Republican leaders across Texas are criticizing an attempt within the Tarrant County GOP to remove a Muslim man from a leadership post.

Land Commissioner George P. Bush tweeted a condemnation of the effort to oust Shahid Shafi on Friday morning, saying that Republicans must “stop tearing down our own if we are to keep Texas red.”

Retiring House Speaker Joe Straus echoed the sentiment, saying in a tweet that the effort "is disgraceful and un-American."

I urge the Tarrant County GOP to stop this attempt to remove a hardworking county party official based on religious beliefs. We must move towards a more inclusive Republican Party and stop tearing down our own if we are to keep Texas red. https://t.co/kr0zv0NCPT — George P. Bush (@georgepbush) November 30, 2018

A day earlier, Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak sent a letter urging his Tarrant County counterpart, Darl Easton, to reject the "bigoted effort" to remove Shafi. The Republican Party of Texas authored a resolution supporting Shafi and calling for the Tarrant County party members to adhere to a platform "preserving religious liberty for all Americans."

The party published a different resolution Sunday, calling for religious freedom but excluding references to Shafi or Tarrant County.

When Shafi was named a vice chairman July 14, Easton said, the appointment was ratified with little objection. The following day, however, he began receiving communications opposing the appointment on the basis of Shafi's religion.

One of the messages came from precinct chair Dorrie O'Brien, who has made repeated, unsupported claims that Shafi is a proponent of Shariah law and connected to terrorist-affiliated groups. O'Brien has been an active member of ACT for America in the past, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as an anti-Muslim hate group.

Shahid Shafi (via Twitter)

Shafi, a trauma surgeon who has been on Southlake's City Council since 2014, published an open letter in November denying the accusations and making a case for his being a patriot and loyal Republican.

"It is through inclusion, and not exclusion, that we will be able to build strong communities, where neighbors trust and protect each other, and our enemies cannot find refuge," he wrote.

The calls for Shafi's removal resulted in a closed-door meeting on the subject Nov. 10, and the Tarrant County GOP executive committee is scheduled to vote on the potential removal in January.

A common thread in many Republicans’ statements in support of Shafi is that local attempts to oust an official based on religion will smear the party’s name.

Mackowiak, who called the efforts “outrageous and disgusting,” said that the headlines the story is generating could hurt Republicans locally, statewide and even nationally. He pointed to the recent Senate election, in which more Tarrant County voters supported Beto O’Rourke than Ted Cruz, as an indication that Republicans should be careful.

“Our opponents claim the Republican Party is bigoted or racist,” Mackowiak said. “The last thing we want to do is take an action that would make that argument for them.”

Easton, who is optimistic that Shafi will retain his leadership position, said some of the damage has already been done.

“Regardless of whether he’s removed or not, we’ve got a long-lasting label,” Easton said. “Just the fact that there was a movement to remove him is embarrassing.”