Friday, April 17, 2026
ADVT 
International

Vote To Oust India-Born Republican Leader Because ‘He Is Muslim’ Rejected

Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Jan, 2019 09:55 PM

    Shaid Shafi, an India-born Republican facing removal as Texas county leader for "being a Muslim", will remain in office as his party officials slapped down a motion to oust him from the post of vice-chairman.


    The Tarrant County Republican Party rejected the motion to strip Mr Shafi, a trauma surgeon and member of the Southlake City Council, at a contentious meeting on Thursday.


    The committee voted 139-49 in favour of Mr Shafi, with 10 abstentions, Washington-based news website The Daily Caller reported.


    "This vote reaffirms the commitment by a majority of Tarrant County Republicans to our core values and moral compass, a demonstration of our allegiance to the Texas Republican Party Platform and the Constitutions of the United States and Texas, which strictly prohibit religious and racial discrimination of any kind," Tarrant County Party Chairman Darl Easton said.


    Mr Shafi said he was "honoured and privileged to receive the support of my fellow Republicans" and emphasised that he held no ill will towards those who voted against him.


    A small but vocal minority of the county's 269 precinct chairs was behind the push to remove Mr Shafi from his leadership position.


    He received an outpouring of support from Republicans across the state, including from Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Land Commissioner George P Bush, leading up to the vote.


    Mr Shafi, born in India and raised in Pakistan, travelled to the US to study medicine. He became a naturalised citizen in 2009 and, since then, has been involved with the Republican Party.


    "Religious litmus tests are wrong, whether they occur in my party or whether its Democratic Senators who have questioned Catholic judges'' ability to be unbiased. What matters is a person''s character, judgment and values. Shahid Shafi has all three," Mr Bush said on Twitter.


    Mr Shafi was appointed to the position in July with overwhelming support from Republicans in Tarrant County, which is Texas' third-largest county in terms of population.


    A sole precinct chair Dorrie O' Brien opposed Mr Shafi at that time and tried to whip up opposition for him in the six months since then.


    She cited the Muslim doctor's faith as her reason for opposing him in a Facebook post last month.


    "We don't think he's suitable as a practising 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 US, in Tarrant County, and in the TCGOP, and there are big questions surrounding exactly where Shafi's loyalties lie vis a vis Democrat and Republican policies," she wrote.


    In a January 4 Facebook post, she falsely accused Mr Shafi of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.


    Another precinct chair James Scott Trimm on Tuesday wrote on Facebook he would vote against Mr Shafi because he "refused to renounce and repudiate" an endorsement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Mr Shafi has denied any ties to CAIR.


    In an open letter, he wrote that he believed "much of the hate against Muslims is driven by a fear of terrorism."

     

    "Here are the facts. I have never had any association with the Muslim Brotherhood nor (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) nor any terrorist organisation," he wrote.

     

    "I believe that the laws of our nation are our Constitution and the laws passed by our elected legislatures I have never promoted any form of Sharia Law. I fully support and believe in American Laws for American Courts. I am honoured to be an American and a Republican," he was quoted as saying by The Texas Tribune.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Slain Sikh Leader’s Son Narinder Singh Khalsa In Afghanistan Poll Fray

    Slain Sikh Leader’s Son Narinder Singh Khalsa In Afghanistan Poll Fray
      The Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan on Sunday granted permission to Narinder Singh Khalsa (38), the son of slain Sikh leader Avtar Singh Khalsa, to contest the October parliamentary elections.

    Slain Sikh Leader’s Son Narinder Singh Khalsa In Afghanistan Poll Fray

    26-Yr-Old Telangana Student Sharath Koppu Shot Dead In US

    26-Yr-Old Telangana Student Sharath Koppu Shot Dead In US
    A 26-year-old Indian student from Telangana was shot dead inside a restaurant here in the US state of Missouri by a suspected robber.

    26-Yr-Old Telangana Student Sharath Koppu Shot Dead In US

    Sushma Swaraj's Intervention Ends 'Status Quo' For Aggrieved Woman In Canada

    The Minister responded to a tweet by the RPO Delhi that said "Status quo" on Friday when the woman demanded to know about the progress of her request made in February 2018. 

    Sushma Swaraj's Intervention Ends 'Status Quo' For Aggrieved Woman In Canada

    Hindu Woman Sunita Parmar Contests Election In Pakistan, Creates History

    Hindu Woman Sunita Parmar Contests Election In Pakistan, Creates History
    Sunita Parmar said she was compelled to contest the upcoming polls as previous governments failed to deliver on their promises of making life better for the people of her constituency.

    Hindu Woman Sunita Parmar Contests Election In Pakistan, Creates History

    Indian-Origin Finance Consultant Jailed For Raping 18-Year-Old In London

    Indian-Origin Finance Consultant Jailed For Raping 18-Year-Old In London
    The 28-year-old was found guilty of carrying the woman over his shoulder after she was denied entry into a nightclub in central London for being drunk and raping her in an alleyway.

    Indian-Origin Finance Consultant Jailed For Raping 18-Year-Old In London

    Indian Family In UAE Without Passports, Visa, Say ‘Living Like Prisoners’

    Indian Family In UAE Without Passports, Visa, Say ‘Living Like Prisoners’
    The family, three of whom do not have passports and visas, said that they do not even have enough to eat and there are days when they have to survive on a packet of quboos (Arabic bread).

    Indian Family In UAE Without Passports, Visa, Say ‘Living Like Prisoners’