An EPIC step for political Islam

In Texas, several Muslim leaders and organizations are advancing plans to build an Islamic-focused city in Plano, named the East Plano Islamic Center, or “EPIC City.” This 402-acre development, located approximately 40 miles northeast of Dallas, is managed by Community Capital Partners, a for-profit entity formed by some EPIC Muslim members. The project aims to include more than 1,000 single-family homes and townhomes, a large mosque, an outreach center to promote Islamic teachings, a K-12 Islamic school, and Islamic-friendly retail shops, facilities, and clinics. The enthusiasm among Muslims is evident, with over 450 lots reserved within days of the project’s announcement.

A prominent figure behind the project is the Pakistani-American Sunni scholar Yasir Qadhi, a well-known Islamist scholar, EPIC resident, and dean of The Islamic Seminary of America. Qadhi dismisses claims that EPIC is exclusively for Muslims, asserting that it simply addresses the needs of Texas’s growing Muslim population for a family-oriented, faith-centered community.

Amid rising concerns from Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott has stated that Attorney General Ken Paxton and a dozen state agencies are investigating the project, emphasizing that “Sharia law is not allowed in Texas.” Qadhi, however, frames the project as an exercise of constitutional rights, enabling Muslims to live near Islamic amenities, such as a mosque, similar to other religious communities. Notably, the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex is already home to about 80 mosques and Islamic centers. Other Muslim proponents, including the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), highlight the project’s potential for economic growth through commercial developments and community facilities that could benefit the broader region. CAIR has publicly condemned investigations into EPIC City, denouncing what they call “hateful misinformation” from critics.

When CAIR and Islamist leaders wholeheartedly support a project and resist official investigations, Americans should be alarmed.

How should we view this project?

The vast majority of Muslims, including those in the West, are influenced by political Islam, viewing it as both a religion and a political system—a comprehensive ideology that extends beyond worship and seeks to govern Muslims and non-Muslims alike. EPIC and CAIR leaders, as committed Islamists, envision a future where Islamic values dominate. For them, this project is a clear step toward that goal. They aspire to create a model city inspired by Islamic sacred texts, resembling an exclusive caliphate that rules over lands once governed by non-Muslims. To achieve this vision, these leaders are ambitious and willing to operate within the legal framework, hoping to establish—inch by inch—an exclusively Islamic region in the United States governed by Islamic values. For them, this would signify Islam’s supremacy, fulfill Muhammad’s commands, and triumph over all other religions. This city represents the closest possible replica of a caliphate modeled after Muhammad’s design.

When the West naïvely views Islam as only a religion, like any other religion, it makes a severe mistake and fails to comprehend the harm this ideology can do to the fabric of society.

Treating Islam as merely a powerless and harmless faith that guides worshippers and promotes ethical living—such as loving others and coexisting peacefully—is simplistic. Islam is a conquering ideology that advances a political system aiming to dominate by replacing and suppressing non-Islamic beliefs. If Islam is seen only as a religion, the issue is reduced to a matter of religious freedom. But Islam is an ideology that seeks to impose its own governance. For Islamists, the Islamization of the non-Muslim lands is a divine prescription; the transformation of non-Muslims and their cultures into Islamic social spheres and communities is a religious duty to be pursued and cherished.

To understand Islam accurately, the United States and the West must recognize it as an external anti-Western ideology that does not conform to the laws of the land. This ideology considers itself superior to all other dogmas, rejecting—and actually loathing—non-Islamic worldviews. Islam, as articulated in its sacred texts and practiced by devout classical Muslims, holds sharp anti-Christian values and claims that directly conflict with cherished Western principles. Its teachings and practices clash profoundly with the freedoms—conscience, religion, speech, let alone human equality—protected in the West.

The United States must treat the EPIC project as an attempt to establish an anti-American ideological entity within its borders. This is not a matter of religious freedom but a national security concern involving an ideology that opposes American values. The project’s advocates, particularly those funding it, should face thorough scrutiny. Granting Islamists an inch risks them taking a mile. Action must be taken to prevent this, or it may become too late to protect the nation from claims that seek to undermine and replace its foundational principles.