{ "publisher": { "name": "Texas Muslim", "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/#organization", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/" }, "generated": "from the site content registry at request time", "count": 85, "records": [ { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/as-salamu-alaykum-yall", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/as-salamu-alaykum-yall", "section": "research", "title": "As-salamu alaykum, Y’all.", "abstract": "Omar Afra introduces Texas Muslim: a personal welcome about Houston, faith, belonging, and why being Muslim and being Texan are parts of the same life.", "authors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "Texas", "Houston", "Muslim identity", "belonging", "founder's note" ], "geographicScope": "Houston and Texas, United States", "temporalScope": "First-preview integration, 2026-09-21", "sources": [ { "title": "Omar Afra — founder and editor, Texas Muslim", "publisher": "Texas Muslim", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/authors/omar-afra" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/how-we-report", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/how-we-report", "section": "research", "title": "How Texas Muslim reports: a reader's guide", "abstract": "Texas Muslim is an independent publication founded and financed by Houston publisher Omar Afra. This guide explains our sourcing rules, our review stages, our ownership disclosures and the kinds of claims we decline to publish.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-20", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "editorial standards", "methodology", "transparency" ], "geographicScope": "Texas, United States", "sources": [ { "title": "Texas Muslim editorial standards", "publisher": "Texas Muslim", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/about/editorial-standards" }, { "title": "Texas Muslim methodology", "publisher": "Texas Muslim", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/about/methodology" }, { "title": "Texas Muslim funding and ownership", "publisher": "Texas Muslim", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/about/funding" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/what-muslims-believe-about-jesus-and-mary", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/what-muslims-believe-about-jesus-and-mary", "section": "faith", "title": "Jesus (PBUH) and Mary in the Qur’an: A Christian Neighbor’s Guide", "abstract": "Muslim reverence for Jesus (PBUH) and Mary is explicit in scripture, alongside theological disagreements that deserve equally honest explanation.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "quran", "people-of-the-book", "allah", "faith", "jesus", "mary" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 3:42, The Clear Quran", "url": "https://quran.com/3/42" }, { "title": "Qur’an 19:16–36", "url": "https://quran.com/19/16-36" }, { "title": "Qur’an 3:45", "url": "https://quran.com/3/45" }, { "title": "Qur’an 3:49–51", "url": "https://quran.com/3/49-51" }, { "title": "Qur’an 19:30–33, The Clear Quran", "url": "https://quran.com/19/30-33" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:171", "url": "https://quran.com/4/171" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:157–158", "url": "https://quran.com/4/157-158" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/halal", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/halal", "section": "glossary", "title": "Halal", "abstract": "Halal means permitted in Islamic practice. On a menu it concerns ingredients and preparation, not a cuisine or a requirement that customers adopt a religion.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "haram", "iftar-and-suhoor", "islamic-finance" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Halal Food", "url": "https://pluralism.org/halal-food" }, { "title": "Qur’an 5:3", "url": "https://quran.com/5/3" }, { "title": "Qur’an 5:5", "url": "https://quran.com/5/5" }, { "title": "Levant Barbecue, official website", "url": "https://levantbarbecue.com/" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/opinion/brandon-gill-texas-muslims", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/opinion/brandon-gill-texas-muslims", "section": "opinion", "title": "Brandon Gill Doesn’t Know Beans About Texas Muslims", "abstract": "Omar Afra examines Brandon Gill’s claims about Texas Muslims, local Muslim history, and documented Dinesh D’Souza and AIPAC campaign support.", "authors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "Brandon Gill", "Texas Muslims", "Islamophobia", "Sharia", "campaign finance", "AIPAC", "Right Texas" ], "geographicScope": "Texas, United States", "temporalScope": "Reporting cutoff 2026-09-21; historical FEC periods are identified in the article.", "sources": [ { "title": "Gill’s Dallas mall comparison", "publisher": "Houston Chronicle", "url": "https://www.chron.com/news/article/brandon-gill-pakistan-dallas-mall-21342980.php" }, { "title": "About the Islamic Association of North Texas", "publisher": "Islamic Association of North Texas", "url": "https://iant.com/about-us/" }, { "title": "About the Islamic Society of Denton", "publisher": "Islamic Society of Denton", "url": "https://www.dentonmasjid.com/about-us/" }, { "title": "Gill’s North Texas move and congressional primary", "publisher": "The Texas Tribune", "url": "https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/13/texas-congressional-district-26-brandon-gill/" }, { "title": "Omar ibn Said Collection", "publisher": "Library of Congress", "url": "https://www.loc.gov/collections/omar-ibn-said-collection/about-this-collection/list-of-items-in-the-collection/" }, { "title": "Wealthy relatives and family-funded super PACs", "publisher": "Bloomberg Government", "url": "https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/wealthy-relatives-aid-candidates-with-family-funded-super-pacs" }, { "title": "Official website", "publisher": "Right Texas", "url": "https://www.righttx.com/" }, { "title": "Right Texas 2024 cycle summary", "publisher": "Federal Election Commission", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00857631/?cycle=2024" }, { "title": "Gill 2024 victory statement", "publisher": "Club for Growth", "url": "https://www.clubforgrowth.org/club-for-growth-pac-congratulates-brandon-gill-on-tx-26-victory/" }, { "title": "AIPAC contributions to Gill", "publisher": "ProPublica FEC Itemizer", "url": "https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/committee/C00857359/pac-donations/C00797670" }, { "title": "Amended May 5, 2026 report, printed page 2,812, transaction SA11C.168256241", "publisher": "Federal Election Commission", "url": "https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/803/202605059866807803/202605059866807803.pdf" }, { "title": "Political program", "publisher": "AIPAC", "url": "https://www.aipac.org/politics" }, { "title": "Right Texas January 2025–June 2026 summary", "publisher": "Federal Election Commission", "url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00857631/" }, { "title": "Allocation disclosure", "publisher": "Brandon Gill Victory Fund", "url": "https://secure.winred.com/brandon-gill-victory-fund/donation" }, { "title": "February 2026 hearing on political Islam and Sharia", "publisher": "U.S. House Judiciary Committee", "url": "https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/sharia-free-america-why-political-islam-sharia-law-are-incompatible-us" }, { "title": "Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee", "publisher": "Ilya Somin", "url": "https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/somin-testimony.pdf" }, { "title": "Texas Constitution, Article I, Section 6", "publisher": "Texas Legislature", "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/CN/htm/CN.1.htm" }, { "title": "Dinesh D’Souza pleads guilty to campaign-finance fraud", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/dinesh-d-souza-pleads-guilty-manhattan-federal-court-campaign-finance-fraud" }, { "title": "Pardons granted by President Donald J. Trump, 2017–2021", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-donald-j-trump-2017-2021" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/levant-bbq-houston", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/levant-bbq-houston", "section": "halal-bbq", "title": "Levant BBQ — Houston", "abstract": "Levant BBQ combines slow-smoked Texas barbecue with Levantine seasoning and dishes. Its Houston location is listed on the operator’s current site at 5884 Westheimer Road.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "halal", "Texas barbecue", "Houston" ], "geographicScope": "Greater Houston", "temporalScope": "Source checked 2026-09-21", "sources": [ { "title": "Levant BBQ — official website", "url": "https://levantbarbecue.com/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Levant BBQ — locations", "url": "https://levantbarbecue.com/locations", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/levant-bbq-frisco", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/levant-bbq-frisco", "section": "halal-bbq", "title": "Levant BBQ — Frisco", "abstract": "Levant’s Frisco location brings its Mediterranean-influenced Texas barbecue to North Texas. The operator lists 3211 Preston Road as open, with brisket, beef ribs and shareable barbecue dishes forming the core of its published menu.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "halal", "Texas barbecue", "Frisco" ], "geographicScope": "North Texas", "temporalScope": "Source checked 2026-09-21", "sources": [ { "title": "Levant BBQ — official website", "url": "https://levantbarbecue.com/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Levant BBQ — locations", "url": "https://levantbarbecue.com/locations", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/truboy-bbq-missouri-city", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/truboy-bbq-missouri-city", "section": "halal-bbq", "title": "Truboy BBQ", "abstract": "Truboy BBQ operates a dine-in and pickup location in Missouri City and also offers catering and nationwide shipment of prepared barbecue. Its official site describes the food as 100% halal Texas barbecue.