace with the Muslim world,” according to The Texas Tribune.

When criticized for the atomic bombing post, Miller’s campaign spokesman, Todd Smith, told POLITICO: “We thought the post was very thought-provoking and we’re not going to apologize for it”. The commissioner maintained that approximately 18 people had access to his Facebook account and refused to investigate who posted the content.

During November 2015, Miller shared two images of Syrian refugees and rattlesnakes to ask his followers which one would not attack. Sure, some of them won’t, but tell me which ones so we can bring them into the house”. The Facebook post garnered more than 4,000 likes and 6,250 shares within its first 24 hours online.

Record-Breaking Anti-Muslim Incidents Nationwide

The author delivers his argument during a period when Islamophobia has become increasingly prevalent throughout America. The CAIR documented 8,658 cases of anti-Muslim incidents during 2024, which established a new record since they started monitoring these incidents in 1996. The total number of complaints received during 2024 reached 8,66,1, which showed a 7.4% increase from the 8,061 complaints recorded in 2023.

The state of Texas has faced extreme anti-Muslim incidents which include a coordinated May 2025 assault on three Austin mosques and multiple instances of harassment against Muslim public servants. A Texas woman received a conviction for trying to kill a three-year-old Muslim girl at a public pool through drowning, while the court added hate crime charges because she chose the children based on their Muslim and Middle Eastern heritage.

Political Context and State Response

The situation developed while Texas Republican officials continued to increase their anti-Muslim speech. Governor Greg Abbott has repeatedly posted about banning “Sharia law and Sharia cities” in Texas without providing evidence of such establishments. True Texas Project, a conservative organization, circulated an email disparaging “multiple elected positions filled by Middle Easterners” just days before the September 11 anniversary.

Republican congressional candidate Valentina Gomez caused nationwide shock in August 2025 when she posted a video showing herself burning a Quran while announcing her goal to eliminate Islam from Texas. She used inflammatory language to threaten that

“Your daughters will be raped and your sons beheaded, unless we stop Islam once and for all”

Community Impact and Security Concerns

Texas Muslim communities now use advanced security systems to protect their mosques and Islamic centers because of rising political tensions. The Austin mosque vandalism in May 2025 led more than 60,000 Muslim facilities to hire new security staff and improve their monitoring systems. The police issued security warnings to McKinney area mosques in September 2025 because they observed a Caucasian man showing strange conduct while visiting religious sites.

The Islamic center became the target of vandalism when someone used Christian symbols to create anti-Muslim graffiti on its buildings. CAIR-Austin Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan stated to local media that Islamophobia and anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination have grown since October 2023, which affects both community protection and religious practice freedom. Muslim parents instruct their children to remain impartial during public harassment situations