American Family Association

Afa lg

American Family Association

The American Family Association, or AFA, is a far-right Christian organization that has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Founded by Pastor Donald E. Wildmon in Mississippi in 1977, AFA describes itself as having been on the “frontlines of America’s culture war” and believes “that a culture based on biblical truth best serves the well-being of our nation and our families.” AFA’s stringent, socially conservative views are perhaps most starkly exemplified by its vehement stance against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, people. AFA and its leaders have also at times lashed out against Islam and Muslims.

Tim Wildmon, president of AFA, said in 2012 that “[Islam] is, in fact, a religion of war, violence, intolerance, and physical persecution of non-Muslims.”  

AFA Director of Issues Analysis Bryan Fischer has also gone on numerous anti-Muslim diatribes and has even claimed that the U.S. Constitution does not safeguard the rights of Muslims. “[The Founders] weren’t providing any cover or shelter for the free exercise of Islam or even Judaism or even atheism. They weren’t saying you can’t do it, I want to be clear on that, they weren’t prohibiting that, they were just saying that is not what we are talking about here. Islam has no fundamental First Amendment claims, for the simple reason that it was not written to protect the religion of Islam,” Fischer opined in a 2013 episode of his radio program. “The First Amendment was written by the Founders to protect the free exercise of Christianity. They were making no effort to give special protections to Islam. Quite the contrary.”

On a separate occasion, Fischer has further said that “If we are in the Last Days, then Islam is clearly the religion that Satan is promoting to be the counterfeit alternative to Christianity.”