Tarek Hussein was one of three Muslim delegates to the 2026 Texas GOP convention in Houston on June 12, 2026.  According to a number of media reports, Hussein and his fellow Muslims were not generally well received.  As the Texas Monthly reported in a June 16th article with a lengthy title of “They’re Conservative, Vote Republican, and Love America. The Texas GOP Wants Them to Leave”:[1]

To stroll through the exhibit hall of a Texas GOP convention is to learn in real time what animates the most hard-line members of the state’s ruling party…It was there last week…that three Muslim Republican delegates found themselves surrounded by fellow party members who believe Islam is a threat to America and Christianity. For nearly a half hour, a short woman in hijab begged state lawmakers to treat her religion with respect as her husband reminded them that Muslims widely condemn violence and consider Jesus a prophet ^[[2]]… The scene was a microcosm of the three-day event, at which fears of Islam were front and center, and the handful of Muslim delegates there were routinely subjected to bigotries and indignities subtle and overt… For Tarek Hussein, a Muslim delegate from Houston, it was a terrifying sign of where his once-beloved party is heading. By most measures, Hussein should be considered an exemplar of assimilation and the American dream…

The tone of the article, and others like it, was that many of the GOP delegates believed Hussein and the other two Muslims were not there to assimilate but rather to implement Sharia Law and spread Islam.

I thought this was interesting, given the fact that in August 2025 Hussein had presented a paper at The Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America 21st Annual Imams’ Conference in Dallas, TX, titled “Cooperation and Participation in Pluralistic Societies.”  In this paper he boldly wrote:

While the United States citizens hold many different believes [sic], we all should abide by the U. S. Constitution.[3]

His endorsement of our Constitution made me think of my Muslim Oath Project,^[4] in which I sent four questions to Muslim political candidates and office holders.  Each question required a choice between the U.S. Constitution/American Law or Islamic Doctrine.  Since Hussein had endorsed abiding by our Constitution less than a year before the Texas GOP Convention, I thought that I would send him those four question, get his clear endorsement of our Constitution, and write an article showing his fellow Texans where he really stood.

So on July 18, I sent the email below to Hussein’s business email address:

Mr. Hussein,

I read about the experience you and two other Muslim Americans had at the 2026 Texas Republican State Convention.  It appeared that many of the folks at that convention were concerned about Shariah Law and believed that, as a Muslim, you would give priority to Sharia Law over laws in the United States.

With that in mind, you could address the concerns of your fellow Texans by responding to the following four questions:

No. 1:  Will you go on record now and state that our 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech gives the right to anyone in the United States to criticize or disagree with your prophet Muhammad, and will you also go on record now and state that you support and defend anyone’s right to criticize or disagree with your prophet Muhammad, and that you condemn anyone who threatens death or physical harm to another person who is exercising that right?

No. 2:  Our 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of religion in the United States. As part of that freedom, anyone in the United States has the right to join or leave any religion, or have no religion at all.  Will you go on record now and state that you support and defend the idea that in the United States a Muslim has not only the freedom to leave Islam, but to do so without fear of physical harm, and will you also go on record now and state that you condemn anyone who threatens physical harm to a Muslim who is exercising that freedom?

No. 3:  According to the words of Allah found in Koran 5:38 and the teachings of your prophet Muhammad, amputation of a hand is an acceptable punishment for theft.   But our U.S. Constitution, which consists of man-made laws, has the 8th Amendment that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment such as this.  Do you agree with Allah and your prophet Muhammad that amputation of a hand is an acceptable punishment for theft in the United States, or do you believe that our man-made laws prohibiting such punishments are true laws and are to be followed instead of this 7th Century command of Allah and teaching of Muhammad?

No. 4:  According to the words of Allah found in Koran 4:3, Muslim men are allowed, but not required, to be married to up to four wives.  Being married to more than one wife in the United States is illegal according to our man-made bigamy laws.  Do you agree with Allah that it is legal for a Muslim man in the United States to be married to more than one woman, or do you believe that our man-made laws prohibiting bigamy are true laws and are to be followed instead of this 7th Century command of Allah?

I look forward to your responses.

Stephen M. Kirby, PhD

Having received no reply, on July 23, I sent the email again  to Hussein’s business email address.  As of July 31, I have received no reply from Hussein.

Considering Hussein’s bold statement about abiding by our Constitution in his paper presented at the Imams’ Conference less than a year before, one would have thought that the response from Hussein would have been prompt and simple for each question: the U.S Constitution over Islamic Doctrine.

However, in his paper for the Imams’ Conference he had also written (p. 9):

For Muslims, solidarity with Palestine and the Muslim world is an overarching Islamic and ethical imperative. This imperative has influenced American Muslim politics for decades.

Solidarity with the Muslim world precludes the idea of assimilating into our Judeo-Christian based society and abiding by our Constitution, which is in direct conflict with many core tenets of Islamic Doctrine.  It appears that following this “overarching Islamic and ethical imperative” is where Tarek Hussein really stands.

Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is the author of six books and numerous articles about Islam. His latest book is Islamic Doctrine versus the U.S. Constitution: The Dilemma for Muslim Public Officials.

[1]           Robert Downen, “They’re Conservative, Vote Republican, and Love America. The Texas GOP Wants Them to Leave,” Texas Monthly, June 16, 2026, https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-gop-convention-muslim-republicans/.

[2]           Muslims do consider Jesus to be only a prophet.  Islam teaches that Jesus was not crucified, it was actually a person Allah made to look like Jesus who was crucified in his place.  No Crucifixion, no Resurrection.  So, Islam teaches that Christianity is a false religion based on a fraud.  And Muhammad said that Jesus, a prophet, would return to earth to destroy Christianity, call all people to Islam, rule by the Koran for 40 years and then die.

[3]           Tarek Hussein, “Cooperation and Participation in Pluralistic Societies,” The Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America 21st Annual Imams’ Conference, August 22-24, 2025, p. 6, https://www.amjaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Cooperation-and-Participation-in-Pluralistic-Societies-Dr.-Tarek-Hussein.pdf.

[4]           https://www.liberato.us/muslim-oath-project.html

©2026 Dr. Stephen M. Kirby, PhD. All rights reserved.