Are Sharia Law Sympathizers Running Texas Schools?

Texas families were rightfully alarmed this week after reports surfaced regarding social media activity linked to Shayma Alzubi. She was selected as the next principal of Western Hills High School in Fort Worth ISD. According to reporting by Texas Scorecard, screenshots from Alzubi's social media accounts showed content defending Sharia law, expressing pro-Palestinian political views, supporting Black Lives Matter activism, and promoting other controversial political causes. Following public scrutiny, Fort Worth ISD announced that Alzubi would be reassigned pending an investigation.

This controversy highlights a much larger issue facing our state: the growing effort to normalize ideas and ideologies that are fundamentally incompatible with the values that built Texas.

Texas has become the nation's leading defender of faith, family, freedom, and parental rights. Families move here every day because Texas remains committed to protecting children, defending religious liberty, securing our borders, and preserving the values that have made our state strong. Those principles deserve to be reinforced in our schools, not undermined by administrators promoting divisive political causes or defending belief systems that conflict with our constitutional traditions.

Sharia law is not simply a religious practice. Around the world, governments that implement Sharia-based legal systems often restrict religious freedom, limit the rights of women, punish dissent, and elevate “religious” authority over constitutional government. While many Muslims in America do not advocate for such policies, Texas families have every right to question whether school leaders should be promoting or defending concepts associated with legal systems that stand in direct opposition to American constitutional principles.

Parents send their children to school to receive an education in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history, not political activism. Public schools should not become vehicles for advancing political causes, whether they come from the far left, foreign political movements, or religious ideologies seeking influence within government institutions.

The concerns raised by Fort Worth parents are especially significant because schools occupy a position of trust. Principals are not merely administrators; they help shape school culture, influence hiring decisions, oversee curriculum implementation, and serve as role models for students. Texans deserve confidence that school leaders will place educational excellence above political activism.

This incident should also serve as a wake-up call for school districts across Texas. Vetting processes must be thorough. Parents should have transparency regarding the individuals being placed in leadership positions over their children. Taxpayer-funded schools must remain focused on education rather than political or ideological advocacy.

Texas Family Project has consistently warned about efforts to normalize ideologies that threaten the values and freedoms Texans hold dear. Whether it comes in the form of radical gender ideology, anti-American activism, or attempts to downplay concerns surrounding Sharia law, parents have a responsibility to remain engaged and vigilant.

The future of Texas depends upon strong families, strong communities, and schools that reflect the values of the people they serve. Texans should continue speaking out whenever they see public institutions drifting away from their core mission.

Our schools should teach children how to think, not what to think. They should prepare students to become productive citizens, not political activists. And they should always remain firmly grounded in the constitutional freedoms and values that have made Texas the greatest state in America for families.