(10/10/2025) A Florida state representative who switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party less than a year ago has filed legislation to ban Shari’a law from Florida’s courts and government agencies — timing the filing to the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

Rep. Hillary Cassel, a Broward County Republican who abandoned the House Democrats and joined the Republican supermajority in December 2024, filed House Bill 119 — the “No Shari’a Act” — on October 7, 2025.

As WLRN reported, the bill would ban Florida courts, arbitration panels, tribunals, and administrative agencies from basing any decision on the Islamic Shari’a code or other foreign legal systems. Any ruling that relies on Shari’a or a foreign legal code would be declared null and void.

Cassel’s measure comes a month after U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, also a Florida Republican, filed a nearly identical bill at the federal level. Fine, a former state senator, was the Legislature’s most outspoken pro-Israel member and was known for inflammatory social media posts including urging “Bombs Away” in Gaza.

Shari’a — which translates from Arabic as “the path” or “the way” — is a religious and ethical code rooted in the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Much like Halakha in Judaism, Shari’a guides Muslims in everyday life, including matters of prayer, charity, dietary practices, inheritance, and personal conduct. Its interpretations vary widely across cultures and schools of thought. There is no documented case of Shari’a law being applied or enforced in any Florida court.

When a Florida Phoenix reporter approached Cassel inside the Capitol and asked for an interview, she said, “Not today,” and referred the reporter to her office, which did not return a request for comment. Asked later why she filed the measure, Cassel responded, “Did you read the bill?” — and walked away when asked whether she had based it on Fine’s federal version.

Cassel’s party switch last December raised eyebrows. She had served two years as a Democrat representing House District 101 before flipping to the GOP, citing the Democratic Party’s failure to support Israel as a factor. Within months of joining the Republican supermajority, she filed one of the most explicitly anti-Muslim bills in the state legislature.

Critics were quick to challenge the bill’s premise and its timing. The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Florida called the targeting of Islamic legal principles discriminatory and unconstitutional, noting that the First Amendment forbids the government from singling out one faith.

The bill arrives amid heightened religious tensions driven by the war in Gaza. Rep. Chase Tramont, a Port Orange Republican, filed a separate bill that would ban state agencies from using the term “West Bank” and mandate “Judea and Samaria” instead — the Israeli government’s preferred name for the occupied Palestinian territory.

Entitled the “No Shari’a Act,” the bill recognizes that while state entities may “freely contract,” that right is nullified when it involves a foreign legal code that would “violate the fundamental liberties, rights, and privileges guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the State Constitution.”

For Florida’s estimated 500,000 Muslim residents, the message is difficult to misread: a lawmaker who switched parties over Israel has introduced a bill that singles out their faith — and timed it so no one would miss the connection.

The 2026 legislative session begins January 13. If passed, HB 119 would take effect July 1, 2026.