Democratic congressman hoping to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz ignores questions about his support for radical imam

Democratic Rep. Colin Allred is running to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas. While the race leans "likely Republican," the LGBT activist and former Tennessee Titan figures he'll be able to succeed where Beto O'Rourke failed, in part because he was able to defeat incumbent Republican Rep. Pete Sessions in 2018 and has demonstrated a knack for collecting donations.

Since Allred's leftist influence and efforts to help Democrats further curtail the Second Amendment would likely be more impactful in the Senate, at least numerically, critics have recently begun to give his past remarks and associations greater scrutiny, particularly his historic support for a radical imam who has trafficked in anti-Israel propaganda.

In 2019, Allred lauded New Orleans native Omar Suleiman for his "message of peace, unity, and support for our fellow Americans," stressing he "always represent[s] the best of North Texas."

Beyond demanding that Israel suspend its war with Hamas, Suleiman has in recent days called Israel "an ethnosupremacist state" that advances "global white supremacy" and referred to Israel's war against Hamas as a "genocide." He has previously called Israel a "terrorist regime," likened Palestinian treatment to "liv[ing] under Nazis," and reportedly said, "We ask Allah to humiliate this Israel."

Suleiman, now based in Texas, reportedly said at the outset of the 2014 Gaza War, "God willing on this blessed night as the 3rd Intifada begins, the beginning of the end of Zionism is here. May Allah help us overcome this monster, protect the innocent of the world, and accept the murdered as martyrs. ameen."

This supposed representative of North Texas wrote in 2018 that Palestinian rioters were "fearless and steadfast. They will not be discouraged by those who betray them. They will continue to resist. They will continue to march. They will continue to demand their freedom. And so will we. By any means necessary."

The Daily Mail noted that Suleiman, a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was photographed last year meeting with jihadists in Malaysia, one of whom previously declared that "every Muslim should be a terrorist" and signaled common cause with Osama bin Laden. The other jihadist suggested that non-Muslims are the "worst of Allah's creations, even lower than animals."

Following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks, which claimed the lives of thousands of Israeli civilians and dozens of Americans, Suleiman circulated Hamas propaganda, claiming in one instance that Israel hit a Gazan hospital with an airstrike, when in reality an Islamist rocket had misfired. He has yet to take down his initial claim on X.

Weeks later, the Texas-based imam accused the U.S. of genocide on account of its support for Israel's security action against Hamas terrorists.

Rep. Allred clearly stated twice on Oct. 7 that he condemned "the unprovoked terrorist attacks against innocent Israeli civilians" and reiterated his "support for Israel and its right to defend itself."

Allred's messaging prompted interest in whether he'd changed his mind about Suleiman, given the imam's anti-Israeli vitriol.

Sen. Ted Cruz wrote in a Oct. 23 post, "Colin Allred embraced & welcomed this antisemite cleric to the House. Today, [Suleiman is] accusing BOTH Israael and America of 'genocide'? That is utterly false and a blood libel. Does Allred agree?"

"Does Allred still think that this antisemite represents (to use his words) 'the best of North Texas'?" added Cruz.

It appears that Cruz was not the only person interested in Allred's opinion of Suleiman. After all, the congressman has set a low bar for those whom he considers "extremists," using this term in reference to law-abiding U.S. senators who've taken a stand against the Pentagon's legally dubious abortion initiatives.

A journalist recently confronted Allred about his support of Suleiman.

Blaze News reached out to Allred for comment, but he did not respond by deadline.

It's unclear whether a condemnation of Suleiman might jeopardize Allred's ability to continue fundraising from groups critical of Israel, such as the George Soros-funded outfit J Street, which dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Democrat's Senate campaign early this year.

"Anti-Israel J Street’s endorsement of Texas Democrat Colin Allred comes as no surprise, because Allred aligns with J Street’s radicalism," Sam Markstein, national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, told the Washington Free Beacon. "Allred fancies himself a moderate, but he voted to keep anti-Semite Ilhan Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, supported the disastrous [Iran] nuclear deal."

A spokesman for Allred's campaign noted at the time that he had managed to swing the support of "both AIPAC and J Street."

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