What is the Sharia Free America Caucus, and who from Pa. joined?

Since its formation late last year, more than 50 House Republicans have joined the Sharia-Free America Caucus, which its founders say was created to “save Western Civilization and fight back against the threat of Sharia.”

It’s been denounced as an “anti-Muslim, extremist organization” by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Among its members are two Pennsylvania lawmakers, Republican U.S. Reps. Scott Perry and Mike Kelly.

Who’s in the caucus?

In all, the caucus has congress members from 22 states, including Texas, which its cofounders, Keith Self and Chip Roy, represent in Congress. Other members include Majority Whip Tom Emmers of Minnesota, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds and Randy Fine of Florida, and Andy Biggs of Arizona.

Why founders say it was formed

In statements issued in January, Self said Sharia “stands in direct opposition to our country and is totally anathema to the concept of individual freedom and our founding principles. I thank my House colleagues for joining this noble cause to save Western Civilization and fight back against the threat of Sharia.”

“Sharia is a direct threat to our Constitution and Western values and seeks to replace our legal system and erode our basic freedoms,” said Roy, who was defeated in the recent GOP primary in Texas. “Our immigration system must be prepared to confront this challenge and defend our Judeo-Christian values.”

What is Sharia Law?

Sharia, which means “the path,” is the set of rules God gave Muslims to follow both in their daily lives and in society. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, most Muslim-majority countries have laws that reference Sharia.

“Some of these nations have laws that call for what critics say are cruel criminal punishments, or place undue restrictions on the lives of women and minority groups,” wrote Kali Robinson of the Council on Foreign Relations. “However, there is great diversity in how governments interpret and apply sharia, and people often misunderstand the role it plays in legal systems and the lives of individuals.”

The Iranian protests that preceded the U.S.-Israel war in the Middle Eastern nation began in December when the country’s currency collapsed under severe economic conditions but branched out to calls for the end of the Islamic Republic over its strict interpretation of Sharia and the oppressive laws that have targeted its people, especially women.

The Center on American-Islamic Relations says Sharia is similar to the rules of other religions.

“Like canon law for Catholics and halacha for Orthodox Jews, sharia refers to the rules that Muslims follow, including praying five times a day, fasting in Ramadan, giving in charity, and following the laws of the land in which they live,” according to CAIR.

Criticism of caucus

There is little evidence to support the caucus’s claim that Sharia poses a threat to the U.S. Of the 435 current members of the House of Representatives in which the caucus was formed, three are Muslim. Only five have ever served in Congress, the first being current Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in 2006. In the U.S. Senate, none of the 100 members is Muslim.

And while the number of Muslim officials elected across the country reached a record in 2023 at 235 officials and judges at the federal, state and local levels, according to the CAIR, they remain just a fraction of the overall number of lawmakers and judges at each of those levels of government.

In February, CAIR said the caucus supports policies that would effectively ban Islam in the U.S. and that it is using “Sharia” as a code word for Islam. It noted that many of the caucus’s members have a history of making anti-Islamic statements and supporting anti-Islamic policies.

CAIR said in response to the caucus’s formation. “To support their proposals, caucus members use language that dehumanizes Muslims.”

CAIR pointed to U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, of Florida, who called for destroying all “mainstream” Muslims, which it said amounted to a call for “a genocidal religious cleansing of the United States.”

“Other members call those who practice Islam ‘infiltrators’ who are uncivilized, ‘barbaric,’ ‘radical,’ reject Western civilization and, bring ‘violent submission and oppression.'” CAIR said. “Members paint Islamic religious practices as an inherent and urgent threat to the existence of the United States or Western civilization. This combination of dehumanization and urgency is often used to justify extreme measures against target populations.”

Why did Pennsylvania’s Kelly, Perry join?

Kelly represents Pennsylvania’s 16th District, which includes Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence and Butler counties and a portion of Venango County.

“Sharia Law is antithetical to the core beliefs of the United States, specifically the U.S. Constitution,” Kelly said in a statement provided to the USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania March 18. “This caucus reaffirms America’s foundational principles, women’s rights and the freedoms of speech and religion for all Americans.”

Perry represents Pennsylvania’s 10th District, which includes Dauphin County and portions of Cumberland and York counties. Perry said in the Jan. 15 statement issued by Self and Roy that “Sharia law is sweeping across America” While he notes that the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of religion, “… too many policymakers and community leaders are willing to sell out our liberties and safety by bowing to the intolerant and oppressive ideology of militant and radical Islam.

“We welcome oppressed people from around the globe to enhance and participate in the self governance model that is America; we did not, however, invite them to leave their theological oppression abroad to come and conquer America under the flag of violent submission and oppression that is Sharia law,” Perry said.