Sponsors (20)
The bill increases U.S. attention, documentation, and policy tools to combat Islamophobia abroad—improving visibility and targeted responses for affected communities—while adding administrative costs and creating potential diplomatic and perception risks that could limit effectiveness.
Muslim communities abroad will have incidents of violence, harassment, and discrimination documented annually, increasing visibility and record of abuses.
U.S. policymakers, Congress, and diplomats will receive standardized, more detailed reporting on Islamophobia and government responses, improving targeting of diplomacy and foreign assistance.
A dedicated Special Envoy/Office focused on Islamophobia will raise diplomatic attention and institutional focus within the State Department, improving advocacy and accountability on these issues.
U.S. taxpayers, the State Department, and federal employees may face higher administrative and reporting costs and workloads to create the Office and produce expanded country-level assessments.
Some foreign governments may view targeted monitoring and expanded reporting as intrusive, potentially straining diplomatic relations and complicating cooperation on other issues.
If the program focuses on a single religion without comparable attention to other faiths, religious organizations and communities may perceive the effort as uneven or politically selective.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a State Department Office and Special Envoy to monitor Islamophobia abroad and requires inclusion of Islamophobia assessments in three annual U.S. reports.
Introduced February 4, 2025 by Ilhan Omar · Last progress February 4, 2025
Creates a new Office within the Department of State, led by a Special Envoy, to monitor and combat Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement abroad and to help prepare parts of several existing annual State Department reports. The Secretary must set up the Office within 120 days and may appoint an existing State Department officer or employee as the Special Envoy. Requires the Department of State’s annual country human rights reports, Trafficking in Persons–related report, and international religious freedom report to include descriptions and assessments of physical violence, harassment, vandalism of Muslim institutions, hateful propaganda, government responses, protective laws, and anti-bias education efforts related to Islamophobia; those reporting changes take effect 180 days after enactment.