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "halal", "Texas barbecue", "Missouri City" ], "geographicScope": "Greater Houston", "temporalScope": "Source checked 2026-09-21", "sources": [ { "title": "Truboy BBQ — official website and menu", "url": "https://truboybbq.com/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/kafi-bbq-irving", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/kafi-bbq-irving", "section": "halal-bbq", "title": "Kafi BBQ", "abstract": "Kafi BBQ serves Texas-style smoked Wagyu brisket and ribs in Irving. Its official site emphasizes meat selection and made-from-scratch preparation, while the Irving tourism listing and a published interview describe its halal barbecue offering.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "halal", "Texas barbecue", "Irving" ], "geographicScope": "North Texas", "temporalScope": "Source checked 2026-09-21", "sources": [ { "title": "Kafi BBQ — official website", "url": "https://www.kafibbq.com/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Kafi BBQ — contact", "url": "https://www.kafibbq.com/contact", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Irving, Texas — Kafi BBQ listing", "url": "https://www.irvingtexas.com/listing/kafi-bbq/1812/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Eater Dallas — Kafi BBQ opening interview", "url": "https://dallas.eater.com/2025/1/28/24353169/kafi-bbq-irving-opening-menu-photos-food", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/chuckwagon-bbq-katy", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/chuckwagon-bbq-katy", "section": "halal-bbq", "title": "Chuckwagon BBQ & Burgers", "abstract": "Chuckwagon is a mixed-menu barbecue restaurant with a dedicated published list of halal meats. Its halal page identifies eligible cuts and describes separate cooking from pork products, cleaned smoker racks, and dedicated preparation tools.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "halal", "Texas barbecue", "Katy" ], "geographicScope": "Greater Houston", "temporalScope": "Source checked 2026-09-21", "sources": [ { "title": "Chuckwagon BBQ & Burgers — official website", "url": "https://chuckwagonbbqburgers.com/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Chuckwagon — halal BBQ in Katy", "url": "https://chuckwagonbbqburgers.com/halal-bbq-katy/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Chuckwagon — kitchen menu", "url": "https://chuckwagonbbqburgers.com/kitchen-menu/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/mad-bbq-houston", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/halal-bbq/mad-bbq-houston", "section": "halal-bbq", "title": "MAD BBQ HTX", "abstract": "MAD BBQ HTX advertises catering across Greater Houston and states that all meat it uses is halal or zabiha. Its published menu includes smoked chicken, brisket and beef short ribs, with several seasoning styles and event-oriented portions.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "halal", "Texas barbecue", "Greater Houston" ], "geographicScope": "Greater Houston", "temporalScope": "Source checked 2026-09-21", "sources": [ { "title": "MAD BBQ HTX — official website and menu", "url": "https://www.madbbqhtx.com/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/do-muslims-and-christians-worship-the-same-god", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/do-muslims-and-christians-worship-the-same-god", "section": "faith", "title": "Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?", "abstract": "A shared reference to the God of Abraham (PBUH) does not erase disagreement about the Trinity, revelation or Jesus (PBUH).", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "allah", "islam", "people-of-the-book", "faith", "Christianity" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 29:46", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ankabut/46" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ikhlas" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:171", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/171" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Vatican, Nostra Aetate, section 3", "url": "https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/jesus-muhammad-and-prophetic-sinlessness", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/jesus-muhammad-and-prophetic-sinlessness", "section": "faith", "title": "Were Jesus (PBUH) and Muhammad (PBUH) Sinless? What Muslims Mean by Prophetic Protection", "abstract": "Purity, protection from error and divinity are different claims. Muslim sources discuss them with distinctions that a one-line comparison misses.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "hadith", "quran", "sunnah", "faith", "prophets" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Islam Question & Answer, Infallibility of the Prophets, January 3, 2017", "url": "https://islamqa.info/en/answers/248875" }, { "title": "Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi, The Definition of Ismah", "url": "https://al-islam.org/infallibility-prophets-quran-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi/definition-ismah" }, { "title": "Qur’an 19:19", "url": "https://quran.com/maryam/19" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:171", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/171" }, { "title": "Qur’an 47:19", "url": "https://quran.com/muhammad/19" }, { "title": "Qur’an 48:2", "url": "https://quran.com/al-fath/2" }, { "title": "Qur’an 33:21", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ahzab/21" }, { "title": "Qur’an 18:110", "url": "https://quran.com/al-kahf/110" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/abraham-moses-and-prophets-in-islam", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/abraham-moses-and-prophets-in-islam", "section": "faith", "title": "Abraham (PBUH), Moses (PBUH) and the Prophets Muslims Already Know", "abstract": "Islam’s account of revelation includes familiar biblical figures, without reproducing every biblical narrative or making all traditions identical.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "people-of-the-book", "quran", "faith", "prophets", "Christianity" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 2:136", "url": "https://quran.com/al-baqarah/136" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:164", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/164" }, { "title": "Qur’an 33:40", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ahzab/40" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:157–171", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/157-171" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/salvation-mercy-and-judgment-in-islam", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/salvation-mercy-and-judgment-in-islam", "section": "faith", "title": "What Islam Says About Salvation, Mercy and the People Next Door", "abstract": "The Qur’an joins moral responsibility with divine justice and mercy. Its passages about other communities require interpretation, not an automatic verdict on a neighbor.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "people-of-the-book", "tawbah", "islam", "faith", "salvation" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 2:62 and linked commentary", "url": "https://quran.com/al-baqarah/62" }, { "title": "Qur’an 3:85 and linked commentary", "url": "https://quran.com/ali-imran/85" }, { "title": "Qur’an 17:15", "url": "https://quran.com/al-isra/15" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:40", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/40" }, { "title": "Qur’an 39:53–54", "url": "https://quran.com/az-zumar/53-54" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:256", "url": "https://quran.com/al-baqarah/256" }, { "title": "Qur’an 60:8", "url": "https://quran.com/al-mumtahanah/8" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/jesus-logos-muhammad-spiritual-exemplar", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/jesus-logos-muhammad-spiritual-exemplar", "section": "faith", "title": "Jesus (PBUH) as Word, Muhammad (PBUH) as Spiritual Exemplar: Where the Comparison Works", "abstract": "Logos and spiritual axis can open a serious comparison, but they are not interchangeable doctrines or a universal Muslim formula.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "sufism", "quran", "sunnah", "faith", "Jesus", "Muhammad" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Gospel of John, chapter 1 and notes, USCCB", "url": "https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1" }, { "title": "William Chittick, Ibn ‘Arabi, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy", "url": "https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ibn-arabi/" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:171", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/171" }, { "title": "Qur’an 3:59", "url": "https://quran.com/ali-imran/59" }, { "title": "Qur’an 33:21", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ahzab/21" }, { "title": "Qur’an 18:110", "url": "https://quran.com/al-kahf/110" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/why-muslims-pray-five-times-a-day", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/why-muslims-pray-five-times-a-day", "section": "faith", "title": "Why Muslims Pray Five Times a Day—and What You Are Seeing When They Do", "abstract": "Salah is a repeated act of worship involving time, recitation and movement. It is not a demand that everyone nearby join in.