Rudy Giuliani just launched an unprovoked, strangely Islamophobic attack on John Brennan

Former Director of the CIA John Brennan wasn’t afraid to voice strong criticism of President Trump after witnessing the incompetent authoritarian take office and immediately set about laying waste to the United States’ reputation around the world.

In retaliation, Trump took the unprecedented, politically charged step of revoking Brennan’s security clearance. Former high ranking government officials usually retain their clearance after leaving public service in case their consultation is needed on sensitive issues in the future.

This morning, Rudy Giuliani continued his months’ long, public mental unraveling with an appearance on Fox News, during which he personally attacked Brennan. The former New York City mayor has fully thrown his lot in with Trump, undoing his life’s work in service to a wannabe potentate. So erratic are Giuliani’s comments and interviews that some have begun to speculate that there is something severely, psychologically wrong with the president’s favorite toady.

Giuliani unleashed a barrage of unfounded, conspiracy-theory tinged attacks on Brennan by first implying he was a communist, before pivoting to outright Islamophobic hysteria.

He criticized Brennan for being a “great lover of Islam,” as if the very idea of a government official respecting a religion practiced by almost 3.5 million Americans is a bad thing. Of course, for many Fox viewers and Trump supporters in particular, Islam is a bad thing, a boogieman religion that they can rally around and blame all of their problems on. The paranoia is fueled by xenophobia and outright racism.

Giuliani went on to say that Brennan called the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, “beautiful.” Of course, millions of people coming together to celebrate their religion in peaceful solidarity is a beautiful thing, but such a reality doesn’t square with Giuliani’s bigoted worldview.

The Islamophobic tint of Giuliani’s comments dovetails with a conspiracy theory that has been percolating for years that Brennan is a “secret Muslim,” an unfounded belief that directly mirrors right-wing lie-monger claims that President Obama was also a secret Muslim.

Of course, there is no proof that either man practices the Islamic faith, but more importantly: there would be nothing wrong if either of them was Muslim. This nation was founded on a belief in freedom of religion, and whatever religious or nonreligious beliefs one holds have no bearing on his or her ability to faithfully discharge their duties as a public servant. Giuliani is a hateful coward for launching these attacks on Brennan and, more broadly, for implying that Islam is inherently evil.

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