Byron Donalds is drawing a line in the sand.

The Republican nominee for Florida governor says he’ll fight any attempt to set up communities run by Islamic law. In his view, Florida answers to one rulebook: the U.S. Constitution.

Donalds says the issue isn’t Muslims practicing their faith. It’s whether any religious code should replace or override American law. He says it shouldn’t, and that the same laws have to apply to every Floridian.

The congressman is running to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 3. He has folded the issue into a broader campaign pitch about security, cultural integration and keeping Florida red.

His Exhibit A is in Texas.

A planned Muslim community outside Dallas in Plano was first called EPIC City and has since been renamed The Meadow. It would include homes, a mosque, a school and commercial space.

The project has drawn fire from GOP officials and conservative activists. Some question whether it would be dominated by religious influence or shut out outsiders.

Its backers say that’s nonsense. They argue the community would follow American law like everyone else, and that Muslims have the same right as any other Americans to worship and build neighborhoods together. They say the critics are unfairly singling out a religious minority. The fight has also sparked legal and civil-rights scrutiny.

Donalds also points across the Atlantic. He cites parts of Western Europe as a cautionary tale about immigrant communities he says haven’t fully integrated.

The picture in Europe is far from uniform, however. Integration issues vary widely from country to country, and a person’s religion alone doesn’t say whether they want a separate legal system.

Florida has already moved on the issue. DeSantis signed legislation in 2026 that explicitly addresses Sharia law, according to published reports.

Donalds hasn’t said exactly what he would do as governor. Any new measure would have to survive constitutional tests on freedom of religion and equal treatment under the law.

The Texas case shows the tightrope. Governments must enforce neutral zoning and civil-rights rules, but religious communities still have every right to worship, build institutions and take part in public life.

With Election Day less than two weeks away, expect Donalds to keep pounding the issue.