Press Releases
CAIR, CAIR-TX Say Texas Muslims Will Continue “Freely and Openly” Practicing Islam Despite Fearmongering by Texas Governor Abbott
Muslim civil rights and advocacy group encourages Abbott to visit a Texas mosque
The Texas chapter and national office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations today responded to Texas Governor Abbott’s latest dishonest fearmongering about Islam in Texas by saying that Texas Muslims will continue freely, openly and proudly practicing their faith. CAIR-Texas also encouraged Abbott to visit a mosque to learn what sharia actually means to the Texas Muslim community.
In a statement posted without any context or explanation on X on Sep. 8th, Governor Abbott falsely claimed that “Sharia law” is banned in Texas. The post, which appeared the Governor’s press office account, featured a graphic saying “Sharia law and sharia cities are banned in the state of Texas.” The accompanying text read “In Texas, we believe in equal rights under the law for all men, women, & children. Any legal system that flouts human rights is BANNED in the state of Texas.”
The post follows prior attacks by Abbott on Texas Muslims, including debunked claims that a Texas Muslim development was enforcing Islamic law in violation of state law.
In a statement, CAIR and CAIR Texas said:
” The Constitution, not Governor Greg Abbott, is the law of the land in Texas. The First Amendment guarantees that Texans of all faiths can freely and openly follow the personal rules of their religion, and no politician can take away that right.
“Just like Jewish Texans follow halacha and Catholic Texans follow canon law, Texas Muslims follow sharia, which means ‘the way to water. When Texas Muslims pray to God five times a day, donate in charity, fast in Ramadan, or speak up against injustice, among many other practices, they are observing sharia.
“Like Jewish and Christian practices, Islamic practices in America can also encompass rules involving houses of worship, burial practices, estate distribution, and business contracts, which courts can and must uphold as long as those rules do not violate public policy. At the same time, those religious rules that only a Muslim government in a Muslim society could uphold obviously have no application in Texas. Governor Abbott knows this, which makes his fearmongering about sharia all the more dishonest.
“Governor Abbot should visit one of the many mosques across Texas to learn about what sharia really is. In the meantime, he should know that the Texas Muslim community fears God, not dishonest fearmongering from politicians who understand Islam about as well as they understand the First Amendment.”
Last month, CAIR released an analysis of the fearmongering led by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and anti-Muslim campaigner Amy Mek around a Muslim-led development project, EPIC City. The analysis places the attack in the context of both a continuing tradition of Texas political figures engaging in anti-Muslim actions and a broader national pattern of fearmongering around Muslim-led development projects.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com
