Proposed Muslim development in Texas brings inquiries by DOJ and state officials : NPR

DALLAS, Texas– The Department of Justice is investigating a proposed Muslim housing development in North Texas known as EPIC City for potential religious discrimination.

Top state officials, including Republican Governor Greg Abbott have also launched investigations, even though the project’s developers say they’re years away from breaking ground.

The East Plano Islamic Center – also known as EPIC – is a large mosque in Plano, a suburb North of Dallas. The mosque is running out of room as newcomers flock to the growing North Texas region.

A member of EPIC who is a realtor proposed a solution when he saw some land for sale – why not build another community to accommodate the growing Muslim population in North Texas?

Growing Community

Several of EPIC’s members live within walking distance from the mosque.

Black and white houses with manicured lawns in the adjoining neighborhood are adorned with Arabic lettering. There’s a grocery store up the road from the mosque called EPIC Market that sells halal meat and a Yemeni coffee shop, Haraz Coffee, which serves pistachio lattes and saffron milk cakes.

Fawzia Bilal lives close to the mosque. She says it makes it easier for her to integrate prayer into her daily routine. Muslims pray facing in the direction of Mecca, their holy land, five times a day. And holy periods like Ramadan call for additional prayer.

“I’m able to do this without getting into traffic or thinking about jumping into a car, walking distance,” Bilal said. “I mean, it’s all about honestly convenience and then the consistency with which we’re able to practice our faith.”

EPIC Islamic scholar Yasir Qadhi told NPR the mosque is running out of space for its 10,000 members.

“Why not build a purpose built community where all of the facilities, all of the amenities that people want are going to be within walking distance?” Qadhi said.

EPIC purchased the land for the project about a year ago. The 402-acre development would be in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties, roughly 40 miles northeast of Dallas.

EPIC City would include a new mosque, more than 1,000 single and multi-family homes, a K-12 faith-based school, senior housing, an outreach center, commercial developments, sports facilities, and a community college.

Qadhi said the first 450 plots for EPIC City sold out within days of its announcements on the mosque’s website.

Future residents are purchasing shares to own a plot of land for future homes. In those purchases, there’s a charge to help fund the construction of other buildings, like the mosque and school. Qadhi said that’s how EPIC paid for the land, not external funding.

“The funds came from the very people that are going to be living in that area,” he said.

The probes

Although EPIC City has yet to file for construction permits, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and State Attorney General Ken Paxton have already launched several investigations of the project.

The state’s probes include claims the project could be discriminating against non-Muslims in violation of the Texas Fair Housing Act, along with alleging potential financial harm to potential investors and potential violations of Texas consumer protection laws.

Abbott said in a press release that the Texas Workforce Commission is investigating potential religious discrimination at EPIC City, which would violate the Texas Fair Housing Act. Abbott has accused the development, without providing any evidence, of creating a “no-go zone” that bans non-Muslims from entering.

Qadhi said the proposed EPIC City will not be exclusive to Muslim residents.

“It’s an open community,” Qadhi said. “Anybody can come in. We’re welcoming people of all backgrounds and diversity and we’re offering them facilities that we think would be very, very useful.”

Abbott has also launched a criminal investigation of the project, although It’s unclear what criminal statutes EPIC or the project developers may have violated.

Paxton has also not specified what consumer protection laws EPIC City may have violated, but he said in a press release the project has “raised a number of concerns.”

Neither Abbott nor Paxton responded to NPR’s requests for comment on the investigations.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the Department of Justice launched a federal probe in early May after he shared concerns about religious discrimination and Sharia law, which forms parts of Islamic traditions but is not legally enforceable in the United States.

“Religious discrimination, whether explicit or implicit, is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” Cornyn wrote in his letter to the Attorney General. “Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our nation’s values, and I am concerned this community potentially undermines this vital protection.”

Misconceptions about Sharia Law and Islamophobia are at the center of many of the allegations being about EPIC City online and at a recent county government meeting.

Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth office for the Council of American Islamic Relations, said Sharia Law is often misunderstood in the country.

“Your daughters are gonna wear burqas and your sons will be terrorists and they’re gonna be killing people and people will be blowing folks up and all this kind of craziness,” Carroll said. “That’s definitely not Sharia.”

Muslim scholars emphasize that Sharia law is deeply dependent on context. While conservative countries may enforce strict practices, Muslims in Western countries often do not.

According to EPIC, Sharia encompasses aspects of Islamic traditions like when to pray, how to dress and what to eat.

The governor’s office criticized the Council of American Islamic Relations in a statement and accused the interfaith group of being linked to terrorism. The group denies those claims.

Abbott recently said in a post on X that Texas halted construction at EPIC City after he ordered the project developer last month to cease construction or face legal action because the mosque hadn’t acquired the necessary permits or authorizations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

“The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the group behind the proposed EPIC compound did not submit the required permits to begin construction,” he said.

But Dan Cogdell, an attorney for the mosque, noted that no construction had begun at the site. He said Abbott’s order and the state’s investigations are premature.

“We haven’t started construction,” he said. “We haven’t even filed for an application. It’s like, good God, have a cup of coffee before you pop off.”

Online Misinformation

At a county government meeting early in March, Collin County officials heard concerns from residents about the potential practice of Sharia Law in EPIC City.

“They will do the most Sharia compliance, including honor killings, stonings, marrying their young girls off to older men,” said Krista Schild, a resident of Hunt County.

“Sharia has no freedom of religion, no freedom of speech, no freedom of thought, no freedom of artistic expression, and no equal rights for women,” said Lee Breckenridge-Moore, a resident of Collin County.

Schild and Moore offered no proof to support their statements.  

Moore referenced as evidence for her claims social media posts from Amy Mek, the founder and editor in chief of RAIR Foundation USA. The Southern Poverty Law Center has categorized RAIR as an anti-Muslim hate group.

One of Mek’s posts that accused city and school district officials in Plano of colluding with EPIC to shape school policy received about 8,900 likes and 7,800 shares. A few days later, Paxton announced in a press release he was demanding documents from the Plano Independent School District outlining “potential connections” to EPIC.

Public Vitriol

EPIC member Fawzia Bilal said the attacks on her mosque and faith are disheartening.

“If I’m going out alone, then there is this fear,” Bilal said. “Am I going to hear something? Am I going to be targeted?”

Bilal said most people in Plano are accepting because the mosque has a strong presence and is known for its service and contributions to the community.

She hopes that message will come through.

“No matter how loud the voices of hatred are, the voice of hope and the voice of understanding and reasoning will eventually overpower these negative voices,” she said.

In the meantime, Cogdell said EPIC will cooperate fully with all state and federal investigations. He also said he expects the political scrutiny to delay the project, leaving the Muslim community in North Texas with less room to grow.