Should the State Affirm Islamic Teachings as Sources of “Guidance” and “Inspiration”?
by Dr. Mark Creech
Director of Government Relations
Return America
In recent days, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein issued a proclamation recognizing the observance of Ramadan across our state, from the evening of February 17 through March 19. Such acknowledgments are not unusual. Governors have long recognized various cultural and religious observances as part of the diverse fabric of our society. Christians, of all people, should affirm that our Muslim neighbors are deserving of dignity, respect, and the full protection of religious liberty.
But this particular proclamation raises a deeper concern, one that goes beyond recognition and enters the realm of endorsement.
In its language, the proclamation states that Islamic traditions and teachings serve as a source of “guidance” and “inspiration.” That is not merely descriptive; it is theological. It affirms, in positive moral terms, Islamic teachings as worthy of commendation – a religious system whose central claims stand in direct contradiction to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the principles of liberty that shaped our nation’s founding.
Read the Governor’s proclamation here.
Christianity does not teach that all religious paths lead to the same God. Jesus Himself declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Islam, by contrast, explicitly denies the deity of Christ and rejects the foundational truths of the Christian faith. For the Christian, to speak of its teachings as a source of spiritual guidance is, at best, to blur distinctions that Scripture makes unmistakably clear.
This is not an argument against Muslims as people. Far from it. Christians are commanded to love their neighbors, to act with kindness, and to defend the religious liberty of all. Many Muslims in North Carolina are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who contribute meaningfully to their communities. They should be treated with fairness and goodwill.
This proclamation, however, crosses an important line.
It is sometimes argued that the government must remain entirely neutral toward religion. That is not, in fact, what our constitutional tradition has required. Our nation’s history includes public acknowledgments of God, from the national motto to the recognition of holidays such as Christmas and Easter. The issue, therefore, is not whether religion may be recognized in public life.
The issue here is that the governor’s proclamation goes beyond acknowledgment, referring to Islamic teachings as a source of guidance and inspiration.
That concern is heightened by the fact that certain teachings and historical expressions of Islam have stood in tension with the principles of religious liberty and freedom of conscience that are foundational to our constitutional system. While many Muslims in our state live peacefully and value those freedoms, the state should exercise great caution before offering unqualified affirmation of a religious system whose theological and historical claims raise serious questions about those very liberties.
In a Facebook post, former U.S. Senate candidate Don Brown said it was wrong for the governor “to glorify an evil philosophy that demands subjugation or death, that treats women like animals, and that, worldwide, legalizes, normalizes, and perpetuates widespread child molestation.”
While some may consider such language too strong, it reflects a broader concern that cannot be legitimately dismissed.
At this very moment, the United States and its ally, Israel, are engaged in a dangerous conflict with Iran, a nation governed by a theocratic regime that has fused a radical interpretation of Islam with political power. Since its 1979 revolution, Iran’s leadership has openly opposed the United States and Israel, supported proxy forces throughout the Middle East, and pursued ambitions that threaten regional stability. The current conflict underscores the seriousness of that reality, particularly as Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons capabilities.
A government committed to liberty should be especially careful not to commend, even indirectly, religious teachings that, when joined to state power, have not consistently upheld it.
North Carolinians have seen before how unevenly religion can be treated in the public square. During the COVID-19 pandemic, under former Governor Roy Cooper, an executive order placed significant restrictions on indoor worship services. Churches were, at times, treated more harshly than comparable secular venues. Return America challenged these state restrictions, and in Berean Baptist Church v. Cooper, a federal court issued an injunction, finding that the state’s actions likely violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.
That history makes the present moment all the more striking.
In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation designed to ensure that no foreign law, whether rooted in international codes or religious systems such as Sharia Law, could be applied in a way that would violate the fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the North Carolina Constitution. In doing so, our state took deliberate steps to safeguard its constitutional order from the influence of such foreign legal systems.
Yet today, the Governor – our state’s highest elected official – publicly affirms the spiritual value of the very religious system from which such legal traditions arise. This presents a tension worth examining. If our laws rightly recognize that certain religiously informed legal systems are incompatible with our constitutional framework, should our public officials so readily commend their teachings as sources of “guidance” and “inspiration”? Such contradictions deserve thoughtful reflection.
More broadly, many Christians are observing a growing asymmetry in our culture. Expressions of historic Christian belief are often treated as something to be muted, privatized, or carefully avoided in public life. Yet other religious or ideological perspectives are openly affirmed and celebrated. The issue is not that others are recognized; it is that Christianity is increasingly treated differently.
This is not egregious persecution. Churches remain open. The Gospel is still preached. Christians continue to serve and lead in every sector of society. Nevertheless, this does represent a significant and disturbing shift.
We have moved from a culture where Christianity once held a central and largely unchallenged place to one in which it is now viewed with suspicion and discomfort.
Christians, for their part, must respond in ways that reflect both conviction and grace. We should defend the religious liberty of all people, including Muslims. We should treat our neighbors with kindness and respect. But we should also speak boldly about the uniqueness of Christ and the truth of the Gospel. And we should remind our fellow citizens that Christianity has been the foundation of our state and nation’s freedoms and prosperity. It laid the groundwork for the tolerance and religious liberty that people of other faiths now enjoy in America.
To do so is not hostility. Conviction is not intolerance.
A government that truly honors freedom must be careful not to commend what it should merely permit.
Christians will continue to love their neighbors. But we will not surrender the truth that sets men free.
