As I was writing this commentary on Thursday, a student at Old Dominion University had just yelled “allahu akbar” and opened fire on his classmates. The student was a former Army National Guard member who was in prison for 8 years for his involvement with the Islamic State. He killed one student and injured two others before being stopped and killed by fellow ROTC students.
The same day, a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, a self-proclaimed “Jew hater”, had driven his car into a synagogue in Michigan, while 140 children were inside. The car caught on fire and the security team killed him immediately.
On March 7th, two men, one of whom pledged his allegiance to ISIS last year, threw home made IEDs into a crowd of Christians protesting against Islamic ideology in front of Mayor Mamdani’s residence in New York City.
America has always been a place of religious freedom, from the moment the Pilgrims landed in 1620. Now, that very value we have fought for and hold so dear, is being used against us.
Texas has been a Republican state since the mid 1990’s, never having a Democrat elected for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Attorney General since 1994. They have held both houses of Congress since 2003.
According to a piece of legislation presented in Texas this month, they are now considered the state with the 5th largest Muslim population, the largest in the south. With over 330 mosques and Islamic centers, Texas has found themselves in a situation they never expected.
While Muslims only make up between 1% and 2% of their state’s population, their influence on the culture and state government is increasing.
In 2023, Texas elected their first two Muslim legislators in the House of Representatives. One piece of legislation aims to name May as Muslim Heritage Month. Also in 2023, Texas passed legislation that would legally acknowledge the month of Ramadan, a month of prayer and fasting among Muslims.
On March 1st, a gunman wearing a sweatshirt stating “Property of Allah”, a t-shirt with the Iranian flag underneath and a Quran in his car, killed 3 and injured 15 others in Austin.
In response to the growing Muslim community, 28 Republican legislators formed the Sharia Free Texas Caucus this month. Their purpose is to “examine how Sharia law interacts with American constitutional protections and develop legislative proposals addressing the issue.” The US and Texas Constitutions already protect citizens from foreign law, which is what Sharia Law is considered, but as we all know, laws are only good if they are enforced. This is new territory for Texas and it seems legislators are preparing themselves to lay the groundwork needed to protect against the impending fight they will most definitely find themselves in.
In Tennessee, HB2279/SB2644 amended a current bill by adding the Crush Transnational Repression in Tennessee Act. This section of the bill would “counter the threat and practice of transnational repression committed by foreign governments or foreign terrorist organizations against the citizens and residents of this state, and to counter the threat and practice of foreign government interstate harassment through extranational enforcement of a foreign government’s laws and directives.”
This amendment will increase charges one classification higher than is currently required for any threats, harassment, or online intimidation that is motivated by foreign influence.
The original bill specifically identified Sharia Law as being one example of the type of foreign law this bill would criminalize.
Unfortunately, the bill was amended to remove the clause which specifically identified Sharia Law. It has passed through the House and will be heard in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 17th.
Removing the language does not change the fact that any behavior linked to Sharia Law is prohibited in Tennessee, or the United States for that matter. But for a moment we had a bill which overtly communicated that we would not stand for any Islamic ideology which runs counter to the law of the land.
In Tennessee, we have approximately 43 mosques and a population of around 40,000 Muslims, or 0.6% of the state population.
Tennessee is a deeply religious state, with more evangelical states per capita than any other state. We are a state who prioritizes our faith and want the Constitutional protections to keep the government out of our religious affairs. So how do we navigate wanting religious freedom for everyone, with at least one exception?
Muslims are not to be feared, after all if you are a believer, we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind. And it is with that sound mind that we must understand the times we are in. We must look at what is happening across the country, even in the reddest of red states like Texas, and prepare ourselves, both spiritually and legally, for what is to come.
The reality is, the Quran teaches that Muslims are not at peace with Christians and Jews.
Mohammed started out writing peaceful verses or “Surahs” to his followers. He led a simple life and encouraged all of his people to live at peace with others. We can see that in Surah 4:90 “Therefore, if they leave you alone, refrain from fighting you, and offer you peace, then GOD gives you no excuse to fight them.”
In 622AD, Mohammed moved from Mecca to Medina, creating the first Islamic State. Here, he became a political leader who focused on expanding the Muslim empire. He began writing Surahs that had a different tone, instructing his followers to “Kill them wherever you come upon them and drive them out of the places from which they have driven you out. For persecution is far worse than killing. And do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque unless they attack you there. If they do so, then fight them—that is the reward of the disbelievers.” (Surah 191:2).
Muslim’s claim they have a religion of peace. The truth is, Islam is much more than a religion and it’s certainly not peaceful. It’s an entire ideology that runs counter to our Judeo Christian values. Their desire is not to assimilate to American customs but to use our way of life to promote and protect theirs.
The answer is simple, we must lay the groundwork now to prepare Tennessee to stand against the anti-American, radicalized Islamic rhetoric we are seeing permeate our culture.
Trust me, the Muslims who filled the halls of the capitol a few weeks ago, while chanting and waiving their Palestinian flags, are working double time to ensure their way of life is protected and are depending on the rest of us to look away as they do it.
