Ted Cruz’s national security adviser Jerry Boykin repeated roundly debunked internet-fueled rumors about “Sharia courts” in Texas and Michigan in a radio interview on Monday.
Boykin, in an appearance on “Sandy Rios in the Morning,” alleged that agents of the Muslim Brotherhood are gaining influence in the U.S. government to further the Islamist group’s goal of “changing our culture in general and forcing us to essentially modify our own behavior in what I think is a dangerous way.”
After alleging that Islamic law has gained a foothold in Europe, the Family Research Council official said that “it is reported that you have a Sharia court in Texas, for example, and Michigan, and you’re going to see more of that if people don’t wake up and take a stand against this and recognize the nature of the threat.”
Boykin’s reports, however, are nothing but online rumors.
The supposed imposition of Sharia law in Michigan is likely a reference to a widely shared article from the National Report, a fake online news magazine that is like an unfunny version of the Onion.
The claim that a Sharia court was established in Texas refers to a religious mediation panel similar to ones used by many Christians and Jews throughout the country.
The Houston Chronicle called the Sharia court story its “2015 Texas Hoax of the Year,” noting that the panel’s “rulings are nonbinding and work within the guidelines of U.S. law” and only rule on noncriminal matters like marital and business disputes. Indeed, the mediation panel was actually launched in 2012 and functioned without issue until conservative websites and chain emails falsely implied that it was imposing Sharia law.
Boykin’s claims about Islamic law taking hold in parts of Europe are similarly dubious and are likely based on mediation panels similar to ones that are led by Christians and Jews.
But such internet-fueled conspiracy theories may be part of the security advice Ted Cruz is now receiving.
