Republican fears about the so-called “Islamification of America” are becoming a central rallying cry for the party’s right-wing base, with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail increasingly leaning into anti-Muslim rhetoric. The issue has gained significant traction this year, driven by a new caucus and legislative proposals targeting Sharia law.
The Sharia-Free America Caucus, launched earlier this year, now boasts over 60 members, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). Several GOP lawmakers have introduced bills to bar immigration from majority-Muslim countries or for those who adhere to Sharia law. In Texas, a proposed Islamic community development became a flashpoint in the state’s Republican Senate primary.
Reporting on the future of the House Freedom Caucus, I found that both Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) identified combating “Islamification” and Sharia law as a top priority for the group. Self, expected to be a leading voice in the caucus next year, called it “one of the most important issues in our nation today.” Fine, the newest member, said the concern is “remarkably underreported” among base voters.
Fine recalled a town hall in The Villages, a Florida retirement community, where conservative host Eric Bolling surveyed attendees on their top issue. “He was stunned when it was overwhelmingly the ‘Islamification of America,’” Fine said. “The Villages is not a place that is going through Islamification. There aren’t any mosques, I don’t think, in The Villages. But that was the issue that people were super worried about.” Fine argued that such concerns don’t appear in polls because those lists are often pre-populated with other topics.
This rhetoric echoes themes from the post-9/11 era and President Trump’s 2016 campaign, when he implemented a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries. After years of simmering, interest in “Sharia Law” has spiked again, according to Google Trends, reaching levels not seen in a decade. Republicans are responding: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) ran an ad asserting “Sharia Law has no place in American courts or communities,” and Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell, running for attorney general, said in an ad: “Stand with radical Islam and you can Allah Akbar your butt all the way back to the Middle East.”
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), another Freedom Caucus member, has pointed to Islamic communities in European cities like Paris and London as warnings, calling Islam a “political movement” gaining momentum in the U.S. No U.S. jurisdiction has implemented Sharia law, but Republicans cite efforts to establish private Islamic institutions as a threat. The proposed “Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act” would bar foreign nationals who adhere to Sharia from entering the country.
Legal experts have pushed back. George Mason University Professor Ilya Somin testified before the House Judiciary Committee in February that the legislation violates the First Amendment. “Sharia law is simply a standard term for the religious precepts of the Muslim faith,” Somin said. “Discrimination against adherents of Sharia law discriminates against Muslims in much the same way as a bill targeting adherents of Talmudic law discriminates against Orthodox Jews.”
While Republicans frame their efforts as targeting radical Islam, the messaging often spills into broad anti-Muslim sentiment. The push reflects a broader strategy to energize the conservative base ahead of the 2026 midterms, with the Freedom Caucus and other GOP groups leaning into cultural grievances. As the party eyes a potential “Take Back America” movement, the focus on Islamification is likely to persist.
