What is sharia? Muslims and Texas Republicans have very different answers

(RNS) — In political campaigns and the party’s platform, Texas Republicans condemn “sharia law” as a dangerous system of extremist Islamic rules and restrictions that threaten democracy, religious freedom and personal liberty — an affront to American values that must be stamped out.

But when Shaimaa Zayan considers what “sharia” means to her, the Austin resident doesn’t see a hot-button political issue or a legal code that undermines the U.S. Constitution. She sees a set of daily practices that gradually lead Muslims like her closer to paradise.

Linguistically, she said, sharia means “a path to water.” Religiously, she added, the Arabic term describes “the path to success” or “how we should practice our faith.”

“It’s for Muslims, so thinking that this is something that Muslims are bringing for everyone is just so far from the understanding of sharia,” she said.

As Texas Republicans escalate attacks on Islam based on opposition to what they call sharia law, Muslims are pushing back, saying the term has been distorted by ignorance, fear and political opportunism. It’s time, they say, to set the record straight on the meaning of sharia as a religious concept.

State Rep.…