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "salah", "wudu", "adhan", "faith", "prayer" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Salat: Daily Prayers", "url": "https://pluralism.org/salat-daily-prayers" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:103", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/103" }, { "title": "Qur’an 5:6", "url": "https://quran.com/al-maidah/6" }, { "title": "Qur’an 20:14", "url": "https://quran.com/taha/14" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:186", "url": "https://quran.com/al-baqarah/186" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/what-sufism-is", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/what-sufism-is", "section": "faith", "title": "What Sufism Is—and Why It Is Not a Separate, Less Muslim Religion", "abstract": "Sufi traditions emphasize remembrance, character and inward discipline. Their diversity matters more than the familiar shorthand of poetry and whirling.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "sufism", "dhikr", "tawbah", "sunnah", "faith" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Sufism: Seeking God", "url": "https://pluralism.org/sufism-seeking-god" }, { "title": "Qur’an 13:28", "url": "https://quran.com/ar-rad/28" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Remembrance of God: The Sufi Circle", "url": "https://pluralism.org/remembrance-of-god-the-sufi-circle" }, { "title": "Qur’an 25:70–71", "url": "https://quran.com/al-furqan/70-71" }, { "title": "Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Mysticism in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy", "url": "https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/arabic-islamic-mysticism/" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/how-to-read-the-quran-for-the-first-time", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/how-to-read-the-quran-for-the-first-time", "section": "faith", "title": "Reading the Qur’an for the First Time: A Guide Without the Scare Quotes", "abstract": "Begin with an identifiable translation, read beyond isolated verses, and distinguish scripture from commentary and a speaker’s conclusions.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "quran", "hadith", "fiqh", "people-of-the-book", "faith" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Qur’an: The Word of God", "url": "https://pluralism.org/qur%E2%80%99an-the-word-of-god" }, { "title": "Qur’an 19:16–36", "url": "https://quran.com/maryam/16-36" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ikhlas" }, { "title": "Qur’an 39:53–54", "url": "https://quran.com/az-zumar/53-54" }, { "title": "Qur’an 38:29", "url": "https://quran.com/sad/29" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:256", "url": "https://quran.com/al-baqarah/256" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/what-pbuh-means", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/what-pbuh-means", "section": "faith", "title": "What PBUH Means—and Why It Also Follows Jesus (PBUH)", "abstract": "Peace be upon him is an expression of reverence, not a claim of divinity. The convention makes a shared prophetic history visible.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "sunnah", "prophets", "people-of-the-book", "faith", "assalamu-alaykum" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 2:136", "url": "https://quran.com/al-baqarah/136" }, { "title": "Qur’an 33:56", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ahzab/56" }, { "title": "Qur’an 37:181", "url": "https://quran.com/as-saffat/181" }, { "title": "Qur’an 18:110", "url": "https://quran.com/al-kahf/110" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:171", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/171" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/free-will-fate-and-qadar", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/free-will-fate-and-qadar", "section": "faith", "title": "Fate Is Not an Excuse: Free Will, Responsibility and Qadar in Islam", "abstract": "Belief in divine decree coexists with moral responsibility. The theological tension should be explained rather than reduced to a stereotype of passivity.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "inshallah", "tawbah", "islam", "faith", "qadar" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Islamic Beliefs", "url": "https://pluralism.org/islamic-beliefs" }, { "title": "Qur’an 81:28–29", "url": "https://quran.com/at-takwir/28-29" }, { "title": "Qur’an 76:3", "url": "https://quran.com/al-insan/3" }, { "title": "Qur’an 13:11", "url": "https://quran.com/ar-rad/11" }, { "title": "Qur’an 25:70–71", "url": "https://quran.com/al-furqan/70-71" }, { "title": "Qur’an 18:23–24", "url": "https://quran.com/al-kahf/23-24" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/prayer-repentance-and-sufi-practice", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/faith/prayer-repentance-and-sufi-practice", "section": "faith", "title": "Prayer, Repentance and the Work of Becoming Different", "abstract": "Islamic ideas of tawbah and remembrance connect mercy with responsibility. They offer a vocabulary for change without promising that words alone repair every harm.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "tawbah", "dhikr", "sufism", "salah", "faith" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 39:53–54", "url": "https://quran.com/39/53-54" }, { "title": "Qur’an 25:70–71", "url": "https://quran.com/25/70-71" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Salat: Daily Prayers", "url": "https://pluralism.org/salat-daily-prayers" }, { "title": "Qur’an 13:28", "url": "https://quran.com/13/28" }, { "title": "Qur’an 33:41–42", "url": "https://quran.com/al-ahzab/41-42" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Remembrance of God: The Sufi Circle", "url": "https://pluralism.org/remembrance-of-god-the-sufi-circle" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Sufism: Seeking God", "url": "https://pluralism.org/sufism-seeking-god" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/american-european-muslim-migration", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/american-european-muslim-migration", "section": "research", "title": "America and Europe Have Different Muslim Migration Histories. Neither Fits the Stereotype.", "abstract": "A European refugee episode cannot stand in for Muslim America. Neither can American professionals erase refugees, family migration or the differences within Europe.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "muslim", "arab-and-muslim", "migration", "demographics" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Pew Research Center, How U.S. Muslims compare with other Americans, June 18, 2025", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/18/how-us-muslims-compare-with-other-americans-religiously-and-demographically/" }, { "title": "Pew Research Center, Europe’s Growing Muslim Population, November 29, 2017", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/11/29/europes-growing-muslim-population/" }, { "title": "Migration Policy Institute, Immigrants from Iran in the United States", "url": "https://www.migrationpolicy.org/journal/spotlight/immigrants-iran-united-states" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islam", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islam", "section": "glossary", "title": "Islam", "abstract": "Islam is a monotheistic religious tradition centered on worship of God, the Qur’an and the example of Muhammad (PBUH). It is not a nationality or one political system.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "muslim", "allah", "quran", "sharia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" }, { "title": "Qur’an 49:13", "url": "https://quran.com/49/13" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/muslim", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/muslim", "section": "glossary", "title": "Muslim", "abstract": "A Muslim is a person who identifies with Islam. The term does not specify race, citizenship, immigration status or political allegiance.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "islam", "arab-and-muslim", "ummah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 49:13", "url": "https://quran.com/49/13" }, { "title": "Pew Research Center, How U.S. Muslims compare with other Americans religiously and demographically, June 18, 2025", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/18/how-us-muslims-compare-with-other-americans-religiously-and-demographically/" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/allah", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/allah", "section": "glossary", "title": "Allah", "abstract": "Allah is the Arabic word for God. In Islamic belief, God is one, incomparable and not embodied in Muhammad (PBUH) or any other human being.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "islam", "allahu-akbar", "inshallah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" }, { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:171", "url": "https://quran.com/4/171" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/quran", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/quran", "section": "glossary", "title": "Qur’an", "abstract": "The Qur’an is Islam’s central scripture. A translation, commentary, hadith collection and government law are different kinds of sources.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "hadith", "sunnah", "fiqh" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 19:16–36", "url": "https://quran.com/19/16-36" }, { "title": "Qur’an 3:45–51", "url": "https://quran.com/3/45-51" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:256", "url": "https://quran.com/2/256" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hadith", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hadith", "section": "glossary", "title": "Hadith", "abstract": "A hadith is a transmitted report about the words, actions or approvals of Muhammad (PBUH), assessed through its transmission and content. It is not a Qur’anic verse.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "quran", "sunnah", "fiqh" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Joshua J. Little, The Hadith of Aisha’s Marital Age, Oxford DPhil thesis, 2022", "url": "https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid%3A1bdb0eea-3610-498b-9dfd-cffdb54b8b9b" }, { "title": "Sahih al-Bukhari 5134", "url": "https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5134" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sunnah", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sunnah", "section": "glossary", "title": "Sunnah", "abstract": "Sunnah refers to the exemplary practice associated with Muhammad (PBUH). A report about that practice and the broader idea of prophetic example are related but different.