A Texas lawmaker demanded Thursday that Muslim visitors take an oath of loyalty to the U.S. and renounce the Islamic State.
During a day of outreach in Austin, Rep. Molly White, a Republican from Belton, warned local students and other Muslims visiting the statehouse on Facebook, according to Politico. White said she left an Israeli flag on her reception desk with instructions to ask the representatives from the Muslim community to renounce the Islamic State and publicly state their loyalty to the U.S. and its laws.
"We will see how long they stay in my office," White said even though she was not in her office Thursday.
The Muslim community went to the statehouse for Muslim State Capitol Day and the Council of American-Islamic Relations wrote to House Speaker Joe Straus to protest the move and ask the government to conduct an ethics investigation. Straus, a Republican from San Antonio, said the Texas Capitol belongs to all people of the state of Texas. He criticized White's comments and said everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect.
White received backlash on Facebook for her comments, but did not apologize for her them.
"If you love America, obey our laws and condemn Islamic terrorism then I embrace you as a fellow American," She said. "If not, then I do not."
Texas Muslim State Capitol Day began in 2003 and brings members of the Muslim communities in Houston, Dallas and other areas of the state to the Capitol to learn about the political process and meet state lawmakers, the Texas Tribune reported. Before the approximately 100 Muslims, mostly children, reached the statehouse, they ran into about 25 protestors outside holding signs that said things such as "Radical Islam is the New Nazi."
The Muslim group held a press conference on the South steps of the Capitol, and one of the protestors grabbed the microphone from the event organizer and said "Islam will never dominate the United States and by the grace of God, it will never dominate Texas." Protestors continued to shout as the Muslim group sang the national anthem.
Texas has the eighth-largest Muslim population in he U.S., with more than 420,000 Muslims living in the state.
