@GregAbbott_TX What exactly are you “purging,” Governor? Texas does not have Sharia courts with governmental judicial authority. Texas has one legal system, and every legally enforceable judgment ultimately remains subject to Texas and federal law.
Muslims are allowed to seek voluntary religious mediation and guidance, just as Jews use Beth Din tribunals and Christians use church-based arbitration. That does not create a competing court system. In fact, the Texas Supreme Court has already dealt with Islamic religious arbitration and treated the question under ordinary Texas arbitration and family law, including requiring courts to determine whether an agreement is legally enforceable before compelling arbitration.
And this claim that the “Texas Constitution and statutes have banned Sharia Law” is BS. The Texas Constitution does not contain some blanket ban on Sharia law. It expressly protects freedom of worship and says the government may not give preference to one religious society or mode of worship over another.
Even HB 4211, which Abbott advertised as “banning Sharia compounds,” doesn’t mention Sharia or Islam in the law itself. It regulates certain residential-property arrangements, prohibits discrimination, and prevents those particular contracts from forcing disputes into a tribunal outside the state or federal court system. It applies regardless of religion.
And Abbott’s own government has described this as an investigation into alleged misconduct, not proof that some secret Islamic judicial system has taken over Texas. The Attorney General’s April announcement literally says it is investigating to determine whether the Islamic Tribunal is engaged in illegal activity.
If somebody impersonates a government court, commits fraud, coerces people, or tries to enforce something contrary to Texas or federal law, prosecute them. But Muslims voluntarily seeking religious guidance isn’t illegal any more than Jews consulting a rabbinical court or Christians consulting their church is.
So spare us the chest-thumping about “purging Sharia.” You’re not saving Texas from a parallel Islamic government. You’re taking an existing legal system that already prevents any religious organization from overruling American law and turning it into another culture-war stunt. And “Islam is not compatible with the West” isn’t a legal principle. It’s religious bigotry dressed up as breaking news.