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "hadith", "fiqh", "salah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Shariah: Following the Straight Path", "url": "https://pluralism.org/shari%E2%80%99ah-following-the-straight-path" }, { "title": "Joshua J. Little, The Hadith of Aisha’s Marital Age, Oxford DPhil thesis, 2022", "url": "https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid%3A1bdb0eea-3610-498b-9dfd-cffdb54b8b9b" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sharia", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sharia", "section": "glossary", "title": "Sharia", "abstract": "Sharia is the broad Islamic idea of a path of right living. It includes worship and ethics as well as questions addressed by jurists; it is not one universally applied statute book.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "fiqh", "fatwa", "sharia-courts", "halal" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Shariah: Following the Straight Path", "url": "https://pluralism.org/shari%E2%80%99ah-following-the-straight-path" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:183–185", "url": "https://quran.com/2/183-185" }, { "title": "Qur’an 9:60", "url": "https://quran.com/9/60" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights transcript", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/fiqh", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/fiqh", "section": "glossary", "title": "Fiqh", "abstract": "Fiqh is human jurisprudence: scholarly interpretation of Islamic sources. Distinguishing it from Sharia makes disagreement, reasoning and change visible.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "sharia", "fatwa", "hadith", "islamic-finance" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Shariah: Following the Straight Path", "url": "https://pluralism.org/shari%E2%80%99ah-following-the-straight-path" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:275–280", "url": "https://quran.com/2/275-280" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/fatwa", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/fatwa", "section": "glossary", "title": "Fatwa", "abstract": "A fatwa is a religious or legal opinion responding to a question. The word does not mean a death sentence or automatically describe a civil court order.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "fiqh", "sharia", "imam" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta, Everything About Fatwa", "url": "https://www.dar-alifta.org/en/fatwa" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights transcript", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/jihad", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/jihad", "section": "glossary", "title": "Jihad", "abstract": "Jihad means striving or exertion in relation to God. It has spiritual, ethical and, in some contexts, armed meanings; neither all terrorism nor only inner peace defines it adequately.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "sharia", "islamism", "taqiyya" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Jihad", "url": "https://pluralism.org/jihad" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:190–193", "url": "https://quran.com/2/190-193" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/taqiyya", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/taqiyya", "section": "glossary", "title": "Taqiyya", "abstract": "Taqiyya concerns concealment or dissimulation, especially under threat. It is not a general permission for every Muslim to deceive every non-Muslim.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "jihad", "sharia", "islamophobia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Louis Medoff, Taqiya i. In Shi‘ism, Encyclopaedia Iranica", "url": "https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/taqiya-i-shiism/" }, { "title": "Qur’an 16:106", "url": "https://quran.com/16/106" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/haram", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/haram", "section": "glossary", "title": "Haram", "abstract": "Haram means religiously prohibited. It is a classification within Islamic practice, not automatic authority to police other people.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "halal", "fiqh", "fatwa" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Shariah: Following the Straight Path", "url": "https://pluralism.org/shari%E2%80%99ah-following-the-straight-path" }, { "title": "Qur’an 5:3", "url": "https://quran.com/5/3" }, { "title": "Qur’an 5:90–91", "url": "https://quran.com/5/90-91" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights transcript", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/imam", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/imam", "section": "glossary", "title": "Imam", "abstract": "Imam means leader. It can describe a prayer leader, a community religious leader or a distinctive theological office in Shi‘i traditions.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "mosque", "salah", "shia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Imam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/imam" }, { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Mosque, Minaret and Mihrab", "url": "https://pluralism.org/mosque-minaret-and-mihrab" }, { "title": "Islamic Association of North Texas, official website", "url": "https://iant.com/" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/mosque", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/mosque", "section": "glossary", "title": "Mosque / Masjid", "abstract": "A mosque, or masjid, is a Muslim place of worship. Architecture and community services vary; a dome or minaret is not required.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "imam", "wudu", "adhan" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Mosque, Minaret and Mihrab", "url": "https://pluralism.org/mosque-minaret-and-mihrab" }, { "title": "Islamic Society of Greater Houston, Islamic Centers", "url": "https://isgh.org/islamic-centers/" }, { "title": "U.S. Department of Justice, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/crt/religious-land-use-and-institutionalized-persons-act" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/madrasa", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/madrasa", "section": "glossary", "title": "Madrasa", "abstract": "Madrasa is an Arabic word for a school. In English it often refers to Islamic religious education, but the label alone does not describe a curriculum.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "quran", "mosque", "dawah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Islamic Association of North Texas, official website", "url": "https://iant.com/" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/dawah", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/dawah", "section": "glossary", "title": "Dawah", "abstract": "Dawah means invitation or calling, commonly used for explaining or inviting people to Islam. Its actual methods should be described rather than assumed.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "islam", "quran", "mosque" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 16:125", "url": "https://quran.com/16/125" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:256", "url": "https://quran.com/2/256" }, { "title": "Islamic Association of North Texas, official website", "url": "https://iant.com/" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/ummah", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/ummah", "section": "glossary", "title": "Ummah", "abstract": "Ummah commonly means the community of Muslims. Religious solidarity does not make that community one government, organization or political bloc.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "muslim", "sunni", "shia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Introduction to Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/introduction-to-islam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 49:13", "url": "https://quran.com/49/13" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sunni", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sunni", "section": "glossary", "title": "Sunni", "abstract": "Sunni identifies a major Islamic tradition containing diverse legal schools, theological approaches and communities. It is not one political position.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "shia", "fiqh", "imam" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Sunni and Shi’i Interpretations", "url": "https://pluralism.org/sunni-and-shi%E2%80%99i-interpretations" }, { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Shariah: Following the Straight Path", "url": "https://pluralism.org/shari%E2%80%99ah-following-the-straight-path" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/shia", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/shia", "section": "glossary", "title": "Shi‘a", "abstract": "Shi‘a names a family of Islamic traditions with distinctive understandings of authority through Ali and the Prophet’s family. It is not a nationality or a synonym for Iran’s government.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "sunni", "imam", "ummah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Shi’ah", "url": "https://pluralism.org/shi%E2%80%99ah" }, { "title": "Harvard University, The Pluralism Project, Imam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/imam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sufism", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sufism", "section": "glossary", "title": "Sufism", "abstract": "An Islamic tradition of spiritual discipline, remembrance and ethical self-examination—not a separate religion or simply an aesthetic.