Critics: GOP anti-Islam bills trade fear for votes

State attempt to prohibit sharia law is revived

Alexia Aston

The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK

Muslim leaders in Oklahoma say some state lawmakers are trading fear for votes after introducing bills that would prohibit state courts from adopting Islamic law and declare the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group as a terror organization.

Republican state lawmakers have revived attempts to prohibit the use of sharia law or any similar foreign legal code in Oklahoma courts. In 2013, a federal judge prohibited Oklahoma officials from certifying the results of a 2010 statewide election that approved a constitutional amendment to prohibit state courts from considering international or Islamic law when deciding cases.

Another law would declare the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a terror organization, echoing attempts in Congress and states like Texas and Florida.

These laws are being introduced amid an uptick in Islamophobic discrimination and attacks coinciding with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Last year, CAIR reported receiving 8,650 discrimination complaints in 2024, the highest number since the organization began publishing its annual

civil rights report in 1996.

Imad Enchassi, senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, said he believes fear-based rhetoric ramps up during election cycles, because politicians view that as the best method to bring people to the polls.

Oklahomans will vote on statewide races in November, including the gubernatorial election. If passed, the proposed sharia law constitutional amendments could possibly be on the same ballot. Enchassi said these kinds of measures make Muslims in Oklahoma feel alienated.

“We’re not asking for anything above the law,” Enchassi told The Oklahoman. “We’re asking for equal representation under the law.”

Two Republican representatives filed two separate resolutions that, if passed, would ask Oklahoma voters to decide whether to prohibit the use of sharia law in Oklahoma courts. State courts have the authority to interpret and enforce state laws.

Rep. Gabe Woolley filed House Joint Resolution1040 amid a heated debate in his hometown of Broken Arrow regarding a rezoning request for a proposed 20,000-square-foot mosque.

City leaders rejected a proposal to build a mosque in the growing suburb of Tulsa. Opponents contended that the project would create traffic and flooding issues on land that was originally zoned for agricultural uses. Most said during a Jan. 12 city council meeting that their objections had nothing to do with religion, but some attendees expressed suspicion about the Islamic faith and Muslims, with one man falsely saying that all Muslims are terrorists.

In a news release, Woolley said HJR 1040 is rooted in protecting individual liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

“Our Constitution protects women’s rights, free speech, freedom of expression and many other fundamental freedoms,” Woolley said. “Sharia law does not protect or respect those rights. This foreign religious law and political structure directly contradicts our Constitution.”

Enchassi said sharia law is Islamic law that governs a Muslim from birth to death, though lawmakers seem to focus on the penal law aspect of it.

“It’s like me taking the Holy Bible and say, ‘If you raise your voice against your parents, you should be stoned to death,” Enchassi said. “The word ‘sharia law’ has been used as a scary tactic to say that Muslims are coming and somehow they want to implement sharia law in Oklahoma.”

Rep. Justin “JJ” Humphrey introduced HJR 1049 that would also place a constitutional amendment before voters that would prohibit the use of sharia law in Oklahoma courts. Neither Humphrey nor Woolley responded to a request for comment.

If either joint resolutions pass, it’s unclear whether they’d stand in court. In 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit barred Oklahoma officials from enacting a similar constitutional amendment.

U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange permanently enjoined the State Election Board and from certifying results of the vote in which State Question 755 was approved by Oklahoma voters. The measure was passed with 70% of the vote.

At the time, federal courts said supporters of the amendment had acknowledged they did not know of any instance when an Oklahoma court applied sharia law or used the legal precepts of other countries.

Enchassi called the proposals by Woolley and Humphrey “legislating suspicion while trying to claim virtue.”

Another introduced measure, Senate Bill1486, would designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as terror organizations.

“All relevant state departments and agencies shall utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations, especially those involving terrorist actions, conducted by the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, or any person claiming to act on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood or CAIR, or for which the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, or any person claiming to act on behalf of the Muslim,” reads the bill authored by Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, an Oklahoma Freedom Caucus member from of Adair.

In Washington, DC, Republican Florida Congressman Randy Fine introduced a bill to designate CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization.

In Arizona, a Republican state representative introduced legislation urging Congress to designate CAIR as a terror organization. The lawmaker had previously faced criticism for calling Muslims “f------ savages,” as reported by the Arizona Mirror.

Veronica Laizure, executive director of Oklahoma’s CAIR chapter, said some politicians see anti-Muslim and anti-CAIR sentiment as a way to “politicize an issue that isn’t really an issue.”

“CAIR-Oklahoma has been functioning in the state of Oklahoma for almost 20 years, and our primary function has been to protect the civil rights of Oklahoma Muslims and to empower the community to stand up for themselves and speak about the truth of Islam and Muslims in our state,” she added. “It’s unfortunate that these politicians would like to politicize and attack our community in order to stir up their voting base instead of focusing on the real issues that are facing Oklahoma families right now.”

Bergstrom did not respond to a request for comment.

While Senate Bill 1486 might not have a material impact on CAIR, Laizure said legislation like it takes an emotional toll on Oklahoma’s Muslim population.

“That feeling like the constant center of attack and tension, being demonized, having your community slandered like this is really emotionally and psychologically damaging to members of our community who have been contributing, happy, proud Oklahomans, in some cases, for generations” she said.