U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is one of 46 members of the new Sharia-Free America Caucus.
The House of Representatives caucus has members from 22 different states.
When U.S. Representatives Keith Self (R-TX-03) and Chip Roy (R-TX-21) launched this caucus in January, it had 26 representatives from 17 different states.
Self thanked his colleagues “for joining this noble cause to save Western Civilization and fight back against the threat of Sharia.”
“Preserving the American way of life is essential to protecting civil liberties and upholding the United States Constitution. Sharia stands in direct opposition to our country and is totally anathema to the concept of individual freedom and our founding principles,” he stated.
According to the Intercultural Networks Group, Sharia law is “used by Muslims to refer to the values, code of conduct, and religious commandments or sacred laws which provide them with guidance in various aspects of life.”
Roy called Sharia law a “direct threat to our Constitution and Western values and seeks to replace our legal system and erode our basic freedoms.”
“Our immigration system must be prepared to confront this challenge and defend our Judeo-Christian values,” he stated.
“I am proud to co-chair this caucus with Rep. Keith Self and encouraged to see more of my House colleagues joining this effort, because the preservation of America and Western civilization depends on it,” Roy explained.
Ogles, who is Tennessee’s lone member of this caucus, noted, “Islam is a religion of violence, abuse of women, and ruthless political conquest. Its laws and practices have no place in American society.”
“Islam is conquering Europe, and I refuse to let it conquer America,” he added.
Last week, Ogles announced he was going to introduce a bill that stops immigration from Muslim countries and foreign adversaries of America.
Ogles said on Monday that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.”
“Pluralism is a lie,” he noted.
In February, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) designated this new caucus an extremist organization. It was the first time in the organization’s history that it ever designated a congressional caucus with this label.
CAIR also called the caucus an anti-Muslim hate group.
“Congressmen Randy Fine, Chip Roy, Keith Self, and other members of this so-called caucus have appointed themselves as religious police with the power to tell Americans how to worship,” said CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor.
“These legislators have put cancel culture on steroids, applying it to an entire faith. The bigoted rhetoric used by this caucus resembles the hatred that anti-Catholic politicians once unleashed against Irish Americans,” he stated.
Saylor called Islam an “American faith,” which has been present in the country for more than 250 years.
“No one who wrote the Constitution or enforced it since has empowered these legislators to pick which religions get to exist in America,” he said.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
Photo “Andy Ogles” by Andy Ogles.