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "dhikr", "tawbah", "sharia", "islam" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Sufism: Seeking God", "url": "https://pluralism.org/sufism-seeking-god" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Remembrance of God: The Sufi Circle", "url": "https://pluralism.org/remembrance-of-god-the-sufi-circle" }, { "title": "Qur’an 13:28", "url": "https://quran.com/13/28" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/salafi", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/salafi", "section": "glossary", "title": "Salafi", "abstract": "A label associated with returning to the example of Islam’s early generations. It does not independently establish support for violence.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "sunni", "islamism", "jihad", "mosque" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Brookings, Experts weigh in: Is quietist Salafism the antidote to ISIS?", "url": "https://www.brookings.edu/articles/experts-weigh-in-part-9-is-quietist-salafism-the-antidote-to-isis/" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islamism", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islamism", "section": "glossary", "title": "Islamism", "abstract": "A contested political label for projects assigning Islam an organizing role in public power. It is not another word for being Muslim.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "islam", "muslim", "sharia", "caliphate" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Shariah: Following the Straight Path", "url": "https://pluralism.org/shari%E2%80%99ah-following-the-straight-path" }, { "title": "Brookings, Is quietist Salafism the antidote to ISIS?", "url": "https://www.brookings.edu/articles/experts-weigh-in-part-9-is-quietist-salafism-the-antidote-to-isis/" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hijab", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hijab", "section": "glossary", "title": "Hijab", "abstract": "A term associated with modesty and, in common English usage, a head covering worn by some Muslim women. It does not disclose a wearer’s whole biography.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "niqab-and-burqa", "muslim", "fiqh" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Women in Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/women-in-islam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 24:30–31", "url": "https://quran.com/24/30-31" }, { "title": "Qur’an 33:59", "url": "https://quran.com/33/59" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/niqab-and-burqa", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/niqab-and-burqa", "section": "glossary", "title": "Niqab and Burqa", "abstract": "Distinct forms of covering frequently confused with each other and with hijab. Accurate description should precede a policy argument.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "hijab", "muslim", "fiqh" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Women in Islam", "url": "https://pluralism.org/women-in-islam" }, { "title": "Qur’an 24:30–31", "url": "https://quran.com/24/30-31" }, { "title": "Qur’an 33:59", "url": "https://quran.com/33/59" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/ramadan", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/ramadan", "section": "glossary", "title": "Ramadan", "abstract": "The Islamic month of daily fasting, worship and generosity—not a month without food or water at every hour.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "iftar-and-suhoor", "eid-al-fitr", "salah", "zakat" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr", "url": "https://pluralism.org/ramadan-and-eid-al-fitr" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:183–185", "url": "https://quran.com/2/183-185" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:187", "url": "https://quran.com/2/187" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/iftar-and-suhoor", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/iftar-and-suhoor", "section": "glossary", "title": "Iftar and Suhoor", "abstract": "Iftar ends the daily Ramadan fast at sunset; suhoor is the meal before the fast begins at dawn.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "ramadan", "halal", "salah", "eid-al-fitr" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr", "url": "https://pluralism.org/ramadan-and-eid-al-fitr" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:187", "url": "https://quran.com/2/187" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/eid-al-fitr", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/eid-al-fitr", "section": "glossary", "title": "Eid al-Fitr", "abstract": "The festival marking the end of Ramadan’s fasting month. Local celebrations and prayer services have their own announced schedules.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "ramadan", "eid-al-adha", "zakat", "mosque" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr", "url": "https://pluralism.org/ramadan-and-eid-al-fitr" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:185", "url": "https://quran.com/2/185" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/eid-al-adha", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/eid-al-adha", "section": "glossary", "title": "Eid al-Adha", "abstract": "The festival associated with Abraham (PBUH), sacrifice and the pilgrimage season. It is distinct from the celebration ending Ramadan.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "hajj", "eid-al-fitr", "halal", "zakat" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Pilgrimage and Eid al-Adha", "url": "https://pluralism.org/pilgrimage-and-eid-al-adha" }, { "title": "Qur’an 22:37", "url": "https://quran.com/22/37" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hajj", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hajj", "section": "glossary", "title": "Hajj", "abstract": "The pilgrimage to Mecca performed during its designated season, a central Islamic obligation for those able to undertake it.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "eid-al-adha", "ummah", "salah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Pilgrimage and Eid al-Adha", "url": "https://pluralism.org/pilgrimage-and-eid-al-adha" }, { "title": "Qur’an 3:97", "url": "https://quran.com/3/97" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/zakat", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/zakat", "section": "glossary", "title": "Zakat", "abstract": "An obligatory form of giving in Islam, governed by religious criteria about assets and recipients. It is not automatically a tax collected by a mosque or foreign state.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "halal", "islamic-finance", "ramadan", "ummah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Islamic Practices", "url": "https://pluralism.org/islamic-practices" }, { "title": "Qur’an 9:60", "url": "https://quran.com/9/60" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/shahada", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/shahada", "section": "glossary", "title": "Shahada", "abstract": "The Islamic testimony of faith affirming God’s unity and Muhammad (PBUH) as God’s messenger. Reading or translating it is not the same as adopting it.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "allah", "islam", "muslim", "quran" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Islamic Beliefs", "url": "https://pluralism.org/islamic-beliefs" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/salah", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/salah", "section": "glossary", "title": "Salah / Salat", "abstract": "Islam’s structured ritual prayer, observed at five daily prayer times. It is distinct from informal personal supplication.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "wudu", "adhan", "imam", "mosque" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, Salat: Daily Prayers", "url": "https://pluralism.org/salat-daily-prayers" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" }, { "title": "Qur’an 5:6", "url": "https://quran.com/5/6" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/wudu", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/wudu", "section": "glossary", "title": "Wudu", "abstract": "Ritual washing associated with preparation for prayer. A washing facility is not a religious court or a mechanism for imposing law on other people.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "salah", "mosque", "sharia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 5:6", "url": "https://quran.com/5/6" }, { "title": "Reuters, Texas seeks federal probe of airport washing facilities, August 22, 2026", "url": "https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-seeks-federal-probe-airport-washing-facilities-muslim-group-denounces-move-2026-08-22/" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Mosque, Minaret and Mihrab", "url": "https://pluralism.org/mosque-minaret-and-mihrab" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/adhan", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/adhan", "section": "glossary", "title": "Adhan", "abstract": "The Islamic call to prayer. Its words announce worship; disputes about amplification or public sound require the actual local rules and circumstances.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "salah", "allahu-akbar", "mosque", "shahada" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Call to Prayer", "url": "https://pluralism.org/the-call-to-prayer" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Mosque, Minaret and Mihrab", "url": "https://pluralism.org/mosque-minaret-and-mihrab" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/allahu-akbar", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/allahu-akbar", "section": "glossary", "title": "Allahu Akbar", "abstract": "An Arabic expression of God’s greatness used throughout Muslim worship and ordinary religious speech. It is not inherently a threat.