Texas Governor Bans Sharia Law and Compounds

 On Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that he has banned Sharia Law and any encampments based on it from being established in Texas.

A video of an Islamic cleric in the Houston area speaking against the use of alcohol, gambling, and eating pork recently surfaced. The cleric announced he and his associates would visit “inner-city” communities and bring the same message. This was met with stern response by Abbott and perhaps the catalyst for his ban. 

“I signed laws that BAN Sharia Law and Sharia Compounds in Texas,” Abbott stated. “No business and no individual should fear fools like this. If this person, or ANYONE, attempts to impose Sharia compliance, report it to local law enforcement or the Texas Dept. of Public Safety,” the governor further said. 

Concerning a possible Sharia Law compound mentioned by Abbott, US Senator John Cornyn requested in May that the US DOJ investigate a Muslim community in the planning process called East Plano Islamic Center (Epic City). The senator was concerned with the exclusionary element of the proposed community, especially with regard to religious liberty.  

“A master-planned ‘community of thousands of Muslims’ could violate the constitutional rights of Jewish and Christian Texans, by preventing them from living in this new community and discriminating against them within the community,” Cornyn wrote. “I further encourage the Department to investigate whether Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslim minorities would receive equal protection under the law in this new community. Religious discrimination, whether explicit or implicit, is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our nation’s values, and I am concerned this community potentially undermines this vital protection.”

EPIC City’s website outlines its mission, which doesn’t mention Sharia Law. The community is funded by Community Capital Partner (CCP), described as “a for profit entity created by EPIC to manage the EPIC City Project. CCP board members are volunteers assigned to manage the EPIC City Project. EPIC is the only beneficiary of profits from the project.”

However, the US DOJ, according to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, closed the investigation of EPIC City in June, finding that “CCP has affirmed that all will be welcome in any future development, and [will] revise and develop marketing materials to reinforce that message consistent with… obligations under the Fair Housing Act.”