Texas waterpark cancels Muslim event after Abbott threatens to pull funds
Grand Prairie, Texas canceled a privately organized “Epic Eid” event at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened too withhold $530,000 in state grants if the city didn’t end the party. The flyer initially indicated a “Muslim only” celebration with a modest dress code, prompting Abbott to call it “religious discrimination” adn “unconstitutional,” arguing it was similar to advertising a “Whites only” event at a public facility.
The event organizer, Aminah Knight, later said the celebration was actually open to people of other faiths, describing it as a rental event and revising materials to emphasize it was a modest dress-only, family-pleasant gathering for Eid, including for non-Muslim friends who want to participate.
The dispute also comes amid broader Abbott actions and policies toward Muslim-related organizations and related proposals in Texas, including prior designations Abbott made and a law restricting religious discrimination in certain housing developments. The project tied to those housing issues remains in legal disputes.
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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