Religious freedom is under assault in Texas. Republican primary candidates have repeatedly pointed to a Muslim boogeyman in the room, promising to protect us from Sharia Law and the spread of radical Islam. My mailbox and TV were bombarded with ads from political hopefuls running for offices from the governor on down to the candidate for a House seat in the Texas legislature. All warned of the impending chaos and destruction our Muslim citizens would wreak unless they were elected to protect us.

One Texas candidate for the Texas’s 31^st Congressional District made a video showing herself burning the Quran with a flamethrower, declaring that “your daughters will be raped and your sons beheaded, unless we stop Islam once and for all.”

The threat of Sharia Law was news to me. After all, Muslims only compromise 1.1% of the Texas population. However, they are actually building mosques. According to Smartscrapers there are around 330 in Texas. However, one estimate puts the number of churches in Texas at over 30,000, with 210 being mega churches (defined as having a congregation of 2,000 or more and typically protestant).

WHAT TRIGGERED THIS ASSAULT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Border crossings into Texas have fallen to record lows, so the politicians had to come up with a new enemy. The migrant criminal invasion and caravans no longer whip fear into Texans.

So, the politicians went to work. When Texas Muslims wanted to build a planned community north of Dallas that included a mosque, Governor Gregg Abbott stepped in. The state has launched numerous investigations against them. However, in June, 2025, the Department of Justice closed its investigation, saying the developer agreed to follow federal fair housing laws. It is now reopened at the request of Republican Senator John Cornyn.

LAWS ON THE BOOKS TO PROTECT OUR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

The truth is, we don’t need their protection from Sharia Law. Rules are already on the books that protect us from discrimination in housing and employment, give us the right to worship as we choose, and Sharia law is already subservient to U.S. law because of the Constitution’s Supremacy clause.

THE REAL PERPETRATORS OF THE ASSAULT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

The group we should be worried about is the Christian nationalists who are determined to put more Christian religion in public schools. They preach that many of our problems in America stem from removing Biblical morality from the classroom.

In Texas, school boards are required to vote on whether to adopt organized prayer periods during school time, post the Ten Commandments in each classroom if the posters are privately donated, and are urged to adopt a curriculum that is Christian-centered, giving extra money to school districts that comply

Texas has set aside $1 billion to pay vouchers for students to attend private schools. However, all Muslim schools have been blocked from participating in this process because Attorney General Ken Paxton said schools can be blocked if they are “illegally tied to terrorists or foreign adversaries.” Conveniently, Governor Greg Abbott designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group, as a terrorist organization, and the civil rights group has held some events at these schools. Note: the U.S. State Department has not designated the organization as a terrorist group.

CLOSING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ASSAULT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

I was raised as a protestant and proud American citizen. Part of my upbringing included respecting the religion and religious practices of my peers. Every Friday night slumber party included fish sticks out of respect for my Catholic friends who could not eat meat on Fridays. I attended classes outside of school where I learned about the other great religions of the world.

Most protestants know the difference between mainstream Christians and radical Christians. Two radicals come to mind:  Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple, who ultimately forced his flock to commit suicide by drinking cyanide-laced juice in Guyana (over 900 died), or David Koresh of the Branch Dividians in Waco, who fought off the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms after being accused of having illegal weapons.

Many Texans do not know or associate with someone who is a practicing Muslim and therefore do not have the ability to differentiate between what is mainstream Muslim behavior and radical Muslim behavior. This leaves the majority of Muslims who earnestly practice their faith subject to harassment, violence, and discrimination.

To me, this assault is un-American and must stop.

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