Bill presumes Muslim businesses discriminate without defining what triggers it

What it does

This bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to declare that any public accommodation (hotel, restaurant, store, etc.) that implements Sharia law in providing goods or services is automatically deemed to be discriminating on the basis of religion. The bill does not define Sharia law, does not specify which practices trigger the rule, and does not establish how courts should determine whether an establishment has 'implemented' it.

Why we flagged it

The bill amends the Civil Rights Act's public-accommodations provision by adding a presumption that Sharia-law implementation constitutes religious discrimination. The operative mechanism is a statutory presumption, not a ban or prohibition—it shifts the legal framework for how discrimination claims are evaluated.

What the text implies

• The bill does not define 'Sharia law' or specify which practices, policies, or business decisions trigger the presumption, creating risk of discriminatory application against Muslim-owned businesses based on stereotypes or selective enforcement.
• By deeming Sharia-law implementation 'discrimination on the ground of religion,' the bill may paradoxically expose Muslim business owners to liability for religious expression or practice, inverting the civil-rights protection it claims to provide.
• Courts will face undefined burden of determining what constitutes 'implementing Sharia law'—a religious and legal framework spanning multiple schools of thought, countries, and contexts—without statutory guidance, inviting inconsistent and potentially discriminatory rulings.
• The bill does not address whether the presumption applies to religious practices by other faiths (e.g., Halakha in Jewish businesses, canon law in Catholic institutions), raising equal-protection questions about selective application.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill purports to protect citizens from religious discrimination by public accommodations, a legitimate civil-rights goal. However, the mechanism is undefined: 'Sharia law' is not defined in the statute, no specific practices are enumerated, and the bill creates potential for discriminatory enforcement against Muslim-owned businesses based on vague or stereotyped assumptions about their religious practices, while leaving ordinary citizens and courts without clear guidance on what conduct trig

Named in the bill

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 201(a), public accommodations, Sharia law

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Feb 12, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Feb 12, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.