U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) delivered a fiery speech on the House floor in May 2024, which he is recirculating this week. Without providing evidence for his claims, Roy said: “Is anybody paying attention to what’s happening in London?! You’ve got a massive Muslim takeover of the United Kingdom going on right before our eyes… I’ve got some pretty strong concerns about Sharia Law and whether that will be forced upon the American people.”
Rep. Roy: “Is anybody paying attention to what’s happening in London?! You’ve got a massive Muslim takeover of the United Kingdom going on right before our eyes… I’ve got some strong concerns about Sharia Law and whether that will be forced on the American people.” pic.twitter.com/SfBVfl838Y
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) June 4, 2025
Brian Hegseth, father of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, replied to Roy’s video on X: “Sharia Law can NEVER be allowed anywhere in the US. We have civil laws in place for all Americans; Islamic religious law cannot take precedence. Codify this with legislation.”
Sharia Law can NEVER be allowed anywhere in the US. We have civil laws in place for all Americans; Islamic religious law cannot take precedence. Codify this with legislation.
— Brian Hegseth (@BrianHegseth) June 5, 2025
[Note: The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment bars religious law from superseding U.S. law; it maintains the separation of church and state, and prevents the government from preferring one religion over another.]
Note: When Roy first delivered the speech in 2024, human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid responded on X: “MAGA [Make America Great Again] Rep Chip Roy fear mongers over ‘Muslims taking over UK & USA to enforce Shariah Law.’ Muslims are 6.5% of UK population & 1.5% of US population. Also we have state/religion separation. What Roy actually means is his religion should be enforced & others should be banned.” (In the speech, Roy asks if the U.S. government is teaching Muslims living in the U.S. that God exists.)
Some Americans on X are voicing their disapproval of Roy’s speech with comments including “Shame on you for spouting such Islamophobia” and “You’re just using this to distract MAGA from the budget bill.”
Haroon Khan responded: “Chip is exaggerating migration to cause needless worry and panic. London is fine, the problem is mass fabrication by alarmists.”
A BBC report contradicts the notion that “London is fine.” It reported in February that “Anti-Muslim hate in the UK surged to record levels last year, and there had been a “surge in rhetoric that falsely portrays Muslims as terrorists or terrorist sympathisers” following the Israel-Gaza war.