According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram:
Some Republicans who say it’s time they take “our party back” are pushing to remove a top Tarrant County GOP official because he’s Muslim.
Tarrant County has a population of over 2 million, including Fort Worth and Arlington, and in the past few decades has become extremely conservative. It went for Trump 52.2% to 43.5% in 2016. And Tarrant County Republicans are some seriously right wing folks.
Posts on social media — and requests sent directly to
Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Darl Easton — are calling for Dr. Shahid Shafi to be removed from the post of vice chair of the local Republican party.
For instance, one Republican, Sara Legvold, identified in the article as a former member of the State Republican Executive Committee, is quoted as saying:
“Dr. Shafi is a practicing, Mosque-attending muslim who claims not to follow sharia law or know what it is,” Republican Sara Legvold wrote on the Protect Texas Facebook page in calling for Shafi’s removal. “As a practicing muslim that is an overt falsehood. Sharia law is anathema to our Constitution because Islam recognizes no other law but shariah.
“As the most conservative county in the nation, this is a demoralizing blow to the conservative rank and file of the Republican Party across the nation and in Texas.”
Another Republican stalwart, Vicky Underhill, added her voice to this movement:
“Please explain to me ... why we need a Muslim in the SREC in Tarrant County! There are no Conservative Muslims or Moderate ones!” Republican Vicky Underhill posted on the Republican Women of Arlington Facebook page.
To be fair, there was pushback and even condemnation from the county Republican Chair, Darl Easton, but the fact remains that Ms. Legvold and Ms. Underhill represent a significant portion of the Republican Party, including Donald J. Trump.
Source: www.star-telegram.com/...