Netizens slam 'Jesus lover' Valentina Gomez for Quran sacrilege, noting it mentions Jesus 25 times

Social media users are blasting Valentina Gomez, a Colombia-born candidate for Texas's 31st congressional district, for desecrating a copy of the Quran with a flamethrower in a viral video, an action that has led to her being banned from all major social media platforms except X.

The far-right MAGA (Make America Great Again) candidate contesting as Republican has ignited fury with a campaign advertisement in which she is seen torching a copy of Quran and declaring that Islam must be stopped "once and for all."

In the incendiary footage, she falsely claims that "America is a Christian nation" and refers to Muslims as "terrorists," telling them to "go … to any of the 57 Muslim nations. There is only one true God, and that is the God of Israel."

However, her actions have sparked outrage, with many users noting that Gomez, who claims to love Jesus and his mother Mary, has disrespected both religious figures who are mentioned dozens of times, directly or indirectly, in the Muslim holy book.

"Jesus [is] mentioned positively 25 times and Mary 36 times in the Quran. Compare this to the Talmud. @ValentinaForUSA why did you disrespect Jesus and Mary for Zionists by burning the Quran?," wrote a social media user.

"In the Quran, Jesus is mentioned 25 times; his mother, Mary, is mentioned more often than in the New Testament, 34 times. An entire chapter is named after her; Sura 19 is entirely devoted to her and recounts the miraculous birth of Jesus. She set fire to it, poor, ignorant girl," another netizen argued.

Leveraging religion to boost her political ambitions

Muslims represent a modest, yet expanding, segment of the population within the United States. Discrimination and attacks against Muslims and Arabs in the US reached a new peak in 2024 amidst Israel's genocide in Gaza, advocacy groups say.

Gomez, who was born in Colombia, is a politician who has not achieved success. She has a history of employing distasteful tactics and using hateful rhetoric against Muslims, Black people, and immigrants in an attempt to gain notoriety and enter politics.

Gomez concludes her recent video by stating she is "powered by Jesus Christ."

Social media users suggest she's leveraging religion to boost her nascent political ambitions.

"Get out of my state we have no place for intolerance and hateful people who don’t believe in basic human rights such as THE FIRST AMENDMENT which allows for freedom of religion why don’t you learn the basics before running for office," one user told Gomez.

Quran burning "shows her ignorance", wrote another user.