Tarrant County’s GOP Should Not Allow anti-Muslim Bigotry to Oust Its Vice-chairman Shahid Shafi

The Tarrant County GOP has a moment of reckoning with this evening’s vote on whether to oust county party vice-chairman Shahid Shafi. The right answer is to turn away from bigotry and allow Shafi to keep his seat. We’re not the only one urging this outcome. GOP leaders including former House Speaker Joe Straus and Land Commissioner George P. Bush directly condemned the anti-Shafi movement last month. And this week, on the eve of the vote, Gov. Greg Abbott added his name to those condemning the effort to oust Shafi. “Religious freedom is at the core of who we are as a nation and state,” Abbott said in a statement, “and attacks on Dr. Shafi because of his faith are contrary to this guiding principle.” For us, it doesn’t get any clearer than that. Shafi is a trauma surgeon and member of the Southlake City Council, but it is his Muslim faith that has riled a small group of supporters who seek to remove him, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and theTexas Observer. Without evidence, they have claimed that he supports Sharia law and is tied to terrorist groups, accusations that Shafi denies.  Continue reading...