First Draft: Islamophobes Can't Shut Up Even as Muslims Are Murdered at a California Mosque

Three people were shot dead at the Islamic Center of San Diego, amid rising GOP anti-Muslim invective that has been left largely unchecked by the mainstream media, top Democrats, and society at large.

On this day in 2024, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash caused by bad weather. The hardliner would be replaced by the more reform-minded Masoud Pezeshkian, who on Monday said talks to end the U.S.-Israel war on Iran did “not mean surrender.”

Good morning, friends. Prem here. Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday, wherever you are. Unfortunately, I write in the wake of horrific violence in San Diego, California. I share my spirit with all who may be directly affected, and to all who deserve to be able to go without fear to their houses of worship.

In today’s ‘First Draft,’ we discuss all that led to yet another terrible anti-Muslim attack. Donald Trump, meanwhile, got a near-$2 billion slush fund to dole out to his allies, while Israel illegally intercepted another aid flotilla, kidnapping hundreds, including the Irish president’s sister and Zeteo contributor Alex Colston.

Let’s dig in.

Hating Muslims

Police interview a woman near the Islamic Center in San Diego after multiple people were killed on May 18, 2026. Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Just days after yet another red-faced, fear-mongering Republican congressional hearing on “Sharia law,” a mosque was attacked in the United States. Two teenage suspects allegedly carried out a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, killing three people.

While many of the details are still being uncovered, here’s what we know about the attack so far and the apparent motivations: the suspects were found dead, of apparently self-inflicted wounds. One reportedly left a suicide note that contained writings about racial pride, CNN reported, while hate speech was reportedly written on one of three weapons taken from the home of the parents of one suspect. A gas can with an “SS” sticker (a possible reference to Hitler’s Nazi paramilitary force) was also recovered.

Unfortunately, we can become desensitized towards such violence. Violence done with firearms, in a nation with more guns than people. Violence towards Arab Americans, especially since 9/11. Violence towards Muslims, given the posture of US foreign policy for decades on end.

But this attack hits hard, not only because it is at the nexus of so many social ills, but because the fomenting of anti-Muslim hatred in recent months has been so blatant – and so normalized.

For months, Republican members of Congress have unashamedly and publicly spewed venom towards Muslims and Islam, with little press or Democratic Party pushback. Comments that would tank political careers if they were made about any other minority are barely noticed if they are made about Muslims.