Muslim American groups say Republicans are weaponizing congressional hearings

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

May 14, 2026 8:03 PM EDT Updated 10 hours ago


WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - Muslim ​American groups said congressional hearings that Republican lawmakers cast as aimed at making the U.S. "sharia-free" ‌are being weaponized against Muslim minorities in the United States by stoking fear against them. Republicans, who hold a majority in both chambers of Congress, titled a Wednesday hearing by a House Judiciary Subcommittee as "Sharia-Free America: Why Political Islam and ​Sharia Law are Incompatible with the U.S. Constitution." A similar hearing was also held in February.

"The ​radicals pushing political Islam do not want to coexist with America's culture and ⁠political order. They want to replace it," Republican U.S. Representative Chip Roy said in the hearing. Critics have ​said such hearings single out Muslims for ridicule, revive tropes and conspiracy theories against them, and are unnecessary ​because American laws prevail on U.S. soil.

Sharia is a set of legal and moral principles, interpreted differently across the faith. Installing sharia in the U.S. does not enjoy wide support among American Muslims and community leaders. There is no evidence that ​any mainstream U.S. Muslim group has advocated for imposing sharia on the United States.

The U.S. Council of ​Muslim Organizations, which represents over 50 Muslim groups, condemned what it called the "weaponization of government against American Muslims" and ‌said the ⁠hearings engaged in "the politics of fear.". "Anti-Sharia hearings are not about protecting the Constitution. They are about demonizing Islam and portraying Muslim Americans as perpetual outsiders," the Council on American Islamic Relations' Maryland director, Zainab Chaudry, said.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/muslim-american-groups-say-republicans-are-weaponizing-congressional-hearings-2026-05-15/

[GCG]

1. And?

What did they expect?

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-exit-poll-of-muslim-voters-reveals-surge-in-support-for-jill-stein-and-donald-trump-steep-decline-for-harris/

"The national results show Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein received 53% of the Muslim vote, followed by President-elect Donald Trump with 21% and Vice President Kamala Harris with 20%."

[DavidDvorkin]

8. Indeed.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. Yep

They sure showed genocide Joe and killer Kamala a thing or two

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. And you shouldn't be giving Republicans a free pass on this

You're letting Republicans off, with your casual "And?". They have agency. Don't make it sound like they can't help stirring up suspicion and hatred.

[fujiyamasan]

12. No one here is giving republicans a free pass on anything

But it can’t be denied that a significant number of Muslims voted for this.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. The dismissive "And?" looks like that DUer blames "Muslims" for it all

In fact, Muslims voted for Harris and Trump in about equal numbers - while Christians voted a bit more for Trump. Sure, we'd expect Muslims to realise Trump would be bad for them, like most minority groups do (especially with Trump's 1st term attempts to ban immigration from Muslim-majority countries), and that therefore they ought to vote for the only candidate with a realistic chance of stopping him, but they may be no more foolish than the average American voter.

[ananda]

13. Yes, I was going to say... this is what you voted for.

Sheesh

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Rep. Roy, the same can be said about radical Christian denominations.

"The ​radicals pushing political Islam do not want to coexist with America's culture and ⁠political order. They want to replace it,"

[Wuddles440]

3. Pedo Don and MAGAT - Free America:

Why Pedo Don and MAGA are incompatible with the U.S. Constitution!

[Icanthinkformyself]

4. Republicans prefer

the Christian version of Sharia Law. The same rules and believes apply, the differences are external. They are both illogical and irrational systems, internally contradictory and confining, insisting people live by nonsensical rules. No wonder so many of the religious are so violent. Finding internal peace does not require religious rituals or rigid rules that restrict the minds eye to see what is all.

[everyonematters]

5. This is clearly unconstitutional and bigoted.

All religion is up to the interpretation of the individual. That's why we have so many different Christian denominations in this country. They are all interpreting the bible differently. We are protected by our laws and the Constitution. "Congress shall pass no laws regarding the establishment of religion, nor the free practice thereof."

This is obviously another attempt at a wedge issue for the midterms.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Whenever they are losing ground

due to their inability to govern, they automatically switch to fringe wedge issues that reignite racism, antisemtism, sexism, homophobia/transphobia, and nativism.

[GreenWave]

7. Since before the days of Joseph McCarthy.

[ck4829]

11. Absolutely disgusting

[sakabatou]

14. *pretends to be shocked*

[electric_blue68]

16. Go away bigoted, away trouble stirring repuglicans!

I remember living in Brooklyn and 9-11 our nearby supermarket had a lot Arab-American Muslim (the women wore head scarfs so they weren't Christian) employees. They were pretty anxious afterwards. I sure didn't blame them.

That was one of few good things W did...telling the country not to generalize about Muslins, let them be.