Today, we pause to remember one of the darkest days in American history that took place 25 years ago. On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 innocent Americans were murdered in a coordinated terrorist attack carried out by radical Islamists. Those of us who lived through that horrific day remember exactly where we were when the planes hit.

That day changed this country forever. In addition to changing the way we travel; it also transformed the way we view the world and our place in it. We were smacked in the face with the reality that there are people who are so hellbent on destroying America that they will kill themselves just to try to harm us. It sends shivers down your spine – but it’s true.

In the aftermath of 9/11, we created the Department of Homeland Security, went to war, and unsuccessfully attempted to westernize the Middle Eastern countries most responsible for this. We strengthened surveillance and gave up some freedoms in hopes of preventing another large-scale attack. But 25 years later, we have to ask: are we awake to the threats around us, or have we let our guard down?

Let’s be honest, radical Islamic terrorism didn’t go away after 2001. In 2004, Islamic terrorists bombed commuter trains in Madrid, killing nearly 200 and injuring thousands. At Fort Hood in 2009, 13 people were killed in a mass shooting by an Army psychiatrist who was radicalized by Islamic teachings. In 2013, three were killed and hundreds injured when two brothers detonated bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Then, in 2015, ISIS-inspired radicals murdered 130 people in Paris. It continued in 2019, when a Saudi military trainee opened fire at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, killing three American sailors. And just last year, we saw Muslim terrorist attacks in New Orleans on New Years Day and in D.C. in the shooting of two National Guardsmen. These attacks weren’t just against people — they were an all-out assault on Western culture, freedom, and the values we hold dear. 

When the War on Terror began, we were told that we had to fight the Jihadists over there, so we wouldn’t have to fight them here at home. But under Barack Obama, tens of thousands of Muslims were brought into our country to places like Minneapolis and Northern Virginia, enabling Radical Islam to gain a foothold on U.S. soil. And for four years under Joe Biden, our borders were dangerously wide open — allowing thousands of individuals on the suspected terrorist watchlist to flood into this country unchecked.

While we spent the early 2000s focused on eradicating radical Islamic terrorism abroad, we are now living under a constant terrorist threat in our own backyards, thanks to deranged Democrat-Socialists’ who have embraced Radical Islam. I’m gravely concerned about the looming threat of radical Islam and Sharia law — both of which openly call for the destruction of America and western culture. 

Unsurprisingly, the hundreds of terrorists we have allowed to enter our country have brought their anti-American rhetoric and ideology with them. In cities like Minneapolis, MN; Dearborn, MI; Paterson, NJ; and even in New York City, elected officials openly support organizations like Hamas — the same group that butchered civilians at a music festival in Israel on October 7, 2023. With all this, some members of Congress still refuse to condemn Hamas or even the 9/11 attacks. 

We are allowing people with extremist ideologies, people who reject American values, to not only live here, but to hold positions of power and influence in our government. Democrat-Socialist Senate candidate Abdulrahmen Mohammed El-Sayed in Michigan openly campaigns with a social media influencer who says America deserved 9/11, while a congressional district in New Jersey is poised to elect a Democrat-Socialist candidate who has ties to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda—the same group who claimed responsibility for the attacks on the twin towers. And don’t get me started on the Muslim Mayor of New York who just earlier this week handed a pen to a former lawyer for Al Qaeda at a 9/11 signing.

There are verses in the Quran that call for violence against non-Muslims. We can’t ignore that. Radical Islamists take those instructions literally and use them to justify terror. These aren’t peaceful neighbors seeking the American dream, they are ideological warriors seeking to transform our country from within. And we are letting it happen.

To be clear: I fully support freedom of religion. Freedom of worship is a Constitutionally-guaranteed right in this country. If you want to come here legally, peacefully practice Islam, and integrate into our society, you are welcome to do so. But if you practice the type of Islam that believes Sharia Law supersedes American law, you should be deported immediately. 

If we don’t take a stand now, our way of life — our Judeo-Christian values, our freedoms, and our national identity — could disappear. Just look at what has happened in Europe. That’s why, when I’m Governor of Alabama, I will ban Sharia Law in our great state. We won’t allow a parallel legal system to take root here. More states should do the same. We must protect American values, not apologize for them.

Now is the time to act, because if we don’t, the nearly 3,000 Americans who died on 9/11 will have died in vain. If we really mean it when we say “Never Again,” we need to come together and stand strong against the evils of radical Islamic terrorism, which is still seeking to destroy this country from within today.

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees. He is also a candidate for Governor of Alabama in 2026.