Neighborhood for Muslims?

Community angst over a proposed Islamic-centered neighborhood reached a crescendo northeast of Dallas on March 31. In a crowded courthouse in McKinney, sheriff’s deputies, media cameras, and about 80 other people packed into a courtroom. There, many attendees implored county commissioners in the nation’s fourth-largest metropolitan area to reject “EPIC City”—a proposed 402-acre development marketed by and primarily to Muslims.

More than 50 adults and a few children spoke against the proposal during the four-hour Collin County commissioners meeting. Several complained the project would burden public services and resources in the rural area. Most, though, warned of potential cultural, legal, or economic effects of Islamist ideology in their community.

“EPIC City is a starting point for further Islamic expansion and establishing a stronghold where Shariah law can be enforced de facto,” Deborah Jenkins, a 30-year Collin County resident, told the commissioners. “Without official legislation there will be no public oversight and American values will be dismantled.”

The East Plano Islamic Center and its for-profit arms purchased a large land parcel in an unincorporated area northeast of Dallas and began selling 1-acre shares last year. The planned community features a large mosque surrounded by more than 1,000 single- and multifamily homes, a K-12 religious school, a senior center, parks, and retail shops.

“EPIC City is going to be a role model community of thousands of Muslims living well-integrated,” Yasir Qadhi, EPIC’s resident scholar, said earlier this year, according to The Dallas Morning News.

With concerned Texans in his corner, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is attempting to derail the development. “To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas,” he posted on X in February. In late March, the governor announced a dozen state agencies were investigating EPIC and its affiliate Community Capital Partners LP. The attorney general, Texas Rangers, workforce commission, Texas Funeral Service Commission, and securities board were among those investigating the possibility of consumer protection and fair housing violations, unlicensed funeral operations, and other potentially criminal activities.

Dan Cogdell, an attorney for EPIC and CCP, rebuffed any suggestion his clients were breaking the law, despite claims from state officials. “Whatever they’re asking for, we will provide them voluntarily and in spades before they’re due,” he told reporters.

Given First Amendment protections for Christians and Muslims alike, opponents may be hard-pressed to find cause for singling out a Muslim-themed development for restrictions. Local critics claim non-Muslims will be discriminated against when buying or renting homes, but EPIC officials say the development will be open to all and will follow Texas and federal laws, not Shariah.

“I would expect the majority of the people who live there are gonna be the Muslim community because it’s gonna have a mosque there,” admitted lawyer Cogdell. “I mean, not too many Christians go to a mosque.”

EPIC hasn’t yet applied for permits needed to submit its plan to the county. County Judge Chris Hill, however, told the March 31 meeting he could not support the project, given his concern about possible housing discrimination and ongoing state investigations.

The City Council in Lino Lakes, Minn., voted 4-1 last June to place a one-year hold on plans for a similar Muslim community there following public complaints. Developers afterward complained the council members “do not want Muslims in their city.”