Opinion By Gregory Morgan | Disabled Veteran
Texans are being told to fear something that does not exist.
In recent months, several Republican lawmakers have revived claims that “Sharia law” threatens Texas and the United States. A handful of members of Congress have even formed a “Sharia Free America Caucus,” warning that Islamic law is “fundamentally incompatible with the U.S. Constitution.” These statements are alarming — not because they describe a real threat, but because they deliberately distort reality.
Let’s be clear: there is no credible movement to impose Sharia law in Texas or anywhere in the United States. The Constitution already prohibits any religious legal system from replacing civil law. No court in America enforces Sharia. No Muslim organization is lobbying to do so. The threat being described is imaginary.
And yet, the narrative persists because it is politically useful.
A manufactured threat with a long history
This is not the first time Americans have been told to fear “creeping Sharia.” A decade ago, several states passed symbolic “anti-Sharia” bills despite admitting they had no examples of Sharia being used in any courtroom. Legal scholars across the political spectrum dismissed the panic as baseless. Federal judges noted that the Constitution already prevents religious law from superseding civil law. Even conservative think tanks acknowledged the threat was exaggerated.
But the idea never fully disappeared. It simply went dormant — waiting for a moment when fear could once again be weaponized.
Why now? Because fear is politically convenient
Texas is changing. Our cities are growing, diversifying, and becoming more globally connected. Muslim Texans are teachers, doctors, engineers, small-business owners, and public servants. They are part of the fabric of this state.
For some politicians, that diversity is not something to celebrate — it is something to exploit.
When some elected officials and political commentators claim that “Sharia adherents masquerading as refugees” are infiltrating the country, they are not describing reality. They are tapping into a familiar political strategy:
Create a threat → Position yourself as the defender → Mobilize voters.
It is easier to warn about imaginary enemies than to address real problems like rising property taxes, infrastructure strain, teacher shortages, or the cost of healthcare. Fear is a shortcut. It requires no policy expertise, no budget, and no measurable outcomes.
The human cost of political theater
The danger of this rhetoric is not theoretical. When leaders amplify baseless claims about Sharia law, they legitimize Islamophobia. They embolden harassment and discrimination. They make everyday life harder for Muslim Texans who simply want to live, work, and worship in peace.
Mosques receive threats. Children are bullied in schools. Families are treated with suspicion in their own neighborhoods. This is not the result of foreign ideology — it is the result of domestic political choices.
A distraction from the issues Texans actually care about
Ask Texans what keeps them up at night, and you will hear about:
• the cost of groceries
• the price of housing
• school safety
• healthcare access
• property taxes
• grid reliability
You will not hear anyone say, “I’m worried about Sharia law taking over Texas courts.”
That’s because Texans live in the real world. They know the difference between a genuine issue and a manufactured crisis.
We deserve leaders who tell the truth
Texas has never been a place that backs down from hard truths. We face challenges head-on, we debate fiercely, and then we get back to the business of building strong families, strong communities, and a strong state. That’s the Texas way.
And the truth is simple: Texans are not under threat from Sharia law. We are under threat from leaders who would rather divide us than solve the problems we all see every day — the cost of living, the strain on our schools, the safety of our neighborhoods, and the future we’re leaving our kids.
We don’t have to agree on everything to agree on this: fear is not a governing strategy. It doesn’t fix a single road, lower a single tax bill, or make a single classroom safer. It only turns neighbor against neighbor.
Texans — conservative, moderate, independent, and everything in between — deserve leadership that strengthens our communities instead of fracturing them. Leadership that focuses on real issues, not imaginary ones. Leadership that treats every Texan with dignity, even when we disagree.
We can choose that path. We can choose to see one another as fellow Texans first — people who love this state, care about our families, and want a future rooted in freedom, fairness, and responsibility.
The Sharia panic may make for dramatic headlines, but it does nothing to move Texas forward. What will move us forward is the same thing that always has: standing together, telling the truth, and refusing to let fear do the talking for us.
That’s not a partisan message.
That’s a Texas message.
TX3DNews Editor’s Note:
This article is an opinion submission. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of TX3DNews. We publish opinion pieces to encourage informed, respectful discussion on issues affecting our community, not as an endorsement of any position. Readers from across the political spectrum are welcome to submit opinion pieces for consideration at staff@tx3dnews.com.
I’d say this still only tells half the story. It’s true that Republican politicians don’t really believe that Sharia law is in any way a threat to this country and see it as nothing more than a convenient lie to scare an uninformed and easily influenced group of voters. But what isn’t said is that the motivations for this are to gain power in order to setup a Christian nationalist state instead. They absolutely want the level of control that comes from a system of laws whose underlying justification goes no deeper than, “it is God’s will”, with of course they being the ones to determine exactly what the will is. They’re perfectly fine with Sharia law, as long as they’re the ones who get to be pulling the strings.
Absolutely!!
Unless I’m mistaken, the stated Islamic goal is conversion of all nations, including the United States. Is this true? If so, where will this leave those who do not share their faith?
https://www.memri.org/tv/san-diego-imam-uthman-ibn-farooq-birmingham-lecture-future-muslim-europe
I’m certainly not of the Catholic faith, yet Pope John Paul II asked for forgiveness for the Catholic Church’s past wrongs against Jews, heretics, women and indigenous peoples. Unless I’m mistaken, Islamic faith still calls for regarding non-Muslims as “heretics,” who are worthy of death or enslavement. Yet millions continue to march in support of this brand of faith. Is it possible Muslims will claim peaceful assimilation while they’re in a minority, but ruthless assimilation when they take over from where the British have left off? I have asked this same basic question to other Muslims, thinking they were willing to consider my concern. Instead, their response has been to call me a “bigot,” “hater,” etc.
Larry Acheson, collective denigration of any religion is always dangerous. There is as much nuance to Islam as there is to any other religion, including Christianity and Judaism and all the other institutional religions. And all adherents to specific religions are individual religionists themselves. They may be making individual choices to be bigoted nationalists, or to adhere to their specific religion while recognizing the right of all other people to choose their own path. Keith Self is of the former type. His views and attitudes are Christian Nationalist, and are no less dangerous than that of the fundamentalist Muslim seeking the extermination of infidels.