Texas county GOP to vote on ouster of Muslim

Party vice chairman denies he supports Islamic law

FORT WORTH, Texas — Republicans in one of the most populous counties in Texas will decide this week if they should remove a party vice chairman who is Muslim after allegations, which he has denied, that he prefers Islamic over U.S. law and opposes the GOP’s pro-Israel stance.

Infighting over Shahid Shafi has deterred some potential donors from giving to the Tarrant County Republican Party’s main fundraiser ahead of the vote Thursday, one party leader told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Some have even speculated that the ouster of Shafi could jeopardize the party’s 2020 campaign.

“This (Shafi) story has gained national attention and has put the party in a bad light … ,” said William Busby, a former precinct chairman and leader for the Tarrant County Republican Party. “Corporate donors … don’t want to be associated with a party that’s going in the direction of excluding people based upon their religious beliefs.”

Shafi, a surgeon and city council member in a Fort Worth suburb, has repudiated allegations that he favors Shariah law, insisting he supports the American court system. Shafi, who was born in India and raised in Pakistan, became a U.S. citizen in 2009.

Busby said the display of bigotry gives Democrats “more ammo to use in 2020.”

The call to reconsider Shafi’s appointment gained traction with some party members after Tarrant County turned blue in the U.S. Senate race in November. They say the issue isn’t religion, but whether Shafi is connected to terrorist organizations, which he has also denied.