Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Friday that he is concerned about what he described as growing Islamic influence in the United States.
He cited recent controversies involving public displays of Muslim prayer near sites connected to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"It's unconscionable," Roy said on "Finnerty," referring to reports of Muslim prayer rugs displayed at a 9/11 memorial in New York.
"Twenty-five years has passed. And during that time, we have admitted into the United States 5 million people from majority Muslim countries. Islam is on the march, all in concert with their memorandum from the Muslim Brotherhood."
Roy, who has introduced the Preserving a Sharia Free America Act and helped establish the Sharia Free America Caucus in Congress, said organizations are working to expand Islamic influence in the U.S.
"Six hundred organizations fully funded, CAIR [Council on American-Islamic Relations], Muslim Brotherhood organized to advance Islam into the United States," Roy said.
"And it's not just Dearborn [Michigan]. ... It's happening in Texas. It's happening in Houston. It's happening in Dallas-Fort Worth. There are 330 mosques in Texas."
His comments follow controversy over a Ramadan fast-breaking meal held March 4 at a New York Fire Department site.
During the event, prayer mats were placed in the lobby near a memorial honoring 343 firefighters killed in the 9/11 attacks.
The images drew criticism from some who said the setting was inappropriate given the memorial's significance.
Roy cited the incident as part of a broader concern.
"This is a real war, and you can't win a war that you do not acknowledge exists," he said. "They are trying to wage jihad against our way of life, and we've got to stand up against it."
Asked about CAIR labeling his congressional caucus a hate group, Roy rejected the characterization.
"I'm not surprised that CAIR would do that," he said. "We know what CAIR is up to. We know the organizations that are trying to advance this, and they are waging jihad against the West."
Roy also linked the issue to his campaign to become Texas attorney general.
"We're going to open up every one of the books for those 600 organizations," he said, "and we're going to take their charters away if they're going to continue this."
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