Sharia is a Totalitarian Ideology, Not a Religion
In America, there’s a growing awareness of, and concern about, Islam’s totalitarian code known as Sharia. That is principally because its practitioners are increasingly on the march around the world and in this country, including in Texas.
Written By Frank J. Gaffney
Sharia is not simply a private matter of faith. Seventh-grade textbooks used in Islamic schools across Texas explicitly declare, “Islam is not a religion.
It is a way of life.” That way of life governs every detail of society—law, politics, economics, culture—and demands that faithful Muslims wage jihad to ensure Sharia’s global supremacy. The authoritative guide to these dictates is Reliance of the Traveler, endorsed by Al-Azhar University (Islam’s “Vatican”) and the kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. It makes clear that jihad means holy war against unbelievers, modeled after Islam’s prophet, Mohammed, who is regarded as “The Perfect Man” to be imitated in every respect.
A more accessible explanation of this system was published in 2010 by national security experts in Sharia: The Threat to America. That study argued that jihadists should not be dismissed as merely “terrorists” driven by inexplicable hatred. Instead, they are motivated by Sharia-supremacism, with terror serving as just one of many weapons. While many Muslims in America want nothing to do with Sharia’s oppressive code, indeed, many fled here to escape it—Sharia defines rejection as apostasy, a capital crime. This makes open opposition among Muslims rare, even in the West, and obscures the true scope of the threat.
“Islam is not a religion. It is a way of life.”
The advance of Sharia takes two forms: violent and subversive. Groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood fully share the goals of violent jihadists but use stealthier, “pre-violent” means to prepare the battlefield. Fifteen years after these warnings were published, evidence of Sharia’s advance is widespread.
In Britain, gangs of Sharia-adherent immigrants are estimated to have raped or exploited up to a million native girls. In Nigeria, Syria, and Iraq, Christians are slaughtered or driven from their homes. Across much of the Islamic world, women are forced into submission—beaten, veiled, deprived of equal rights, and controlled under Sharia’s dictates.
Early signs of these same patterns are emerging in the United States. In Texas and elsewhere, Sharia-aligned communities are beginning to take root, often the first step toward “no-go zones” where local laws are ignored, and authorities hesitate to enter. Mosques are rapidly proliferating, sometimes in former churches, with some
congregations spilling into public streets to pray without permits, disrupting neighborhoods and asserting dominance. In cities such as New York, Minneapolis, Houston, and Detroit, Sharia’s adherents are joining forces with the radical left to win elective office. Where successful, these leaders tend to push for greater immigration by co-religionists, gradually transforming communities into unassimilated enclaves that grow more hostile to American values.
The bottom line is clear: Sharia is not a constitutionally protected religion. It is a comprehensive ideological and political system aimed at control and conquest. To treat it as a mere religious expression is to misunderstand both its nature and its threat. Sharia must be resisted—not accommodated—if we are to preserve freedom and justice in America.
Frank J. Gaffney acted as an Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan. He was a coauthor of Sharia: The Threat to America and is currently President of the Institute for the American Future.
