_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
A new group of Republican lawmakers called the Sharia-Free America Caucus is raising alarms about what they see as Islamic law creeping into American life. For years, concerns about Sharia law in the US were dismissed as a fringe issue, but as the domestic population of Muslims accelerates in early 2026, this issue has changed.
A February 11 House hearing focused on plans for Islamic communities that lawmakers say would operate outside US constitutional law. During the hearing, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) set the stage for the fight to come, warning that without legislative action, "America will fall just like what we're seeing happen in London or Paris."
Follow the full story: The American Islam series and related reporting
_THE FACTS_
The Sharia-Free America Caucus, now with 33 members from 18 states, proposed legislation to ban Sharia-based institutions.
Rep. Roy introduced the Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act, which would stop the federal government from recognizing any religious legal system that conflicts with the Bill of Rights.
At the Feb 11 House hearing, lawmakers pointed out that Texas now leads the country in new mosque construction.
Last December, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), accusing its leaders of running a "radical plot" to build a Sharia-compliant community through fraudulent fundraising.
While never officially confirmed as a Sharia-city, the project was pitched as a master-planned community centered around mosques and Islamic institutions. At the very least, EPIC city was intended to be "a muslim community."
The East Plano Islamic Center's 400-acre project has been called a "deliberate blueprint" for a separate, Sharia-governed community.
A 2024 Heritage Foundation poll found that 39 percent of American Muslims support implementing Sharia law in the United States.
The same poll also found that 39 percent of Muslims do not believe Hamas committed acts of murder or rape that day. 64 percent of the general public believes the attacks included such atrocities.
_INSIGHTS_
After 9/11, debates about radical Islam and the compatibility of Sharia-based governance with Western law were central to American politics. Over time, that conversation faded.
In recent years, criticizing Islam became politically risky on the Right, in part because many Muslim Americans aligned with socially conservative or anti-woke coalitions. Now the issue is re-emerging. As the Islamic Gulf states increase their influence throughout American life, from spending billions on government lobbying to investing in college campuses and influencing Hollywood, conservatives in the highest levels of government appear to be more comfortable tackling the issue head-on.
