In November, Gov. Greg Abbott asked Paxton and North Texas district attorneys to investigate what Abbott described as “Sharia tribunals masquerading as legal courts,” and pointed to the Islamic Tribunal.
Ken Paxton has escalated legal action against Muslim groups over the past year.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday his office is demanding documents from the Islamic Tribunal, a Dallas faith based mediation group.
Paxton in a news release accused the organization of making judicial rulings based on Islam. Paxton has escalated legal action against Muslim organizations over the past year.
In November, Gov. Greg Abbott asked Paxton and North Texas district attorneys to investigate what Abbott described as “Sharia tribunals masquerading as legal courts,” and pointed to the Islamic Tribunal.
The Islamic Tribunal mediates civil law disputes, such as divorces. On Monday, its home website featured an update seeking to clarify its mission. The website says it is a group offering faith and spiritual guidance and its advice has no legal effect in any court of law.
“Since its establishment, the Islamic Tribunal has operated exclusively as a faith-based body offering voluntary, non-binding religious guidance. Our religious practices and services have remained exactly the same from the beginning,” the website said.
The tribunal’s founder, Taher El-badawi, referred The News to the statement on its website.
“Our work is spiritual, pastoral, and non-legal,” the website said.
In a news release, Paxton accused the group of making judicial rulings “based on sharia law.”
Sharia is a moral and spiritual framework of belief that guides many Muslims. In recent years, the term “sharia law” has been used, in particular, by U.S. conservative officials to suggest Muslims are imposing a system of laws on American communities.
“While the First Amendment protects religious institutions’ right to govern themselves, that right does not allow a religious organization to act as a court,” Paxton’s office said in the news release.
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