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "allah", "adhan", "salah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Harvard University, The Call to Prayer", "url": "https://pluralism.org/the-call-to-prayer" }, { "title": "Qur’an 112:1–4", "url": "https://quran.com/112" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/inshallah", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/inshallah", "section": "glossary", "title": "Inshallah", "abstract": "God willing. An expression about intention and uncertainty whose meaning depends on the conversation, not a general license to break promises.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "allah", "assalamu-alaykum", "tawbah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 18:23–24", "url": "https://quran.com/18/23-24" }, { "title": "Qur’an 5:1", "url": "https://quran.com/5/1" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/assalamu-alaykum", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/assalamu-alaykum", "section": "glossary", "title": "Assalamu Alaykum", "abstract": "A greeting meaning peace be upon you. It is a greeting, not evidence of nationality, political loyalty or participation in a secret group.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "allah", "inshallah", "muslim" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 4:86", "url": "https://quran.com/4/86" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Islamic Practices", "url": "https://pluralism.org/islamic-practices" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/tawbah", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/tawbah", "section": "glossary", "title": "Tawbah", "abstract": "Repentance or turning back to God, understood as a movement toward renewed conduct rather than mere despair or a public declaration.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "dhikr", "sufism", "salah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 39:53–54", "url": "https://quran.com/39/53-54" }, { "title": "Qur’an 25:70–71", "url": "https://quran.com/25/70-71" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Sufism: Seeking God", "url": "https://pluralism.org/sufism-seeking-god" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/dhikr", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/dhikr", "section": "glossary", "title": "Dhikr", "abstract": "Remembrance of God, expressed through attention, recitation and other devotional practices. It is not one uniform ceremony or a substitute for accountability.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "sufism", "tawbah", "salah", "allah" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 33:41–42", "url": "https://quran.com/33/41-42" }, { "title": "Qur’an 13:28", "url": "https://quran.com/13/28" }, { "title": "Harvard University, Remembrance of God: The Sufi Circle", "url": "https://pluralism.org/remembrance-of-god-the-sufi-circle" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sharia-courts", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/sharia-courts", "section": "glossary", "title": "Sharia Courts", "abstract": "An imprecise phrase that can refer to very different institutions. In the United States, private religious advice, mediation, arbitration and state courts must be distinguished.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "sharia", "fiqh", "fatwa", "imam" ], "sources": [ { "title": "9 U.S.C. §2", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/9/2" }, { "title": "9 U.S.C. §10", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/9/10" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islamophobia", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islamophobia", "section": "glossary", "title": "Islamophobia", "abstract": "In this publication, hostility or discriminatory treatment directed at Muslims or people perceived as Muslim. It is not a synonym for every criticism of Islam.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "muslim", "arab-and-muslim", "sharia", "islamism" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Pew Research Center, How U.S. Muslims compare with other Americans, June 18, 2025", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/18/how-us-muslims-compare-with-other-americans-religiously-and-demographically/" }, { "title": "Omar Afra, Testset dossier, affiliated publication", "url": "https://testset.media/dossiers/texas-islamophobia-sharia-panic" }, { "title": "United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article18", "url": "https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/arab-and-muslim", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/arab-and-muslim", "section": "glossary", "title": "Arab and Muslim", "abstract": "Arab and Muslim describe different kinds of identity. Neither term can substitute for the other or determine a person’s citizenship.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "muslim", "islam", "ummah", "people-of-the-book" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Pew Research Center, How U.S. Muslims compare with other Americans, June 18, 2025", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/18/how-us-muslims-compare-with-other-americans-religiously-and-demographically/" }, { "title": "Qur’an 49:13", "url": "https://quran.com/49/13" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/people-of-the-book", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/people-of-the-book", "section": "glossary", "title": "People of the Book", "abstract": "A Qur’anic category associated especially with Jews and Christians and their received scriptures. Shared recognition does not mean identical theology or equal status in every historical system.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "quran", "islam", "jizya-and-dhimmi" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 5:5", "url": "https://quran.com/5/5" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:171", "url": "https://quran.com/4/171" }, { "title": "John Bowker, Jizya, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, hosted by Encyclopedia.com", "url": "https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jizya" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/jizya-and-dhimmi", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/jizya-and-dhimmi", "section": "glossary", "title": "Jizya and Dhimmi", "abstract": "Historical concepts concerning taxation and protected non-Muslim status under Muslim rule. Protection and unequal legal status could coexist; neither concept describes the civil status of Texans.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "people-of-the-book", "sharia", "caliphate" ], "sources": [ { "title": "John Bowker and Elizabeth Thompson, Jizya, scholarly encyclopedia entries hosted by Encyclopedia.com", "url": "https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jizya" }, { "title": "Qur’an 9:29", "url": "https://quran.com/9/29" }, { "title": "United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights", "url": "https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hudud", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/hudud", "section": "glossary", "title": "Hudud", "abstract": "A category associated with specified offenses and penalties in Islamic jurisprudence. It is not the whole of Sharia, and its interpretation cannot be reduced to a list of punishments.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "sharia", "fiqh", "hadith", "apostasy" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Intisar A. Rabb, Islamic Legal Maxims as Substantive Canons of Construction: Hudud-Avoidance in Cases of Doubt, Islamic Law and Society17 (2010)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1163/092893809X12472107043920" }, { "title": "Qur’an 24:4", "url": "https://quran.com/24/4" }, { "title": "United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article5", "url": "https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/apostasy", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/apostasy", "section": "glossary", "title": "Apostasy", "abstract": "Leaving or renouncing a religion. Historical Islamic legal debates and modern defenses of freedom of conscience must both be described accurately.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "blasphemy", "sharia", "hadith", "islamophobia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 4:137", "url": "https://quran.com/4/137" }, { "title": "Qur’an 2:256", "url": "https://quran.com/2/256" }, { "title": "Sahih al-Bukhari3017", "url": "https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3017" }, { "title": "United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article18", "url": "https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights" }, { "title": "Mustafa Akyol, editor, No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions (2026)", "url": "https://www.cato.org/books/no-compulsion-religion-no-exceptions" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/blasphemy", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/blasphemy", "section": "glossary", "title": "Blasphemy", "abstract": "Speech or conduct regarded as insulting what a religion holds sacred. Religious offense, disagreement, threats and criminal law are different categories.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "apostasy", "quran", "islamophobia", "sharia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 6:108", "url": "https://quran.com/6/108" }, { "title": "Mustafa Akyol, editor, No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions (2026)", "url": "https://www.cato.org/books/no-compulsion-religion-no-exceptions" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/caliphate", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/caliphate", "section": "glossary", "title": "Caliphate", "abstract": "A historical and political institution associated with a caliph’s claimed leadership. It is not the inevitable meaning of a mosque, Muslim neighborhood or religious community.