The CLARITy Coalition comprised of Muslims, former Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, and atheists, applauds the stated goal of the “Sharia-Free America Caucus” Judiciary Committee hearing on “Why Political Islam & Sharia Law are Incompatible with the U.S. Constitution.”
This long-overdue, albeit very American, and incisive discussion courageously set out to address many of the critical issues which the Islamist ideological threats confronting America today pose to our American way of life. For that accomplishment, we congratulate Chairman Chip Roy (R-TX), the House Judiciary Committee and the wider efforts of the Sharia-free Caucus of this 119th Congress.
Our diverse and patriotic CLARITy Coalition leaders have lived, understand, and directly confronted the threat of Islamism for over a generation. We watched both parts of these hearings of the House Judiciary Committee with great anticipation. We have also had a number of productive engagements, which we initiated with members and staff of the committee about our unique and essential perspective and the strategic importance of our coalition in “Saving the West” from Islamism.
But, unfortunately, despite all the heavy-lifting the committee leadership did to get this Congress and the American people to hear these essential issues, the committee hearings fell short in their most important mandate failing to consider any constitutionally serious and viable solutions against the growing threat of domestic Islamist movements and their sharia supremacism.
The United States is the most successful democracy on the planet. It was founded in this very battle, 250 years ago, against theocracy. The American Revolution ended with recognition of the “First Liberty” of religious freedom and government “under God”. The U.S.A. embodies for Muslims and the world, the single most effective treatment against the cancer of theocratic Islamism — Americanism. The Islamist threat controls over 56 nations and over one-fourth of the world’s population and is joined and amplified globally by Marxists and Socialists in the world’s Red-Green Axis in their mission to destroy America and the West from the outside and from within.
The CLARITy Coalition presents the only viable and Constitutional approach to defeating Islamism inside America and globally against its sources. We present a no-compromise approach to theocratic Islamism while giving patriotic American Muslims of the Muslim Reform Movement the space to make history by defeating Islamism from within the House of Islam – a very American battle.
While we agree that obviously the predominant voices for Muslims in the West’s public spaces are dominated by Islamists and sharia supremacists due to overwhelming “petro-Islamic” financial influence, any honest engagement with American Muslim populations will reveal that not all Muslims embrace political Islam and its Islamist movements, nor do all Muslims work to impose arbitrary sharia fatwas on American society.
In fact, the domestic Muslim dynamic on the streets of Iran today, of the majority of Iranians revolting against the oppressive Islamist regime, is not unique and in fact should strategically be amplified in America rather than ignored.
This missed opportunity of the hearings was best underscored when Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) had the following interchange (at around 2:00:00) with all those impanelled experts for the committee (none of whom included any dissident anti-Islamist Muslims):
Rep Glenn Grothman: “Are there any mainstream Muslim groups who are attacking or boldly trying to separate themselves from these groups that seem to be in favor of October 7th?
Ms. Mekelburg: No.
And, and none. I haven’t seen one group that has come forward and has been advocating and defending. I’ve heard a lot of victim talk.
I’ve heard how they’ve been the victim. I’ve heard how they’ve been dealing with hate…”
Rep. Grothman continues: “That almost can’t be true? How about the other 3 of you? Has anybody heard of any significant Muslim groups trying to dissociate themselves or condemn those Muslim groups who are in favor of October 7th attacks?”
Panelists: None.
Grothman responds: I can’t believe that, none of them?
Panelist: I have not done that research, but… No, that’s true.
And then Ms. Mekelburg goes on to say that Islam is very clear in how they feel about the unbeliever…” when discussing American Muslim response to Hamas.
Rep. Grothman: “I’ve met with Muslims in my area, but it is kind of shocking to me that nobody on the stage here can give us some examples of maybe donating money to The victims in Israel, or whatever may be separating themselves from this … ?“
We know for a fact that the committee staff and members knew of our coalition’s existence, our testimony to countless other committees since 2011 (such as Chairman Pete King (2011), Chairman Ted Cruz (2016), and Chairman Ron DeSantis (2018), to name just a few. There is no excuse for the denial or avoidance of the patriotic and long-established, recognized work of well-known reformist dissident Muslim voices against Hamas, in support of Israel and against antisemitism. The avoidance in this conversation is a strategic and constitutional liability.
When any group is tarred with a broad brush, certainly one that represents disputed religiously-described practices, constitutional questions arise. While virulent movements (like Islamism) that seek societal control should be identified, confronted, and challenged, the identification step is crucial if the resulting challenge phase is to be successful. Creating a bucket that calls all Muslims “civilizational jihadists” is not just unfortunate; it leaves little constitutional space to address the threat from Sharia partisans.
The role of bold and brave patriotic Muslims who spotlight the designs of political Islamists is critical in the public debate. Leading Muslims, including many members of our coalition, have spoken out across multiple platforms for decades to condemn Hamas’s depravity and treachery, including after the October 7 attacks. See Raheel Raza’s most recent piece, quoting many leading dissident Muslim voices in the National Post. Yet Rep. Grothman (R-WI) and witness, Amy Mekelburg, founder of “Rise, Align, Ignite, Reclaim” (RAIR), conveniently agreed that there was “no effort by mainstream American Muslims” to disassociate themselves from the barbarism committed by Hamas. To the contrary, any basic internet search will yield many instances of social media posts, interviews, and commentary where patriotic Muslims, like those of CLARITy Coalition, unequivocally judged the “evil” Hamas attacks as aggression and terror, supporting Israel, and speaking out against antisemitism while calling it fundamentally “unjustifiable.”
Chairman Chip Roy’s final questions, instead of targeting Islamism in the hearing, anthropomorphized all of Islam as engaging “jihad against the West.” Dr. Zuhdi Jasser called this closing theme “a tragically missed opportunity” and one that denies the historic and courageous role of America’s constitutionally-aligned dissident Muslims who “work tirelessly to identify and counter the initiatives of political Islamists”. Without the leadership to envision an alternative for Muslims to Islamism rooted in Americanism and religious liberty, America’s future will not be much different from Europe’s failing and doomed tribalism.
No religiously-organized group is monolithic, and no constitutional inquiry may treat all Muslims as politically authoritarian Islamists. The fact that Islamists exploit and abuse constitutional protections for true religious exercise should allow dissident Muslims who stalwartly oppose this agenda space and recognition as they work in the interest of liberty and freedom.
“America’s valiant counter-Islamist Muslims may well provide the solution to unlawful painting of an entire group with one brush. With First Amendment speech protections they declare for American individual liberty and separation of faith and clerically-driven Muslim controls,” observed Karen Lugo, constitutional law specialist.
The CLARITy Coalition stands ready to work with fellow patriotic Americans who believe that dissident Muslims can play a leading role among a diverse coalition of Americans working together to defeat Islamist movements and their sharia supremacism from outside and from within.