Monday, February 2, 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

    Lawsuit Against H-4 Visa Authorisation Moves Forward After Court Move

    Lawsuit Against H-4 Visa Authorisation Moves Forward After Court Move
    The Barack Obama administration in 2015 had allowed H4 visa-holders--mainly spouses of the H-1B visa-holders--to be gainfully employed in the US.

    Lawsuit Against H-4 Visa Authorisation Moves Forward After Court Move

    Post-Brexit, UK To Treat Indian, European Union Citizens On Par For Visas

    UK’s future skills-based immigration system, tabled in the House of Commons by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid, removes any cap on highly-skilled migrants from anywhere in the world

    Post-Brexit, UK To Treat Indian, European Union Citizens On Par For Visas

    'Here Is My Home:' Refugee Whose Fingers Froze Off Finds Hope In Winnipeg

    WINNIPEG — Razak Iyal still wakes up in the middle of the night feeling the icy winds on Christmas Eve two years ago when his life drastically changed.

    'Here Is My Home:' Refugee Whose Fingers Froze Off Finds Hope In Winnipeg

    Third Canadian Detained In China Not Believed To Be Linked To Other Detentions

    "Global Affairs Canada is aware of a Canadian citizen detained in China," department spokesperson Maegan Graveline said in a statement.

    Third Canadian Detained In China Not Believed To Be Linked To Other Detentions

    UK Census White Paper Omits Sikh Ethnic Tick Box

    section of MPs, all UK-based gurdwaras and members of the Sikh community to kick off a countrywide campaign for addition of the tick box in the 2019 Census Order.

    UK Census White Paper Omits Sikh Ethnic Tick Box

    British MPs Campaign For Separate Sikh Ethnicity In UK Census

    A group of British MPs have launched a year-long campaign to lobby for Sikhism to be added as a separate ethnicity tick-box in the next UK census in 202

    British MPs Campaign For Separate Sikh Ethnicity In UK Census