TX county GOP to vote to oust leader because Muslim

[Duhon]

This will be my last post in a while -- fell down stairs, neck and lower extremities in varying degrees of pain, left arm in cast, possible if as yet precisely undetermined cervical spine damage, stamina shot to hell for now. Anyway:

The Tarrant County Republicans in Texas will vote this week to remove their vice chairman because he is Muslim.

Republican Dorrie O’Brien is leading a group of colleagues in an attempt to unseat Shahid Shafi, a trauma surgeon in Forth Worth, the largest city in Tarrant County.

“We don’t think he’s suitable as a practicing Muslim to be vice chair because he’d be the representative for ALL Republicans in Tarrant County, and not ALL Republicans in Tarrant County think Islam is safe or acceptable in the U.S.,” O’Brien wrote in a Facebook post.

She added that there are questions surrounding Shafi’s political leanings and that she is confident her side has enough votes to remove him.

O’Brien also said that the desire to reconsider his appointment is not because of his religion, but instead because Shafi may be loyal to Islamic law or connected to “Islamic terror groups.”

Darl Easton, the GOP party chairman for the county who appointed Shafi, called the effort to remove him “disgusting.”

“It’s just outrageous that we are doing this,” Easton told the Star-Telegram.

Shafi came to the U.S. from Pakistan in 1990 before becoming a naturalized citizen in 2009. He was appointed by Easton to the serve as vice chairman last year and is a member of the Southlake City Council.

In an open letter from Shafi, he said concern from his party over him being a Muslim is rooted in fear.

"I can’t allow this small group of closed-minded people to damage our party that I’ve supported and served for several years,” he writes. “The call to remove me from the party of Lincoln and Reagan because of my religion is wrong for several reasons. First, discrimination based upon religion is illegal, immoral, unethical, un-American, and against the foundations of our country and the principles of our party.”

Reports of Shafi’s possible ousting has brought out several prominent Texas Republicans to defend him, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

In her post, O’Brien said a compromise regarding Shafi’s position fell through. A vote by the county GOP board is reportedly scheduled for Thursday.

... when you're shit enough to discard the only good thing Dubya ever promoted for his party...

You go have at it. I'll be back in a few weeks.

[Upper Ireland]

I think this is unfortunate, but mostly not surprising. I must admit that I was expecting a more rural county. Prejudice against muslims is the new red scare, although that isn't entirely gone.

[El-Amin Caliphate]

I mean even if he wanted to (which I hope he would) he couldn't. There aren't enough Muslim Islamists in government to even do that, and even if there were enough that did do so, the US gov would come bearong down on them to re-instate kufr.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

If said Muslim rejects Sharia law, then is it really necessary to remove him or her?

[The Greater Ohio Valley]

Sounds like the Tarrant County GOP needs to do a more thorough reading of the Constitution.

And in the name of fairness, they’d also better be looking into the fundamentalists and evangelicals who believe in the Christian version of Shariah and remove/bar them from County positions too since there’s likely plenty of those in Texas government positions.

[Wunderstrafanstalt]

Let's just say, from personal experience, in the end the majority rules. But if a muslim joins the GOP, i would expect them to hold "republican values" and probably will not have plans to instate the Jizya "infidel tax" on the county or something. Removing a person based on their religion alone is just wrong.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

Sounds like the Tarrant County GOP needs to do a more thorough reading of the Constitution.

And in the name of fairness, they’d also better be looking into the fundamentalists and evangelicals who believe in the Christian version of Shariah and remove/bar them from County positions too since there’s likely plenty of those in Texas government positions.

Anybody who believes that religious law is above secular law should be expunged from any position of power, and I couldn't give less of a damn about the religious in particular.

[Seangoli]

When you knowingly get in bed with crazy, you don't get to act surprised when crazy goes off the rails. Sure, the sex is great, but when they start trampsing around the house stark-ass naked with a kitchen knife screaming about how the rats are trying to chew a hole in their head to implant ind control chips, you will realize how grave a mistake it is you made.

