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Thursday 6 December 2018 - 05:24

GOP leader in Texas says he is getting ousted for being a Muslim

Story Code : 765138
Dr. Shahid Shafi speaks before members of the State Republican Executive Committee on December 1, 2018. (AP photo)
Dr. Shahid Shafi speaks before members of the State Republican Executive Committee on December 1, 2018. (AP photo)

The Republican Party vice-chairman of Texas’s third largest county said his colleagues were trying to oust him for being a Muslim, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Shahid Shafi, a trauma surgeon in Fort Worth, has been accused of promoting Sharia law and being affiliated with terrorist groups by precinct Chairwoman Dorrie O'Brien.

She is, therefore, petitioning to have the Tarrant County Republican Party “reconsider” his appointment.

O'Brien has previously said that Shafi is a “fake Republican” who could have infiltrated the organization at the request of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“This is, unfortunately, not the first time that people or my political opponents have tried to use my religion against me to distract the voters,” Shafi said. “And unfortunately, I don’t think it will be the last either.”

A formal motion has been launched to strip Shafi of his leadership position by O'Brien and her supporters.

“The only reason she had was because he was a Muslim,” said Darl Easton, the chairman of the county’s party. “That was the only reason she gave.”

Easton further called the move an embarrassment to the Republican Party.

Land Commissioner George P. Bush was among other Texas Republicans to condemn the move.

“I urge the Tarrant County GOP to stop this attempt to remove a hardworking county party official based on religious beliefs. We must move towards a more inclusive Republican Party and stop tearing down our own if we are to keep Texas red,” Bush said.

Born in India and raised in Pakistan, Shafi came to the US in 1990.

“The reason I have stayed on is because the issue before the party is not about who the vice chair should be. It’s much more fundamental than that,” Shafi said. “It is about religious freedom, and if we are going to have a test of religion in the party, where will we stop? If Muslim Americans are not welcome in the GOP, who will be excluded next?"
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