Governor Greg Abbott has requested investigations into entities in Texas that he says may be acting as Sharia tribunals and presenting themselves as legal courts. In a letter sent to North Texas District Attorneys, Sheriffs, the Attorney General of Texas, and the Texas Department of Public Safety, Abbott expressed concerns about groups in Collin and Dallas counties.
“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,” Abbott wrote. “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. 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.”
Abbott’s letter called on officials to look into possible criminal violations by any group attempting to enforce Sharia law outside of the state’s legal system.
