Virginia ‘Islamophobia’ bill creates recording category, not new crime

(The Center Square) – First Amendment encroachment and fear that a new crime has been created tied to the “Islamophobia” bill are not founded, says the Virginia bill’s author and a leading voice on free speech.

Both tell TCS bias-related incidents would have a new categorization.

“The purpose of this legislation is to create a subcategory so the state can track these crimes,” Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, D-Fairfax, told TCS on Thursday. “This does not infringe on any First Amendment rights.”

Senate Bill 624 – filed Jan. 14 and on Feb. 2 moved to the 2027 legislative session – proposes adding a definition of “Islamophobia” to Virginia’s assault-and-battery statute. The legislation does not create a new criminal offense; rather, it addresses how certain bias-related incidents could be classified and tracked.

Salim said the bill is largely focused on reporting and data collection rather than expanding cr...