Muslim Americans Push Back as GOP Figures Stoke Anti-Sharia Rhetoric

Muslim American civic leaders and scholars are pushing back against a fresh wave of anti-Sharia rhetoric from Republican politicians, arguing that the religious code is widely misunderstood and poses no threat to American law.

The latest flashpoint came at a Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where Sen. Ted Cruz drew some of his loudest cheers by declaring that "Sharia law has no place in America" and calling for it to be stopped. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott followed moments later, pledging to "fully ban Sharia law in Texas."

The rhetoric is not new. Anti-Sharia messaging has circulated in American politics for more than 15 years, and its defenders say it persists because it energizes a political base.

Sabeel Ahmed, an Illinois-based director of the outreach project GainPeace, travels the country — with a recent focus on Texas — speaking at mosque workshops and open houses. He argues that Sharia is often reduced to punishments when its real content is guidance on prayer, pilgrimage, fasting, charity and personal conduct.

"They gain popularity by saying it," Ahmed said of politicians and social media influencers who amplify the issue. "It's the job of the Muslims to educate what is the proper meaning of the word Sharia."

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, a Sudanese-born Islamic scholar who taught for years at Emory University School of Law, said he and other Muslim Americans embrace Sharia willingly as part of their identity while also embracing American values. He described the demonization of their beliefs as "a shocking ignorance of what Sharia means" and "a total dehumanization of the other."

On the other side, Reps. Keith Self and Chip Roy, both Texas Republicans, co-founded the Sharia-Free America Caucus in Congress last December. Roy has said Sharia is "a direct threat to our Constitution and Western values." The caucus now has more than 60 members, all Republicans, and has introduced several anti-Sharia bills, none of which have passed.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has designated the caucus an anti-Muslim hate group. Its research and advocacy director, Corey Saylor, compared the rhetoric to past hostility toward Irish Catholics and noted that Islam has been present in America for more than 250 years.

In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton in August demanded documents from the Dallas-based Islamic Tribunal, saying his office was investigating whether it was acting as a court or applying foreign laws. The tribunal updated its website to clarify that it does not function as a court, issues no legally binding judgments, and refers any matter requiring enforcement to the Texas judicial system. It likened its work to Jewish Beth Din courts and Catholic ecclesiastical tribunals.

Asma Uddin, a professor at Michigan State University's College of Law, said politicians use the issue to find a scapegoat. "When politicians use this, it's giving them exactly what they're looking for," she said.

Ahmed plans another mosque open house in Houston in the coming weeks and is working on a book for Christian clergy across the country. "Islam is not to be feared," he said. "Let's emphasize the commonalities we have."