Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith is using the Muslim faith as a prop in his campaign for relevance in the post-Trump Republican Party.
He called Islam a “demonic death cult” in June and now says he wants to “ban mosques in America from blaring the Muslim call to prayer through loudspeakers 5 times a day across our cities.”
Beckwith’s latest comments refer to the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, which is recited before each of Muslims’ five daily prayers. American mosques generally do not amplify the adhan outdoors — and, in places where they do, they are subject to local noise ordinances, which do not favor or disfavor decibels based on religion.
Beckwith wants discrimination — or, at least, he wants to be known as a person willing to call for it.
He is asserting Islam exists outside the constitutional bounds of religious freedom protections in America. He probably doesn’t think that view would hold up in court. But it’s a sign of where he thinks conservative politics are heading — and what he’s willing to do to try and lead Republicans into the future.
Beckwith knows where the right is headed
Beckwith is synonymous with Christian nationalism, which I’ve written about, but that term obscures his objectives. He is above all else an image-conscious marketer selling a vision of American flag-draped Jesus to young conservative men.
Demand for Beckwith’s product is rising. Charlie Sabgir, director of the Young Men Research Project, recently wrote an essay for The Atlantic discussing the shifting views his group is seeing. Conservative young men increasingly view President Donald Trump as a disappointment, he wrote, and they’re moving on.
“Most of the men I spoke with said that the president is abandoning his ‘America First’ agenda, which is what attracted them to the Republican Party in the first place,” Sabgir wrote. “Rather than defect to the Democratic Party, they want a more radical GOP — one led not by MAGA insiders such as J. D. Vance but by figures further to the right, who they believe can deliver on the promises that Trump has failed to keep on immigration and foreign policy.
“Some young activists, though, articulated a political vision that goes far beyond any Trump-campaign pledge. For them, the future of American conservatism should be rooted in a patriarchal version of Christianity and an unapologetic ethnonationalism.”
IndyStar’s Jacob Stewart has written about Save Heritage Indiana, a group harnessing that energy here, with some success. Beckwith’s recent comments cut to the core of that view of America.
You can say a lot of things about Beckwith — and I have — but he has overperformed as a political figure. He knows better than most in politics how to skate to where the puck is going.
Outrage as a sorting mechanism
There’s not much point in parsing Beckwith’s statements on Islam. Provocation is the point. His anti-Islam remarks put him at the center of the conversation through his time-tested strategy.
Step one: Say something ridiculous. Step two: Get condemned. Step three: Watch as other Republicans squirm to address the ridiculous statement.
This approach is as much about elevating himself within the Republican Party as it is about drawing attention. It’s working. Indiana leaders gathered June 11 to celebrate religious freedom — and denounce Beckwith’s anti-Islam remarks.
Indiana Treasurer Daniel Elliott was among the Republicans criticizing Beckwith.
“Here’s what history teaches us. First, we say it’s okay to hate Muslims, then the Hindu, then the Jew, and then they tell Christians to stay quiet. It isn’t about you,” Elliott said, per the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “But then one day you wake up and you’re not the right flavor of Christian, and suddenly it is you.”
If Beckwith is right about where Republicans are heading, then his anti-Muslim remarks could one day be a sorting mechanism to determine who is on the right and wrong sides. Beckwith now has receipts on Elliott, a conservative Republican, as well as others who spoke out against him.
It’s no wonder Beckwith returned to the anti-Islam well a few weeks later. He doesn’t care whether his political ladder-climbing causes harm to others. Beckwith’s choices are about what’s best for Beckwith.
By that measure, Beckwith is having the best summer of any Indiana Republican not named Max Engling or Jim Banks. He has generated multiple news cycles, drawn distinctions with other Republicans and endeared himself to the ardently nativist young men driving the conservative movement.
A growing segment of the Republican Party base is sending a clear signal that it wants to make America discriminate again. Beckwith is showing he will lead them.
Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X at @JamesEBriggs.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Micah Beckwith is auditioning for a more radical GOP | Opinion
Reporting by James Briggs, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By James Briggs, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