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "islamism", "ummah", "sharia", "jizya-and-dhimmi" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art of the Umayyad Period (661–750)", "url": "https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/the-art-of-the-umayyad-period-661-750" }, { "title": "Omar Afra, Testset dossier, affiliated publication", "url": "https://testset.media/dossiers/texas-islamophobia-sharia-panic" }, { "title": "U.S. National Archives, Bill of Rights", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islamic-finance", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/glossary/islamic-finance", "section": "glossary", "title": "Islamic Finance", "abstract": "Financial practices and products structured around interpretations of Islamic rules. Religious approval, economic substance and consumer suitability are separate questions.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "glossary", "fiqh", "halal", "haram", "zakat" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 2:275–280", "url": "https://quran.com/2/275-280" }, { "title": "International Monetary Fund, Islamic Financial Systems, Finance & Development34(2), 1997", "url": "https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/022/0034/002/article-A012-en.xml" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-hb-4211-sharia-law", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-hb-4211-sharia-law", "section": "claims", "title": "What did Texas HB 4211 actually restrict?", "abstract": "HB 4211 regulates a defined type of entity-owned residential arrangement and changes a housing exemption. Its operative text is not a general ban on private Muslim religious practice.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "sharia", "Texas legislation", "housing", "courts" ], "geographicScope": "Texas", "temporalScope": "Enrolled 89th Legislature text and the September 12, 2025 signing announcement.", "sources": [ { "title": "Governor Abbott signs law banning Sharia compounds in Texas, September 12, 2025", "publisher": "Office of the Texas Governor", "url": "https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-signs-law-banning-sharia-compounds-in-texas", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "HB 4211, enrolled text, 89th Texas Legislature", "publisher": "Texas Legislature", "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB04211F.htm", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/paxton-islamic-tribunal-investigation-evidence", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/paxton-islamic-tribunal-investigation-evidence", "section": "claims", "title": "Did Paxton’s Islamic Tribunal announcement establish a violation?", "abstract": "The April 6, 2026 announcement records an investigation and requests for information. The announcement itself is not a judicial finding that the Islamic Tribunal committed a violation.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "sharia-courts", "Texas investigations", "courts" ], "geographicScope": "Texas", "temporalScope": "The April 6, 2026 announcement as published; no later filing is assessed.", "sources": [ { "title": "Investigation into the Islamic Tribunal, April 6, 2026", "publisher": "Texas Attorney General", "url": "https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/es/node/280496", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-cair-federal-terrorist-designation", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-cair-federal-terrorist-designation", "section": "claims", "title": "Is Texas’s CAIR designation the same as a federal FTO designation?", "abstract": "No. The governor’s November 2025 announcement is a state action. Federal FTO designation under 8 U.S.C. § 1189 follows a separate Secretary of State process; the announcement alone does not establish it.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "Texas legislation", "CAIR", "civil rights", "terrorism designations" ], "geographicScope": "Texas and federal law", "temporalScope": "The November 18, 2025 state announcement compared with the federal statute as written.", "sources": [ { "title": "Designation of Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR, November 18, 2025", "publisher": "Office of the Texas Governor", "url": "https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-designates-muslim-brotherhood-cair-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "8 U.S.C. § 1189 — Designation of foreign terrorist organizations", "publisher": "U.S. Code / Legal Information Institute", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1189", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/religious-arbitration-texas-courts", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/religious-arbitration-texas-courts", "section": "claims", "title": "Can religious arbitration override Texas or U.S. courts?", "abstract": "A private religious tribunal is not a state court. Arbitration agreements and awards may have legal effects under applicable law, but enforceability and judicial review depend on that law and the particular agreement.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "sharia-courts", "arbitration", "courts", "Texas legislation" ], "geographicScope": "Texas and federal law", "temporalScope": "Statutes as written and the enrolled HB 4211 text; no individual dispute is assessed.", "sources": [ { "title": "9 U.S.C. § 2 — Validity and enforcement of arbitration agreements", "publisher": "U.S. Code / Legal Information Institute", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/9/2", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "9 U.S.C. § 10 — Grounds for vacating an arbitration award", "publisher": "U.S. Code / Legal Information Institute", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/9/10", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "HB 4211, enrolled text, 89th Texas Legislature", "publisher": "Texas Legislature", "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB04211F.htm", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/mosques-zoning-religious-land-use", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/mosques-zoning-religious-land-use", "section": "claims", "title": "Are mosques exempt from local zoning rules?", "abstract": "No blanket exemption follows from being a mosque. Federal religious land-use law provides specified protections, including against religious discrimination, while ordinary land-use requirements may still apply.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "mosque", "housing", "religious freedom", "local government" ], "geographicScope": "Federal law as applied in Texas", "temporalScope": "The statute as written and 2018 federal guidance; no individual application is assessed.", "sources": [ { "title": "42 U.S.C. § 2000cc — Protection of land use as religious exercise", "publisher": "U.S. Code / Legal Information Institute", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/2000cc", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Questions and Answers on RLUIPA, June 13, 2018", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Justice", "url": "https://www.justice.gov/crt/page/file/1071246/dl", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-muslim-population-estimates", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-muslim-population-estimates", "section": "claims", "title": "How many Muslims live in Texas — and what do the estimates measure?", "abstract": "TSHA’s 421,972 figure describes 2010. A proposed Texas resolution in 2025 cites an estimated 500,000. Neither source should be relabeled as a precise 2026 census of Texas Muslims.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "demographics", "Texas history", "population", "muslim" ], "geographicScope": "Texas", "temporalScope": "A 2010 reference estimate, a 2025 proposed resolution and a July 2025 population estimate.", "sources": [ { "title": "Muslims, Handbook of Texas", "publisher": "Texas State Historical Association", "url": "https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/muslims", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "HCR 18, introduced text, 89th Legislature, 2025", "publisher": "Texas Legislature", "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HC00018I.htm", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "QuickFacts: Texas", "publisher": "U.S. Census Bureau", "url": "https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/TX", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-1910-ottoman-immigrants-religion", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/texas-1910-ottoman-immigrants-religion", "section": "claims", "title": "Does the 1910 Ottoman-origin count establish a Muslim population?", "abstract": "No. The cited Texas Almanac figures concern Ottoman-origin residents and parentage, not a count of Muslim residents. They cannot substantiate a precise Muslim population for Texas in 1910.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "Texas history", "demographics", "arab-and-muslim", "migration" ], "geographicScope": "Texas", "temporalScope": "Late nineteenth-century migration and the 1910 birthplace figures as published.", "sources": [ { "title": "Lebanese-Syrian Texans", "publisher": "Texas Almanac", "url": "https://www.texasalmanac.com/articles/lebanese-syrian-texans", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/estevanico-1528-muslim-history-evidence", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/estevanico-1528-muslim-history-evidence", "section": "claims", "title": "What does the record establish about Estevanico and Islam?", "abstract": "Estevanico was an enslaved Moroccan participant in the 1528 expedition. TSHA also records his Christian baptism before it. His origin alone does not prove continuing Muslim practice or a continuous Texas Muslim community from 1528.