As Texas ‘ November election draws nearer and legislators get ready for the 90th Legislative Program, which will start in January, the debate on Islam and sharia law continues to gain political grip.
Elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels are speaking out on this topic.
The State Board of Education has sparked a controversial debate over how to tell about Islam by revising the country’s social studies requirements this year, drawing the attention of hundreds of people testators. Liberal lawmakers have been outspoken in opposing local incidents related to Islam in recent months, including a Muslim-only water park occurrence, the self-described” Muslim Games” athletic competition, and ritual foot-washing stations at airports.
The Meadow, formerly known as “EPIC City” after the proposed 402-acre Muslim private area in Collin and Hunt regions near Josephine, planned to include a K–12 college, a dome, retail space, and enclosure, is perhaps the most well-known topic of discussion. The project has been entangled in legal battles after developers sued the Texas Workforce Commission ( TWC ) for allegedly failing to approve fair housing policies as agreed.
Attorney General Ken Paxton claims that a Travis County judge sided with the designers in April, but the state appealed, and the 15th Court of Appeals has since stayed a temporary injunction that “would have compelled the TWC to fraudulently review certain fair housing files” for the development.
Gov. Greg Abbott cited ongoing state and federal investigations as evidence that the project will “never see the light of day.” The Meadow now faces a U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development investigation, as well as a separate TWC investigation into possible Fair Housing Act violations for discriminatory conditions and advertising.
Abbott stated that Texas would veto sharia law earlier this month at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, stating that Texans “are not waiting on Washington, D.C.” and highlighting his designation of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations last year.
Ted Cruz (R-TX ), a Republican senator from Texas, made a “red-green alliance” apparent in his convention speech. He said that Americans are witnessing” communists and Islamists coming together”, an alliance that he claimed is” sweeping over” the Democratic Party.
They are united because of one another’s enemies, Cruz asserted. ” They hate Christians. They despise Jews. They hate capitalism. They detest both the Constitution and America.
In March, state Rep. Brent Money (R-Greenville ) founded the Sharia Free Texas Caucus in the Texas House, defining” Sharia” as” the Islamic legal and ethical framework derived from the Quran and Hadith ,]which ] has fueled centuries of oppression, including violence against women, children, and non-believers who refuse to submit”.
Money stated earlier this year to The Texan that” Texas has always been a beacon of freedom, forged in the fires of independence and rooted in unwavering Christian values.” ” We defiantly declare: We will not stand idly by as Islamic influences seek to transform our great state into another conquered territory. This Caucus will fight until our very last breath to keep Texas free, sovereign, and Christian.
At the end of June, Money said the caucus had around 50 members.
One of the two Muslim state representatives in the House, state representative Salman Bhojani (D-Euless ), described the caucus ‘ announcement as “appalled.” He had initially thought that the focus on Sharia would “die down after the Republican primaries ended”, but said he feels that it is growing and will continue to escalate.
In a closed-door meeting, Bhojani said he reached out to the Sharia Free Texas Caucus as soon as he learned about it.
” Honestly, I just want to appreciate him]being ] willing to at least meet me in a private setting to discuss my faith and what his interpretation of my faith is, and what things I can dispel that he may not know about”, Bhojani said. ” We’ve done a lot more than we’ve already done before the session starts,” the coach said.
Bhojani recently launched the House Religious Freedom Caucus, saying that” no Texan should have to choose between their faith and their safety, or their job, or their standing in the state”.
The Texas House and Senate now have 26 Democratic members in the caucus. ” Unfortunately, it is only one party right now”, Bhojani explained, adding that he is trying to add “more people from the other side of the aisle”.
He claimed that the caucus is working on a response to the “very serious legislative proposals that are coming out.” A six-city listening tour launched this summer has already stopped in Houston and San Antonio, with the goal of hearing from “real Texans, faith leaders, local elected officials — to see what they’re experiencing on the ground”.
The Religious Freedom Caucus intends to use the feedback from these meetings to develop legislation to actively defend what he called the “erosion of religious freedom” in Texas.
Distinguishing between” sharia law” and” sharia”, Bhojani described sharia as” a personal moral code, a moral framework and ethical framework that guides the people that follow that”, adding that it cannot be imposed on others.
He claimed that there is no “any evidence of sharia law being imposed anywhere in Texas— no case, no policy, no legal mechanism” and that he is opposed to any religious tradition imposing its religious beliefs on the government.
” I empathize with any elected official who says,’ Hey, why is sharia taking over our court system?'” Bhonjai asserted. ” And I would be the first one to say,’ I’m sorry. It ought not to.
While many Republican lawmakers point to countries in the Middle East or the United Kingdom as examples of the negative effects of sharia law, Bhojani does not want to focus on that.
