Texas Governor Weighs In on Proposed City Described as the ‘Epicenter of Islam’ in Rural Texas

Demonstrators listen to civil rights and legal advocates, as residents hold a press conference outside One Police Plaza in New York to discuss planned legal action challenging the city police department's surveillance of businesses frequented by Muslim residents and area mosques, on June 18, 2013. Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty Images

JOSEPHINE, Texas—Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Monday that a proposed 402-acre city advertised as the “epicenter of Islam in America” to be built outside a rural Texas town won’t be allowed.

Abbott responded on Feb. 24 to an internet video for the proposed EPIC City and EPIC Ranches near the town of Josephine, Texas, about 40 miles east of Dallas, saying the project wouldn’t be allowed based on an advertisement for the planned development.

The video, which has more than 1 million views on X, prompted concerns from some on social media that sharia, which is law based on Islamic principles, would be used within the 1,000-home development.

“To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas. Nor are Sharia cities. Nor are ‘no go zones’ which this project seems to imply,” Abbott said on X.

“Bottom line—the project as proposed in the video is not allowed in Texas.”

The issue gained traction after Amy Mek, founder of the RAIR Foundation and an Islam critic, posted several videos of the project, including one from Yasir Qadhi, a Pakistani American Muslim theologian at the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), who spoke on the launch of the EPIC Ranches.

According to documents about the project, the East Plano Islamic Center contracted for the 402 acres and will assign the contract to Community Capital Partners for development.

Mek and others on social media raised concerns that the development would become a “walled-off Islamic community built around Sharia, not American values.”

The RAIR Foundation defines itself as a grassroots activist organization working to “reclaim our Republic from the network of individuals and organizations waging war on Americans, our Constitution, our borders, and our Judeo-Christian values.”

Mek said the community would be a “self-contained Islamic economy and infrastructure,” which would result in the exclusion of non-Muslims.

After Abbott’s comment, EPIC Ranches stated on social media platform X that the development was “to build a diverse, safe, and inclusive community—one in which people of every background, faith, and culture can live together in harmony.”

“It should go without saying that our community, like any other in this great state, will follow all local, state, and federal laws. We would love for you to see the site and learn about our project over some Hutchins BBQ,” it said.

In a YouTube video on the proposed EPIC City, Qadhi said that the community, which would house thousands of Muslims, would be a model for Muslims living in the West.

“We’re not forming a cult; we’re not forming big barriers between the rest of society. We’re going to be giving back to this state and this country and we’re going to be showing what it means to be a Muslim neighborhood,” Qadhi said.

In the YouTube video, Qadhi envisioned businesses, grocery stores, medical clinics, an elderly assistance facility, and perhaps a university within the development. He said he was working on securing “Islamic loans” for construction.

Qadhi added that EPIC City sold out of lots when it was announced about a year ago. That led to the recent announcement that the project would be expanded to include EPIC Ranches One and Two, which offer larger lots of up to five acres.

The video claims the development will be “nestled in the heart of Josephine,” but Josephine City Administrator Lisa Palomba told The Epoch Times that the development was outside of city limits.

She said the land for the development is within Hunt and Collin counties, which would be in charge of conducting a platting and engineering review. Water and sewer services would also need to be made available.

“It’s north of Josephine,” she said, adding that the developers are incorrectly advertising the project as being “in the heart of Josephine.”

“To my knowledge, there’s no water up there,” she said. “I’m not sure they’ve fully done their homework on this.”

Collin County Judge Chris Hill said in an email to The Epoch Times that the county had been watching the project for months. So far, Collin County has not reviewed the proposed development nor determined if there’s enough water available.

Hill noted that the rules of the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to discriminate against home buyers based on factors such as race and religion, would need to be followed for any development.

EPIC Ranches did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.