Virginia Democrats Are Cooking Up a Chilling ‘Islamophobia’ Bill That Should Alarm Everyone

Just when you've thought you've heard it all from the Democrats in Virginia, along comes a Bangladeshi state lawmaker with a bill to make "Islamophobia" a "hate crime" and also "assault and battery." Not content to merely jack up taxes, hinder the deportations of violent illegals, and take away guns, Democrats in the Old Dominion are now attempting to police speech about Muslims.

SB624, which was introduced in January by State Senator Saddam Azlan Salim – a Democrat from Northern Virginia's 37th district – seeks to to "define and punish" cases of "Islamophobia" as it "relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims."

Here's the full text of the bill, which has 14 Democrat co-sponsors and no Republicans signing on to it.

Assault and battery; definition of "Islamophobia"; penalty. Defines "Islamophobia" as it relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims. This definition applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam, provided that the perpetrator targeted such victim based on a perceived adherence to such faith. The bill also clarifies that religious conviction includes Islam. The bill directs the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to include the bill's definition of "Islamophobia" in its hate crime reporting central repository.

Might we point out the most bonkers part of this chilling attempt to stifle free speech? It's that "this definition applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam" bit. So, we start with the bogus concept of "Islamophobia" being a hate crime and the equivalent of assault, and then we extend it to include "victims" who aren't actually Muslim.

Virginia Dem State Senator @SalimVASenate, born in Bangladesh, intros bill to criminalize Islamophobia as both a "hate crime" & "assault and battery" in SB624

Defines "Islamophobia" as "malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims”… even if victim isn't Muslim https://t.co/RgSmCFyhV6 pic.twitter.com/yXOEOVAvFl
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) February 6, 2026

If the Bangladeshi state senator gets his way – and the bill was recently voted to be considered by the Courts of Justice Committee in the next legislative session – Virginia's hate crime provisions would be expanded to include "bias" against Islam and Muslims and could trigger enhanced penalties under hate crime laws. The Virginia State Police, who are no longer able to coordinate with federal immigration officials, would be required to include the bill's definition of "Islamophobia" in its hate crime reporting central repository.

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When he's not busy trying to police the free speech of Virginians, Sen. Azlan Salim is focused of banning "assault weapons" in the commonwealth. Here he is bragging about another bill he introduced.

Today I introduced SB749, a bill to ban assault weapons, an issue I ran on in 2023. Virginians are tired of living in fear of a mass shooting, and tired of government inaction. That ends this year. @GIFFORDS_org @Everytown @bradybuzz pic.twitter.com/4UXWazwoLx
— Senator Saddam Azlan Salim (@SalimVASenate) January 21, 2026

And there it is. In Virginia under one-party Democratic rule, nothing is too much for the left. Higher taxes, softer treatment of criminals, fewer tools for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves, and, now, the slow creep toward policing thought and speech itself. The goal here, of course, isn’t protecting anyone from violence; it’s about testing how far Democrats can push their ideology.

George Orwell did warn us.

Editor’s Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.

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