A group of conservative Muslims say they were shunned and made to feel unwelcome by fellow delegates at the Republican Party of Texas Convention in Houston last weekend.
As reported by the Texas Tribune, at least four Muslim delegates attended the convention hoping to find common cause with other social conservatives, only to be met with hostility from attendees who have embraced Texas Republicans’ rhetoric about “ending” Sharia law and combating the so-called “Islamification” of Texas.
Muslims make up approximately 2% of Texas residents but have significant population clusters in Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Recently, a plan by some Muslims to create a planned community was derailed after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law banning so-called “Sharia compounds” in the state. Abbott claimed the proposed development, Epic City, northeast of Dallas, would have required residents to abide by Sharia law — the religious and moral teachings of Islam — and discriminated against non-Muslims on the basis of religion.
While those behind the planned community say they simply wanted to create a Muslim-friendly community and denied imposing a religious test on prospective residents, the proposal enraged conservatives, who pressured Texas lawmakers to pass the ban by casting Muslims, and Islam more broadly, as a threat to American society and personal freedoms. Since then, anti-Muslim sentiment and opposition to the alleged spread of “Sharia law” have mobilized many Texas conservatives.
Although the convention’s theme was party unity, the Muslim delegates did not receive a warm welcome. Throughout the weekend, they said they were told to convert to Christianity, threatened with expulsion from the event, and even told to leave the country.
On June 13, outgoing GOP chair Abraham George addressed Muslim delegates from the stage. At the time, some Republicans were attempting to expel them from the convention over their alleged ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which Abbott has designated — along with the Muslim Brotherhood — as a foreign terrorist organization seeking to impose Sharia law and support terrorism worldwide.
“When they say Sharia-free, that means Muslim-free, no practices of Islam,” Hussein told the Texas Tribune. “No one is calling for the state to implement Sharia laws.”
After the panel, Scarborough approached Hussein and told him he should either convert to Christianity or leave the country. Hussein broke down and cried in a corner. Scarborough later sat next to him, placed an arm on the back of his seat, and offered to pray with him after feeling he had pushed Hussein too far.
Similarly, Samar Halabi, the only woman at the convention wearing a hijab, said one attendee told another delegate not to sit near her. Another attendee approached Halabi and demanded that she leave the country, reducing her to tears.
Her husband, Amjad Muhtaseb, an engineer and business owner, argued that Muslims are naturally conservative and that more should join the Republican Party.
“We believe in Adam and Eve,” he said. “We don’t believe in this, multiple gender. We don’t drink. We don’t gamble. We are against pornography.”
But Muhtaseb soon found himself targeted for helping found Houston’s CAIR chapter with Mohamed Hussein’s father, Tarek Hussein. Members of the convention sought to remove both men as delegates, even changing the rules to allow the GOP’s Credentials Committee to expel delegates with ties to “terrorist organizations.”
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.