Mark Ruffalo slams US right-wing Project 2025, gets slammed right back for calling it Sharia Law

Outraged social media users denounced the actor’s Islamophobic analogy

Amid the deafening silence of Hollywood celebrities since October 7, Mark Ruffalo has been among the few who have shown steadfast support for Palestine long before the #blockout2024 movement took hold and well before All Eyes On Rafah started trending.

So to see him taken to task for inadvertently slamming Muslims has been somewhat of a mood-shift. Ruffalo’s heart may be in the right place, but on July 2, with his latest post on X condemning the Republican party in the bitterly contested run-up to the US election, Ruffalo sparked instant outrage from his Muslim followers. 

Project 2025 is not a game, it’s white Christian nationalism. It is the Sharia Law of the “Christian” crazy people who aren’t Christian at all but want to control every aspect of your life through their narrow and exclusionary interpretation of Christ’s egalitarian, inclusive,… https://t.co/F1sdIpkovi

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) July 1, 2024

“Project 2025 is not a game, it’s white Christian nationalism,” began Ruffalo.

Project 2025 is the name given by US conservatives to reshape the federal government in their image. It is a collection of policy transition proposals that outline how, should Republican candidate Donald Trump win the November election, he can remake the federal government to carry out his right-wing agenda. Ruffalo’s open condemnation of Project 2025 should have scored him a few points with his Muslim followers. And yet, while his heart may have been in the right place, his next few words washed it all away. 

“It is the Sharia Law of the “Christian” crazy people who aren’t Christian at all but want to control every aspect of your life through their narrow and exclusionary interpretation of Christ’s egalitarian, inclusive, and kindly teachings,” continued Ruffalo.

Having already equated Islamic law with “crazy” Christian people, Ruffalo went on the label Project 2025 “Trump’s American Taliban”. “Don’t be fooled by Project 2025’s extremist and perverse ideology,” he added. “Trump is bringing it to all our lives: abortion, LGBTQIA+ rights, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of education, and equality between the races and genders—GONE. Forced birth and forced religion. Trump’s American Taliban.”

Within moments of posting, Ruffalo’s analogy was ripped to shreds on X, with his followers pointing out that Sharia Law is not the all-encompassing term for evil it is portrayed in the global West. “I want to make sure you know “Sharia Law” is Islamic Law like the Bible, not extremist nationalism,” wrote one user. “The term has been propagandised to incite fear and hate against Muslims. This needs to stop. We have been demonised, dehumanised and persecuted enough.” 

I want to make sure you know
“Sharia Law” is Islamic Law like the Bible not extremist nationalism. Every Muslim follows the Sharia when they believe in Allah (SWT) as One God, pray 5 times a day, fast during Ramadan, make their Hajj donate to the poor so on. The term has been…

— Attymzk (@attymzk) July 1, 2024

In the same vein, another commenter penned, “I was with you on everything you said until you said Sharia Law, which in the way you intended was hateful and Islamophobic. In this era of knowledge and understanding, we must be better aware of the tools devised to divide.” 

Thank you for speaking up on this. I was with you on everything you said @MarkRuffalo until you said Sharia Law, which in the way you intended it was hateful and Islamophobic. in this new era of knowledge and understanding we must be better aware of the tools devised to divide.

— yasmeenrobertsVO 🍉 (@umpteenthandx) July 1, 2024

Meanwhile, yet another follower sardonically pointed out that there were far more relevant examples closer to home Ruffalo could have used to denounce extremist far-right agenda in the US. 

Imagine using Muslims as the point of reference to describe Christian extremism when White Christians in America have their own history of institutionalizing slavery, holding witch trials, colonizing people, committing genocides (Gaza currently) and drafting Jim Crow.

— Achmat X 🪂 (@AchmatX) July 2, 2024

Others found it ironic that Ruffalo has voiced staunch support for Palestinians, but would resort to using such divisive terminology to lambast far-right propaganda. 

Funny how even the liberals who count themselves on the side of Palestinians will spread Islamophobia at the drop of a hat.@MarkRuffalo did you know that, under Sharia, abortion is permissible for as few as 40 days, or even into the 2nd trimester, depending on interpretation? pic.twitter.com/dHvaOCnSae

— Q. Anthony Ali (@NobleQAli) July 2, 2024

On behalf of all Muslims who had taken offence at Ruffalo’s throwaway analogy, one more irate commenter summed it up succinctly, writing, “Hey man. Can we go five minutes without using Muslims as “scary example of bad thing”? Thanks, bud.” 

Hey man. Can we go 5 minutes without using Muslims as "scary example of bad thing"? Thanks, bud

— eric (@havlatwink) July 1, 2024

Regardless of his choice of words in this instance, the Hulk actor has been public in his outrage at the genocide in Gaza. “For all the innocent children whose lives have been shattered in Gaza, we say with united hearts: NOT IN OUR NAME. All the killing must stop.”

The Hollywood A-lister has repeatedly used his social media presence to call for a permanent ceasefire, and was among the artists wearing an Artists4Ceasefire pin at the Directors Guild of America Awards in February earlier this year. 

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