Sen. John Cornyn has teamed up with Sen. Tommy Tuberville to introduce a bill "to stop the spread of Sharia Law in the U.S."
The Defeat Sharia Law in America Act would make discrimination based on Sharia Law for goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations a violation of the Civil Rights Act according to a press release from Cornyn's office.
"Sharia Law is the antithesis of the rights, beliefs, and values that make Texas and America great, and we must root out and eradicate this existential threat to our way of life," Cornyn said in the press release. "I'm introducing the Defeat Sharia Law in America Act to ensure anti-American jihadists and those who dare to try and implement Sharia Law's hateful ideology in our freedom-loving, God-fearing communities are stopped and held accountable for their radical discrimination and flagrant violation of our Constitution."
Tuberville and Cornyn also cosponsored a similar law, the No Sharia Act, which aims to prevent U.S. courts from enforcing Sharia Law. The Council on American-Islamic Relations' Alabama chapter condemned the bill in a press release, calling it an "unconstitutional attack on religious freedom."
"Sharia law, like Jewish Halacha, provides Muslims with guidance for their daily life and religious practice, requiring them to offer their five daily prayers, fast in Ramadan, give in charity, stand up for justice, obey the laws of the land in which they live, and advocate for the religious rights of their neighbors," the press release said. "Senator Tuberville's doomed effort to 'ban' American Muslims from adhering to the articles of their faith is a publicity stunt that demonstrates his contempt for religious freedom and should sound the alarm for all Americans who oppose government interference in their religious practice."
Cornyn sent a letter last year urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a proposed Muslim oriented housing development in North Texas. He accused EPIC City, now known as The Meadow, of religious discrimination.
The U.S. Department of Justice closed its civil rights investigation after the developer, Community Capital Partners, affirmed that it's committed to building an inclusive community that complies with Fair Housing Act requirements.
Cornyn is running for reelection and faces two challengers in the GOP primary, U.S. Representative Wesley Hunt and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A recent poll from the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs found 38% of likely GOP primary voters back Paxton, compared to 31% who support Cornyn and 17% for Hunt.
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