Sam Westrop, senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and director of Islamist Watch at the Middle East Forum, testifies before the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs on foreign financial influence and Sharia-compliant finance in Texas. Westrop traces the origins of Islamic banking to Dallas in 1971 and argues that subsequent development of the industry was shaped by figures tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Deobandi movements.
He names several Texas-based Sharia finance firms and clerics, alleging ties to extremist networks and foreign governments including Iran, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, and cites a Houston mosque’s public statement mourning Iran’s supreme leader following his death. He also alleges that a continuous-charity organization based in Irving has made statements about political entryism and undermining the influence of American Jewish communities. Westrop closes by calling for stronger state-level transparency requirements on foreign loans and nonprofit financial relationships, and proposes that Texas consider creating a “Texas Engel List” to identify individuals and organizations connected to terrorism, extremism, or hostile foreign influence.