Because I don’t reside in those nations, Bhojani said,” I’m not even talking about those nations.” ” I live in America. I reside in Texas, so I’m interested in what’s going on there.
In an interview with The Texan at the Republican Party of Texas ‘ 2026 state convention in June, Money called sharia a “kitchen table issue” to which he believes people will be paying more attention going forward.
” I think people outside the Republican base are concerned about what Texas ‘ “islamization” is doing,” Money said.
In regards to future legislation, he highlighted areas of concern, such as ensuring law enforcement and prosecutors have” the tools that they need to go after terrorist networks” and preparing for immigration in a “post-Trump presidency”.
He added that it is crucial to distinguish between the “aspects of sharia law that are incompatible with our constitution or our current laws.”
Money said that sharia law includes unequal rights for women, female genital mutilation, and child marriage.
The issue is that many of these events occur in private or in neighborhoods where no one is aware of it, he said, adding that he wants to ensure that young girls are protected in these circumstances.
” But if we allow these enclaves of people that are not assimilating into our culture, then who is there to raise the concern and bring it to law enforcement?… According to Money,” I believe we must work really hard to ensure that everyone’s laws apply equally and equally.”
The Texan reached out to Money for additional comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The other Muslim member of the House, State Rep. Suleman Lalani, founded the Interfaith Legislators Caucus with the goal of “prosperity in pluralism” and advocated for “dialogue and cooperation while upholding religious freedom, mutual respect, human dignity, and the civil rights of all Texans.”
He emphasized that” Muslim Texans are simply Texans”, who he said are not asking for special treatment.
Lalani continued,” Religious liberty has to apply equally to everyone.” ” A mosque should receive the same protection as a church, synagogue, temple, or any other place of worship”.
Lalani told Money in an email that he is always willing to have a respectful conversation with any colleague, “especially when the topic involves religious liberty and the rights of the Texans we represent,” but that he has not had one with Money regarding his caucus.
He noted that he is not interested in” creating a viral moment for someone to prop themselves up”, and that debates “belong on the House floor where they serve the interest of the people”.
Lalani believes that the number of bills relating to Islam will be determined by the results of the election.
” If voters decide affordability, expanded health care, and public education are more important than the fabricated threat of Sharia law, then fewer bills will be filed”, he stated, adding that he believes the “whole issue is fabricated and pushed more by polling than by facts”.
In December 2025, U.S. Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX-21 ) and Keith Self (R-TX-03 ) founded the Sharia Free Texas Caucus, which is a branch of the Sharia Free America Caucus. As of July, the caucus has 68 members across 25 states, all of them Republicans.
Self stated on social media this summer that” the Sharia-Free America Caucus is growing as more people recognize the dangers of Sharia and more elected representatives choose to speak out.”
Self spoke at a McKinney City Council meeting in August to oppose a proposed mosque there.
He claimed that Muslims who reject Islam or attempt to assimilate a mosque could not be “envisioned by a mosque that would be completely assimilate.”
” We’re all stuck in this First Amendment rut because this is a political ideology. We have to move past this behavior so that it has a sense of religion on it,” Self said. ” Look, to the Muslim, separation of church and state applies only to Christianity. There is no separation of church and state under Sharia law, as stated in Islam. It is one system of governance”.
Self claimed that if people “understand Sharia” and” start flooding their school board meetings, their city council meetings, and their commissioners ‘ court meetings,” the problem can only be resolved. He said that there have been multiple examples of successful pushback in Kaufman, Keller, Hunt, and Rockwall counties.
Self remarked,” This must be a citizen-driven initiative to go to your local elected officials and tell them to stop.”
Last month, Roy sent a letter to U. S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, U. S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and U. S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, outlining concerns regarding a “planned Islamic development” being built near U. S. military training base Camp Bullis in San Antonio.
In order to fulfill its campus expansion project, Roy asked the members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet to examine the North Islamic Center of San Antonio ( NICSA ) and “examine whether any criminal, civil, financial, or immigration statutes had been broken.
In his letter, Roy voiced concern that, in fundraising efforts for the expansion project, NICSA leaders have partnered with the Muslim Brotherhood, which he described as” an organization with a history of collaborating with extremist groups and receiving foreign terrorist designations for several of its chapters”.
As you all probably know, efforts to spread Sharia Law or any other Islamic theocracy code “undermine and seek to replace” the country’s already established legal system, which he claimed is founded on religious liberty and the rule of law.
” Sharia ( Islamic law ) subjugates women, children, and non-Muslims to second-class citizenship while sanctioning varying forms of punishment for those opposed”, Roy stated.
Democrats like Bhojani advocate for removing religion completely from government as these Republican lawmakers continue to highlight what they claim are constitutional contradictions.
” I’m telling you very clearly that religion does not have a place in our government and our lawmaking and our courts”, he stated.
On January 12, 2027, the 90th Legislative Session will begin.
