Updated at 10 p.m.: Revised to include additional information throughout.

RICHLAND HILLS — The Tarrant County GOP rejected an effort to remove a Muslim doctor serving as one of its vice chairmen because of claims about his beliefs.

Executive committee members voted 139-49 to keep surgeon Shahid Shafi in his role in a meeting Thursday evening that was closed to the media at Faith Creek Church in Richland Hills.

"Today, the beacon of liberty held by the Statue of Liberty is shining brighter," Shafi said after the vote. "My faith in our party, in our country, has been reaffirmed."

Shafi said he held no animosity for his detractors, instead attributing the dozens of votes against him to a difference of opinion. Other minorities should draw inspiration from the night's events, Shafi said, because the vote proved the Tarrant County GOP is open to all conservatives.

Executive committee members voted to keep surgeon Shahid Shafi in his role in a meeting Thursday evening that was closed to the media at Faith Creek Church in Richland Hills. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

"Religious liberty won tonight," Tarrant County GOP chair Darl Easton said in a prepared statement. "And while that makes a great day for the Republican Party of Tarrant County, that victory also serves notice that we have much work to do unifying our party."

The vote followed months of media coverage about the push to remove Shafi and, more recently, condemnation of the effort from prominent statewide Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott and Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

A campaign against Shafi began just after he was appointed by Easton in July. Dorrie O' Brien, a Tarrant County GOP precinct chair, was one of the first to take issue with Shafi. O'Brien has claimed that Shafi supports Shariah law and is tied to terrorist-affiliated groups, though the doctor has denied the allegations.

A small group of Muslim men and women from across North Texas said they felt it important to be at Thursday's meeting to "stand against injustice."

"It doesn't matter if it's Democrats or Republicans committing it," said Shazia Hassan, who attended the party meeting with a group of Muslim women from Murphy to protest the attacks on Shafi's character. "We will stand against injustice, always."

The party discussed Shafi and his role in November as momentum to remove him grew, and in a closed-door meeting, added a vote on his future to a January agenda.

GOP precinct chair Dale Atteberry courted controversy by hosting an anti-Muslim speaker to address party members and others last month so they "know the truth" before the vote.

Atteberry resigned as precinct chair after the vote, according to Sam Bryant, a member of the State Republic Executive Committee for Senate District 22.

Thursday's vote followed months of media coverage of the push to remove Shahid Shafi and, more recently, condemnation of the effort from prominent statewide Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott, (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

In late 2018, Republican officials began to publicly express concern about how ousting one of their own based on religion would reflect on the party.

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

Shafi, who is one of two vice chairs for the Tarrant County GOP, has served on the Southlake City Council since 2014. He published an open letter about the allegations against him in November 2018, emphasizing his patriotism and passion for Republican goals.