Representative Keith Self of Texas told Newsmax that most Americans have not grasped the scale of what he called an “explosion of Islam” spreading across the country, warning that the ideology behind it seeks authority over civil law itself.
Self made the comments during an appearance on “Ed Henry The Big Take.” He argued that Sharia — a term he translated as meaning submission — is advancing on multiple fronts at once. “Today in America, Sharia, Islam — which means submission — demands submission at the individual level, the family level, the cultural level,” Self said. “We are losing that battle today because we’re accepting it.”
He described the ideology in stark terms, saying it does not coexist with the American constitutional order but seeks to override it. “This is a political ideology that demands, that commands dominance over any man-made law to include the U.S. Constitution,” he said.
Self pushed back on critics who he said reduce the entire conversation to a single country. “They have made this all about Israel,” he said. “The explosion of Islam across America is taking place. Look at a map, there are 57 Muslim nations around the world. Israel is a little tiny dot, and somehow, they’re the occupiers. This is ludicrous.” He followed that with a direct statement of support for the country, calling it indispensable to U.S. interests in the region. “They are our strongest ally in the Middle East, regardless of what’s going on in the diplomatic world today,” Self said.
From there, Self turned to specific practices he said conflict with American law and cannot be tolerated domestically. “We have got to push back against the political ideology that has polygamy, that has child marriage, that if you want to leave Islam, you’re put to death, that has honor killings,” he said. He went further, describing a scenario he said the ideology permits. “If your daughter dishonors the family name, you have the right, you have the authority to kill her,” Self said. “These do not comport with U.S. Constitution and state law.”
Self’s television remarks followed a post he wrote on X, in which he singled out his own state. “The rapid spread of political Islam and radical Islamists who seek to impose Sharia law is on the rise — especially in Texas,” he wrote. “We must stand firm on the principle that there is only one supreme law in America: the United States Constitution. Texas needs us to stand strong and defend it.”
He closed his Newsmax interview by framing the issue as one the public has yet to fully confront. “This is what we’re pushing about, and people need to understand just how serious this fight is,” Self said.
His comments add to a series of recent Newsmax appearances by members of Congress addressing similar themes, with the network reporting related remarks from other lawmakers on both Sharia law and public opinion around Islam’s influence in the United States in the days surrounding Self’s interview.