[NeoOasis]

More shades of stupidity from a minority group that holds way too much power. This isn't even subtle. This is an obvious and blatant disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America. To judge and act on someone's religion alone is not legal. To judge someone based on hearsay and fear is just fucking stupid. Then again... wasn't the afluenza kid from Tarrant County as well?

Maybe this isn't an issue of Republicans being uncomfortable with a Muslim in office, but rather the stupidity of officials from a certain county boiling over. The fact Ted Cruz is supporting Shahid Shafi should say it all.

[US-SSR]

More shades of stupidity from a minority group that holds way too much power. This isn't even subtle. This is an obvious and blatant disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America. To judge and act on someone's religion alone is not legal. To judge someone based on hearsay and fear is just fucking stupid. Then again... wasn't the afluenza kid from Tarrant County as well?

Maybe this isn't an issue of Republicans being uncomfortable with a Muslim in office, but rather the stupidity of officials from a certain county boiling over. The fact Ted Cruz is supporting Shahid Shafi should say it all.

To be fair, the Republican Party is a private organization and, nationally or in Tarrant County, is free to discriminate on the basis of religion or whatever else it wants to discriminate about. If the local, county, state or national GOP wants to make itself the party of undereducated white male racists, xenophobes and misogynists, I for one say go right ahead. Just spare me your snowflake tears when you go the way of the Whigs, the Know-Nothings and the Klan.

[El-Amin Caliphate]

If said Muslim rejects Sharia law, then is it really necessary to remove him or her?

From office or from being Muslim? Imo, yes to the former, and I lean "yes" to the latter but that depends on what they mean and if I'm correct.

[Bombadil]

More shades of stupidity from a minority group that holds way too much power. This isn't even subtle. This is an obvious and blatant disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America. To judge and act on someone's religion alone is not legal. To judge someone based on hearsay and fear is just fucking stupid. Then again... wasn't the afluenza kid from Tarrant County as well?

Maybe this isn't an issue of Republicans being uncomfortable with a Muslim in office, but rather the stupidity of officials from a certain county boiling over. The fact Ted Cruz is supporting Shahid Shafi should say it all.

To be fair, the Republican Party is a private organization and, nationally or in Tarrant County, is free to discriminate on the basis of religion or whatever else it wants to discriminate about. If the local, county, state or national GOP wants to make itself the party of undereducated white male racists, xenophobes and misogynists, I for one say go right ahead. Just spare me your snowflake tears when you go the way of the Whigs, the Know-Nothings and the Klan.

To be fair the main perpetrator here is a female - Dorrie O'Brien.. who seems to be a serious bigot. She believes radical islamists trick people into having drinks mingling muslims and christians for some nefarious reason.

By telephone, she said “unity” events are secretly promoted by radical Islamists.

She said coming over to share dinner and sing patriotic songs is “just one of their tricks.”

To some extent though I accept there's simply people like her around, what I don't accept is they have so much support.

[LiberNovusAmericae]

Removing a party leader just because he is Muslim is an abhorrent thing to do, and I condemn this.

[Major-Tom]

Was reading between the lines of the OP, hoping to find a sliver of additional info behind this move, but nope. There isn't any.

Y'know what, hopefully the Vice Chairman realizes he's better off without the goons he keeps in his company. I am extremely displeased with the GOP on a daily basis - but I don't see why a Muslim can't be a Republican, and it's a stupid, shot in the foot move for the Tarrant County GOP to think otherwise.

Freaking idiots.

Also, feel better OP, and best of luck with your recovery.

[Myrensis]

Sounds like the Tarrant County GOP needs to do a more thorough reading of the Constitution.

And in the name of fairness, they’d also better be looking into the fundamentalists and evangelicals who believe in the Christian version of Shariah and remove/bar them from County positions too since there’s likely plenty of those in Texas government positions.