Resources:
https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HCR18/id/3027003
Texas Lawmakers Launch Sharia-Free Caucus
The State of Islam in Tennessee
As I was writing this commentary on Thursday, a student at Old Dominion University had just yelled “allahu akbar” and opened fire on his classmates. The student was a former Army National Guard member who was in prison for 8 years for his involvement with the Islamic State. He killed one student and injured two others before being stopped and killed by fellow ROTC students.
The same day, a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, a self-proclaimed “Jew hater”, had driven his car into a synagogue in Michigan, while 140 children were inside. The car caught on fire and the security team killed him immediately.
On March 7th, two men, one of whom pledged his allegiance to ISIS last year, threw home made IEDs into a crowd of Christians protesting against Islamic ideology in front of Mayor Mamdani’s residence in New York City.
America has always been a place of religious freedom, from the moment the Pilgrims landed in 1620. Now, that very value we have fought for and hold so dear, is being used against us.
Texas has been a Republican state since the mid 1990’s, never having a Democrat elected for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Attorney General since 1994. They have held both houses of Congress since 2003.
According to a piece of legislation presented in Texas this month, they are now considered the state with the 5th largest Muslim population, the largest in the south. With over 330 mosques and Islamic centers, Texas has found themselves in a situation they never expected.
While Muslims only make up between 1% and 2% of their state’s population, their influence on the culture and state government is increasing.
In 2023, Texas elected their first two Muslim legislators in the House of Representatives. One piece of legislation aims to name May as Muslim Heritage Month. Also in 2023, Texas passed legislation that would legally acknowledge the month of Ramadan, a month of prayer and fasting among Muslims.
On March 1st, a gunman wearing a sweatshirt stating “Property of Allah”, a t-shirt with the Iranian flag underneath and a Quran in his car, killed 3 and injured 15 others in Austin.
In response to the growing Muslim community, 28 Republican legislators formed the Sharia Free Texas Caucus this month. Their purpose is to “examine how Sharia law interacts with American constitutional protections and develop legislative proposals addressing the issue.” The US and Texas Constitutions already protect citizens from foreign law, which is what Sharia Law is considered, but as we all know, laws are only good if they are enforced. This is new territory for Texas and it seems legislators are preparing themselves to lay the groundwork needed to protect against the impending fight they will most definitely find themselves in.
In Tennessee, HB2279/SB2644 amended a current bill by adding the Crush Transnational Repression in Tennessee Act. This section of the bill would “counter the threat and practice of transnational repression committed by foreign governments or foreign terrorist organizations against the citizens and residents of this state, and to counter the threat and practice of foreign government interstate harassment through extranational enforcement of a foreign government’s laws and directives.”
This amendment will increase charges one classification higher than is currently required for any threats, harassment, or online intimidation that is motivated by foreign influence.
The original bill specifically identified Sharia Law as being one example of the type of foreign law this bill would criminalize.
Unfortunately, the bill was amended to remove the clause which specifically identified Sharia Law. It has passed through the House and will be heard in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 17th.
Removing the language does not change the fact that any behavior linked to Sharia Law is prohibited in Tennessee, or the United States for that matter. But for a moment we had a bill which overtly communicated that we would not stand for any Islamic ideology which runs counter to the law of the land.
In Tennessee, we have approximately 43 mosques and a population of around 40,000 Muslims, or 0.6% of the state population.
Tennessee is a deeply religious state, with more evangelical states per capita than any other state. We are a state who prioritizes our faith and want the Constitutional protections to keep the government out of our religious affairs. So how do we navigate wanting religious freedom for everyone, with at least one exception?
Muslims are not to be feared, after all if you are a believer, we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind. And it is with that sound mind that we must understand the times we are in. We must look at what is happening across the country, even in the reddest of red states like Texas, and prepare ourselves, both spiritually and legally, for what is to come.
The reality is, the Quran teaches that Muslims are not at peace with Christians and Jews.
Mohammed started out writing peaceful verses or “Surahs” to his followers. He led a simple life and encouraged all of his people to live at peace with others. We can see that in Surah 4:90 “Therefore, if they leave you alone, refrain from fighting you, and offer you peace, then GOD gives you no excuse to fight them.”
In 622AD, Mohammed moved from Mecca to Medina, creating the first Islamic State. Here, he became a political leader who focused on expanding the Muslim empire. He began writing Surahs that had a different tone, instructing his followers to “Kill them wherever you come upon them and drive them out of the places from which they have driven you out. For persecution is far worse than killing. And do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque unless they attack you there. If they do so, then fight them—that is the reward of the disbelievers.” (Surah 191:2).
Muslim’s claim they have a religion of peace. The truth is, Islam is much more than a religion and it’s certainly not peaceful. It’s an entire ideology that runs counter to our Judeo Christian values. Their desire is not to assimilate to American customs but to use our way of life to promote and protect theirs.
The answer is simple, we must lay the groundwork now to prepare Tennessee to stand against the anti-American, radicalized Islamic rhetoric we are seeing permeate our culture.
Trust me, the Muslims who filled the halls of the capitol a few weeks ago, while chanting and waiving their Palestinian flags, are working double time to ensure their way of life is protected and are depending on the rest of us to look away as they do it.
Resources:
https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HCR18/id/3027003
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Anne Lowery
Anne Lowery