The Sharia-Free America Caucus held its first media conference on Tuesday, as some Republicans in Congress move to pre-emptively ban Islamic law being applied anywhere in the US - even though there have been no known attempts to do so.
Congressman Keith Self, who launched the caucus alongside fellow Texan Chip Roy, described Sharia as one of the “greatest threats facing our nation today”. He said the caucus is made up of 33 members of Congress from 18 states.
“If we do not fight back, Sharia will dominate our culture and America will no longer be America,” Mr Self said. “Under it, there's no true freedom of religion or speech, no equal rights and women are second-class citizens.”
He spoke of incidents in Texas that he said indicated radical Islam was on the rise. He pointed to the proposed “Muslim-only” Meadows community, first proposed in November 2024, that would include a mosque, single and multi-family homes, a K-12 faith-based school and senior housing.
Senator Tommy Tuberville highlighted the dangers posed by “radical Islam”.
“America, we got to wake up,” he said. “The enemy is inside the gates.”
Sharia is a complex, expansive body of religious laws that guides Muslims' daily lives, providing direction on issues including worship and relationships. There is currently no known effort at the local, state or federal level to impose Islamic law.
The press conference is part of a renewed push among Make America Great Again (Maga) Republicans to outlaw Sharia.
A series of recent bills aimed at outlawing Sharia and banning people who follow it from entry to the country have been introduced in Congress. Mr Self, Mr Roy and Republican allies introduced the “Pause Act” in November that aims to block the granting of visas or other legal status to any person who is “an Islamist” – actually a follower of political Islam – or an “observer of Sharia”. Similarly, the “Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act” introduced in October proposes amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the entry of people who adhere to Sharia.
It is unclear how such bans will be enforced, given the breadth of issues covered in Islamic law.
Asked by The National how a person might be vetted for entry to the country over their adherence to Sharia – particularly as it often overlaps with Jewish and Christian religious tenets – caucus member Congressman Randy Fine rejected the idea that there are similarities between the religions.
“I think you can see in the behaviour of those who propagate [it], it's less about the law and is more about the values,” he said. “In this country, we used to bring people in who shared our values … now we bring in people who hate, want to change us, and want to get all the free stuff that they can.”
Mr Fine has introduced a bill that would “prohibit the enforcement of Sharia or any foreign law that infringes on constitutional rights”.
Proponents of the ban point to the so-called Sharia courts in the UK, which provide advice and non-legally binding arbitration on family and faith-related financial issues. The courts have become a flashpoint for conservatives who view them as a result of unchecked immigration.
Attempts at banning Islamic law in the US go back years. At least 12 states have introduced bills aimed at banning Sharia. Oklahoma banned it in 2010 through a statewide referendum, but the amendment to its constitution was struck down by a federal court three years later.
The plaintiffs argued that banning it discriminated against Muslims, as members of other religions could make agreements or draw up wills that cited their religious beliefs, but Muslims could not.
The American Civil Liberties Union has said that bans on Islamic law could infringe on Muslims' ability to fight against violations of their First Amendment rights, as they would be unable to support their legal arguments by introducing elements of Islamic law in court.
Rights groups also argue that a Sharia ban is unnecessary, as the US Constitution establishes itself as well as federal laws and treaties as the “supreme law of the land”.