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "Texas history", "Estevanico", "African history", "religious identity" ], "geographicScope": "The region now called Texas", "temporalScope": "Sixteenth-century expedition history in the region now called Texas.", "sources": [ { "title": "Estevanico, Handbook of Texas", "publisher": "Texas State Historical Association", "url": "https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/estevanico", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Esteban de Dorantes", "publisher": "National Park Service", "url": "https://www.nps.gov/coro/learn/historyculture/esteban-de-dorantes.htm", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/us-muslims-immigration-birthplace", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/us-muslims-immigration-birthplace", "section": "claims", "title": "Are all Muslims in the United States immigrants?", "abstract": "No. Pew’s 2023–24 adult survey estimates that 59 percent of U.S. Muslim adults were born outside the country. The result itself contradicts the idea that all U.S. Muslims are immigrants.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "migration", "muslim", "demographics", "citizenship" ], "geographicScope": "United States adults; no Texas-specific percentage is inferred.", "temporalScope": "Pew’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study as published in 2025.", "sources": [ { "title": "How U.S. Muslims compare with other Americans religiously and demographically, June 18, 2025", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/18/how-us-muslims-compare-with-other-americans-religiously-and-demographically/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Muslim Americans share political attitudes with both parties, July 21, 2025", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/21/muslim-americans-share-political-attitudes-with-both-the-democratic-and-republican-parties/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/muslim-population-growth-conversion", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/muslim-population-growth-conversion", "section": "claims", "title": "Is conversion the main reason the global Muslim population grew?", "abstract": "Pew’s estimates for 2010–2020 attribute global Muslim growth principally to demographic factors, including a younger population and births. Religious switching into and out of Islam was approximately balanced globally.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "demographics", "religious switching", "muslim", "population" ], "geographicScope": "Global estimates, with national switching comparisons; not a Texas projection.", "temporalScope": "2010–2020 as measured by Pew Research Center.", "sources": [ { "title": "Islam was the world’s fastest-growing religion from 2010 to 2020, June 10, 2025", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/10/islam-was-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religion-from-2010-to-2020/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Religious switching into and out of Islam, March 26, 2025", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/03/26/religious-switching-into-and-out-of-islam/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/quran-9-5-context", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/quran-9-5-context", "section": "claims", "title": "Does Qur’an 9:5 command violence against every non-Muslim?", "abstract": "The claim is too broad for the cited passage. Verses 9:4 and 9:6 explicitly address honored treaties and protection for a polytheist seeking safety. Verse 9:5 is a combat passage, not a warrant to erase those adjoining provisions.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "quran", "jihad", "scripture", "religious literacy" ], "geographicScope": "Not geographic: a scriptural passage and its translation.", "temporalScope": "A specific Qur’anic passage and its translation; not a ruling on a person or a population.", "sources": [ { "title": "Qur’an 9:4–6, Arabic text and The Clear Quran translation", "publisher": "Quran.com", "url": "https://quran.com/at-tawbah/4-6", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/taqiyya-muslims-lying", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/claims/taqiyya-muslims-lying", "section": "claims", "title": "Does taqiyya give every Muslim permission to lie to non-Muslims?", "abstract": "No general permission follows from the term. Taqiyya concerns concealment in particular religious and historical circumstances, with significant differences of interpretation. It does not establish that every Muslim’s statement to a non-Muslim is presumptively false.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "taqiyya", "quran", "religious literacy", "islamophobia" ], "geographicScope": "Not geographic: scriptural and historical interpretation.", "temporalScope": "Scriptural and historical interpretation; no claim about any individual’s honesty.", "sources": [ { "title": "Louis Medoff, Taqiya i. In Shi‘ism", "publisher": "Encyclopaedia Iranica", "url": "https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/taqiya-i-shiism/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Qur’an 16:106, Arabic and The Clear Quran", "publisher": "Quran.com", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nahl/106", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Qur’an 4:135, Arabic and The Clear Quran", "publisher": "Quran.com", "url": "https://quran.com/an-nisa/135", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] }, { "id": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/texas-muslim-history", "url": "https://texasmuslim.org/research/texas-muslim-history", "section": "research", "title": "Texas Muslim History: The People, Institutions and Records Behind the Story", "abstract": "A sourced history of Muslims in Texas: Estevanico’s contested religious legacy, African American congregations, immigration, Houston and Dallas institutions, and population estimates with their original dates.", "authors": [ "Texas Muslim" ], "editors": [ "Omar Afra" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-21", "editorialReviewStatus": "pending", "provenance": "original", "topics": [ "Texas history", "Houston", "Dallas", "African American history", "mosque", "migration", "demographics" ], "geographicScope": "Texas, with explicitly labeled national historical context.", "temporalScope": "Early connections in 1528 through modern institutions and sources checked in September 2026.", "sources": [ { "title": "Estevanico, Handbook of Texas", "publisher": "Texas State Historical Association", "url": "https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/estevanico", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Esteban de Dorantes", "publisher": "National Park Service", "url": "https://www.nps.gov/coro/learn/historyculture/esteban-de-dorantes.htm", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Library of Congress acquires rare autobiography of an enslaved Muslim scholar, January 15, 2019", "publisher": "Library of Congress", "url": "https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-19-004/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Lebanese-Syrian Texans", "publisher": "Texas Almanac", "url": "https://www.texasalmanac.com/articles/lebanese-syrian-texans", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Asian American and Pacific Islander immigration records and historical overview", "publisher": "U.S. National Archives", "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/aapi/immigration", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "History of Masjid Al-Islam, Dallas", "publisher": "Masjid Al-Islam", "url": "https://masjidalislam.org/history", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "About ISGH", "publisher": "Islamic Society of Greater Houston", "url": "https://isgh.org/about/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "About IANT", "publisher": "Islamic Association of North Texas", "url": "https://iant.com/about-us/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "About us", "publisher": "Islamic Society of Denton", "url": "https://www.dentonmasjid.com/about-us/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Muslims, Handbook of Texas", "publisher": "Texas State Historical Association", "url": "https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/muslims", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "HCR 18, introduced text, 89th Legislature, 2025", "publisher": "Texas Legislature", "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HC00018I.htm", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA legend profile", "publisher": "NBA", "url": "https://www.nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-hakeem-olajuwon", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Founder’s message", "publisher": "Islamic Dawah Center", "url": "https://islamicdawahcenter.org/about-us/founder/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Ensemble and repertoire", "publisher": "Riyaaz Qawwali", "url": "https://riyaazqawwali.com/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Civic engagement", "publisher": "Riyaaz Qawwali", "url": "https://riyaazqawwali.com/civic-engagement/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Rice launches Religion and Hip-Hop Culture online course, February 2, 2015", "publisher": "Rice University", "url": "https://news2.rice.edu/2015/02/02/rice-launches-religion-and-hip-hop-culture-online-course/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Representative Suleman Lalani — biography", "publisher": "Texas House of Representatives", "url": "https://house.texas.gov/members/4285/biography", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Representative Salman Bhojani — biography", "publisher": "Texas House of Representatives", "url": "https://www.house.texas.gov/index.php/members/4115/biography", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Thank you for three years, 2019", "publisher": "Yaqeen Institute", "url": "https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/blog/thank-you-for-3-years", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" }, { "title": "Services", "publisher": "Islamic Society of Greater Houston", "url": "https://isgh.org/services/", "retrievedOn": "2026-09-21" } ] } ] }