Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne Asks Lawmakers to Investigate Islamic Tribunal

AUSTIN — Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne asked representatives from the legislature at a Texas Homeland Security Forum on Thursday to help investigate the legality of an Islamic tribunal in North Texas."I haven't seen any action at all. I am asking you as mayor, help me," Van Duyne said. "I need to get to the bottom and find out, are there people in my community whose rights are not being observed?"Rep. Kyle Biedermann, R- Fredericksburg, hosted the forum, which focused on strategies for "defending against radical Islamic terrorism in Texas." Van Duyne spoke of the Islamic Tribunal, a group of Dallas-area imams that she famously opposed in a Facebook post in February 2015. She accused the organization of bypassing American courts by offering, for a fee, to mediate disputes among their worshippers according to an Islamic code called Shariah.Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Baytown, said he would call on Tom Vick, president-elect of the State Bar of Texas, to investigate the tribunal.   Continue reading...