Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) sent a letter to North Texas District Attorneys and Sheriffs, the Attorney General of Texas, and the Texas Department of Public Safety, warning them that Sharia tribunals may be violating the law.
“It has come to my attention that certain entities in Texas—including in Collin and Dallas counties—may be masquerading as legal ‘courts’ staffed with ‘judges’ issuing orders that purportedly carry the authority to bind individuals to Islamic codes, thereby preempting state and federal laws,” the letter reads.
“The U.S. Constitution’s religious protections provide no authority for religious courts to skirt state and federal laws simply by donning robes and pronouncing positions inconsistent with western civilization,” it adds. “I urge you, therefore, to investigate efforts by entities purporting to illegally enforce Sharia law in Texas.”
“Legal disputes in Texas must be decided based on American law rooted in the fundamental principles of American due process, not according to Sharia law dispensed in modern day star chambers,” the letter further states.
On November 18, Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations. Explaining his action, Abbott said the actions taken by the organizations “support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment.”
The probe comes as the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation earlier this year into EPIC City, a proposed development by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC).
Abbott has long been a critic of the proposed development, stating in April, “The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the group behind the proposed EPIC compound did not submit the required permits to begin construction.”
