Texas water park cancels Muslim event after Abbott threatens to pull funds
grand Prairie, Texas canceled a privately organized “Epic Eid” party at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull $530,000 in state grants. Abbott said advertising a “Muslims only” event at a city-owned facility amounted to unconstitutional religious discrimination, arguing it was like a hypothetical “Whites only” public event.
The event’s organizer later said the rental was open to people of other faiths and updated its materials to emphasize it was a modest-dress event meant to be family-amiable. Abbott nonetheless insisted the city-owned pool and the event’s public marketing were discriminatory, and he referenced broader concerns about religious restrictions in Texas politics, including actions taken against groups he labeled as extremist and prior legislation aimed at preventing religious-only restrictions in housing developments.
The city of Grand Prairie, Texas, canceled a private party for Muslims at a water park after Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) threatened he would pull $530,000 in state grants to the city.
The event, which would have celebrated a Muslim holy day on June 1, was scheduled to take place at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark.
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An early version of the flyer said that the celebration would be a “Muslim only event” and require a “modest dress code.”
The event’s organizer, Aminah Knight, later clarified that the event was open to people following other religions.
“DFW Epic Eid is a privately organized and privately funded event held through a standard rental of Epic Waters, just like many other private gatherings hosted at the park,” Knight said.
“In response to feedback, we have updated our materials to clearly reflect that this is a modest dress-only event, centered around a respectful and family-friendly environment,” the organizer continued. “So if you are a friend of a different faith who wants to celebrate the Eid holiday with us and adhere to the modest dress code…. this event is FOR YOU TOO!”
Abbott slammed the event, calling it “unconstitutional” and “religious discrimination.”
“A city-owned water park in Grand Prairie openly advertised a “MUSLIMS ONLY” event — closed to the general public,” Abbott wrote in a statement on X. “That’s religious discrimination. It’s unconstitutional.”
Abbott added that he would pull $530,000 in city funding if the city did not cancel the event.
“The event purports to be public facing and discriminatory at the same time: All Muslims—but only Muslims—may attend,” the governor wrote in a letter to Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen. “An event at a city-owned pool that was publicly and indiscriminately advertised as “Whites only” would surely violate the Constitution.”
In November, Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Center for American Islamic Relations as “radical extremist” and foreign terrorist organizations.
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A few months earlier, Abbott signed a bill banning residential property developments from being limited to individuals of one religious belief. The legislation was in response to a muslim development — the East Plano Islamic Center — that was proposed last year. The development would feature single-family lots, townhomes, apartments, a mosque, a K-12 faith-based school, elderly and assisted living, and a community college, among other things.
The project remains embroiled in legal battles.
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