Distracting America
Speaker Mike Johnson said, “Look, there’s a lot of energy in the country and a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem.” Is this grandstanding, a hidden message or do they use grandstanding to hide their message?
Grandstanding: Nobody believes Sharia Law will sweep America. For most Americans, it never comes up. Since Sharia Law will never become America’s law, what motivates Republican exaggeration?
Speculation: Perhaps they saw Iran’s Sharia Law and thought: “How terrible! Iranians might invade America. Act now!” Then they skipped from the middle east directly to America ignoring everywhere else. Instead of addressing real threats, Republicans picked Sharia Law.
Stirring up people against Sharia Law resembles loudly resisting the imposition of the Catholic rule of St. Benedict, Protestants’ Rule of Life or Buddhism’s Eightfold Path. Not happening.
The GOP doesn’t believe in a Sharia takeover. Their anti-Sharia showboating is just a dog whistle. By attacking Sharia Law, they indirectly attack Islam, confident that religious bigots will hear their message. Dog-whistling offers plausible deniability. Opposing Sharia Law camouflages Islamophobia.
Their religious bigotry plays with fire. Bigotry burns bigots’ hands by revealing their agenda. We must ask, if the GOP attacks Islam today, which religion is next?
GOP’s anti-Sharia noise distracts us from the Epstein files and an illegal war.