Are Texas Muslims ordering businesses to remove haram products within 30 days? Here’s the truth

In September 2026, a claim spread online that Muslims in Texas are ordering local businesses to stop selling products Islam considers “haram” (forbidden), such as pork, alcohol and lottery tickets, within 30 days.

Multiple Facebook users posted similar captions saying Muslims have “taken to the streets in Houston” and other Texas cities, going “store to store” issuing “threats” of protests or more “if there’s a continued noncompliance” (archived, archived).

Snopes readers searched our site and contacted us looking for more information regarding the rumor.

In short, the claim is exaggerated. 

Footage does show one Houston imam, Qasim ibn Ali Khan, protesting with signs and asking Muslim convenience store owners to stop selling products deemed haram. One video posted on Khan’s TikTok account in May 2025 (screenshotted), that features no signs of being generated using artificial intelligence, shows him telling employees at two Houston convenience stores that he planned to demonstrate if the staff did not remove haram products within 30 days. He did not specify where he planned to hold such demonstrations, only saying they would take place “around the city.” Therefore, there is an element of truth to the claim.

@imam.qasim.khan #CapCut #haram #harampolice ♬ original sound – MASJID AT-TAWHID HTX

Khan posted a follow-up video in July 2025 (screenshotted) showing him and his supporters protesting outside one of the convenience stores that features in the May 2025 clip.

It was not possible to determine whether the stores removed their haram products.

@imam.qasim.khan #CapCut #haram #trending ♬ original sound – MASJID AT-TAWHID HTX

Similarly, it was not possible to find evidence of an “order” being issued — Khan specifically says in first the recording that he has no power to enforce his request — nor evidence of a coordinated, widespread movement to get businesses to stop selling haram products. Furthermore, Khan’s rhetoric in the video shows he was making a request of specifically Muslim-owned businesses.

As such, we rate the claim mostly false. 

Snopes attempted to contact Khan for comment, but got no response. We will update this article if we hear back.

Forbidden products across religions

Each of the world’s religions, and the denominations within them, have different interpretations of religious law.

Using dietary restrictions as an example, Christian denominations rarely impose restrictions on what people can eat, though some practice abstinence from drinking alcohol. Hinduism promotes, but does not mandate, vegetarianism; Jainism requires vegetarianism, among other restrictions; observant Jews must follow kosher; and Islamic dietary law requires Muslims to not drink alcohol or consume pork.

As stated above, the grouping of forbidden practices in Islam is called “haram.” In contrast, approved practices are called “halal,” which is why some food products have a halal mark.

Texas Republicans, Islam and the First Amendment

Ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, Republicans in Texas have made the idea that Muslims wish to implement Shariah law (Islamic religious law) in the United States a talking point in their campaigns.

(It should be noted: the phrase Shariah law can be interpreted in various ways to mean different things. In this case, Republicans appear to mean fundamentalist Shariah law, the strictest form, which applies Shariah principles to all matters of justice). 

On Sept. 6, 2026, Amy Mekelburg — who is known for posting anti-Muslim videos online and who founded an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center considers an anti-Muslim hate group — posted one of Khan’s TikTok videos to X. The footage shows Khan speaking outside a purportedly Muslim-owned convenience store. It’s likely this is the origin of the claim that Muslims were ordering a ban on haram products.

In the clip, Khan says he asked the store to stop selling products deemed haram and that Muslim merchants should have “a higher standard,” but he also states that he and his followers have no authority to force anyone to stop selling haram products:

We can’t stop them, of course, this is the United States of America, and people have the freedom to sell what they want, as long as they’re supported by the United States government.

Khan is correct — the First Amendment guarantees both freedom of speech and freedom of religion. As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reportedly said during a September bill signing, according to the Texas Council for American-Islamic Relations, “Texas law and Texas courts govern those businesses and those neighborhoods. No ranting imam can change that.”

In the video, Khan also says his request is being made specifically to Muslim business owners, not all businesses, as suggested in the social media posts spreading the claim in question:

Of course, you have the right to sell what you want, but as a Muslim, you should have higher principles, higher code of ethics that are supported by the Quran and the Sunnah [teachings] of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Despite thorough searches, it was not possible to find evidence of a widespread campaign making similar requests to businesses, Muslim-owned or otherwise.

Sources