It reminds me of Trumps prattling about having a questionnaire to make sure Muslim immigrants shared our American values on things like gay rights and women and secular government.

Still think we should institute it, but make conservative Evangelicals fill it out as well, and then we can make a national game show where based just on the answers people have to guess whether it's an Anti-American Jihadist who hates our freedoms, or a Christian conservative American patriot.

[NeoOasis]

To be fair, the Republican Party is a private organization and, nationally or in Tarrant County, is free to discriminate on the basis of religion or whatever else it wants to discriminate about. If the local, county, state or national GOP wants to make itself the party of undereducated white male racists, xenophobes and misogynists, I for one say go right ahead. Just spare me your snowflake tears when you go the way of the Whigs, the Know-Nothings and the Klan.

Until they do disappear, real serious damage can still be done. This is in no way good, and hopefully the rest of the Republicans in the county who disagree will make their voices heard.

[US-SSR]

To be fair, the Republican Party is a private organization and, nationally or in Tarrant County, is free to discriminate on the basis of religion or whatever else it wants to discriminate about. If the local, county, state or national GOP wants to make itself the party of undereducated white male racists, xenophobes and misogynists, I for one say go right ahead. Just spare me your snowflake tears when you go the way of the Whigs, the Know-Nothings and the Klan.

Until they do disappear, real serious damage can still be done. This is in no way good, and hopefully the rest of the Republicans in the county who disagree will make their voices heard.

Yes, just like the cries of outrage we hear from them every time Individual-1 denegrates women, Muslims, veterans, minorities, immigrants, etc. etc., cries that sound awfully like the sound of crickets. Hopefully the rest of the Republicans in the country who disagree will follow the George Wills, Max Boots and the like and leave the party.

[Internationalist Bastard]

Isn’t that illegal?

[Heloin]

I mean even if he wanted to (which I hope he would) he couldn't. There aren't enough Muslim Islamists in government to even do that, and even if there were enough that did do so, the US gov would come bearong down on them to re-instate kufr.

You're going to be very disappointed to find out that the vast majority of Muslims aren't Islamists.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

I mean even if he wanted to (which I hope he would) he couldn't. There aren't enough Muslim Islamists in government to even do that, and even if there were enough that did do so, the US gov would come bearong down on them to re-instate kufr.

You're going to be very disappointed to find out that the vast majority of Muslims aren't Islamists.

In most of the Western world, the vast majority of Muslims are moderates (albeit many of 'em still more conservative on average).

The Balkans are a decent example.

[El-Amin Caliphate]

You're going to be very disappointed to find out that the vast majority of Muslims aren't Islamists.

In most of the Western world, the vast majority of Muslims are moderates (albeit many of 'em still more conservative on average).

The Balkans are a decent example.

>Moderate
Blatantly disobeying part of the Holy Qur'an isn't moderate. It's a minority view anyway, AlHamdulillah

[Western Vale Confederacy]

In most of the Western world, the vast majority of Muslims are moderates (albeit many of 'em still more conservative on average).

The Balkans are a decent example.

>Moderate
Blatantly disobeying part of the Holy Qur'an isn't moderate. It's a minority view anyway, AlHamdulillah

The Balkans beg to fucking differ.

[El-Amin Caliphate]

>Moderate
Blatantly disobeying part of the Holy Qur'an isn't moderate. It's a minority view anyway, AlHamdulillah

The Balkans beg to differ.

Differ on what?

[Western Vale Confederacy]

The Balkans beg to differ.

Differ on what?

They are moderate Muslims that have almost entirely integrated themselves into Western customs and values, not to mention that they live alongside Catholic and Orthodox people without having this jizya boner of yours.

[El-Amin Caliphate]

Differ on what?

They are moderate Muslims that have almost entirely integrated themselves into Western customs and values, not to mention that they live alongside Catholic and Orthodox people without having this jizya boner of yours.

This doesn't tell me anything on what they differ on.