Muslim Group Accuses Greg Abbott of 'Abusing Power' Over New Texas City

Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton were spreading "hateful misinformation" regarding proposals for a new Islamic themed settlement in the state, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the United States, told Newsweek.

Abbott's press secretary described CAIR as "an antisemitic hate group" in a comment to Newsweek. Paxton did not respond to a request for comment.

Why It Matters

The East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) announced that it wants to build a new Muslim-themed town, dubbed "EPIC City," on a 402-acre piece of land covering parts of Collin and Hunt counties.

However the proposal has sparked controversy in Texas, with Abbott instructing multiple state agencies to investigate EPIC's activities and warning that legislation could be passed "to restrict it."

In March, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration was preparing to ban all travel to the U.S. for the nationals of 11 countries, seven of which were majority Muslim, though the White House said no final decision had been made.

During Trump's first term, he imposed a travel ban on a number of Muslim-majority countries, which came after he pledged a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims" entering the country during the 2016 campaign.

What To Know

Preliminary plans for EPIC City show more than 1,000 houses along with a mosque, faith-based school and community college. The plan is being overseen by Community Capital Partners, which was created by the East Plano Islamic Center for this purpose.

However, the project is being fiercely opposed by Abbott, who in February responded to the proposals on X, formerly Twitter, writing: "Sharia law is not allowed in Texas." There is nothing on the EPIC City website that says the new settlement would be ruled in accordance with Sharia, or Islamic, law and organizers insist they will obey state and federal laws.

Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of CAIR's Texas branch, told Newsweek: "We've seen an unprecedented increase in civil rights complaints and Islamophobic attacks against Muslims. Unfortunately, it has become common to seek to deny Muslims their civil rights, whether at school, at work or in the public square.

"Texas Governor Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, rather than deescalating the situation, have chosen instead to add fuel to the fire by disseminating hateful misinformation about their Muslim constituents and Islam. Instead of acting like true public servants and leaders, they have chosen to abuse their power by launching groundless 'investigations' against EPIC, blocking funerals, intimidating children and families, and violating their rights to constitutionally protected religious expression."

In March 2025, Abbott said the proposed settlement had "serious legal issues" and was being investigated by "a dozen state agencies" along with the Texas attorney general. He added: "Legislators are considering laws to restrict it, as well as laws to prevent foreign adversaries from buying land in Texas."

The same month, Texas authorities sent a cease-and-desist letter to the East Plano Islamic Center, instructing it to stop holding funeral services after claiming it had violated state law regarding funeral homes.

"They are knowingly breaking state law in many ways, including by operating a funeral home without a license," Abbott wrote on X. "This is a crime, and it will not be tolerated."

March 2025 also saw Paxton issue a Civil Investigation Demand (CID) to Community Capital Partners "as part of an ongoing investigation" into the EPIC City project. He said: "My office has an open and ongoing investigation into EPIC City, which has raised a number of concerns, and this CID will help ensure that any potential violation of state law is uncovered."

Community Capital Partners told the Dallas Morning News that they would adhere to the Fair Housing Act, which bans discrimination based on religion," and would "not enforce blanket bans on any group of people" at EPIC City.

When contacted for comment by Newsweek, Abbott's press secretary described CAIR as "an antisemitic hate group" and claimed its leaders "openly praised Hamas ruthlessly killing innocent Israelis during the October 7 massacre."

He provided a link to an article by the Anti-Defamation League, a group which aims to combat antisemitism, which reported CAIR's executive director Nihad Awad had responded to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas at a conference in November 2023.

According to The Jewish Insider, Awad said: "Yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not allowed to walk.

"Yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, had the right to defend themselves. Yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense."

In a statement responding to the comment from Abbott's office, CAIR said: "Governor Abbott cannot justify his un-American, unconstitutional attacks on the Texas Muslim community, which is why he must resort to outright slander.

"Unlike Governor Abbott — an anti-Muslim bigot and anti-Palestinian racist who supports the Israeli government's genocidal slaughter of innocent men, women and children in Gaza — our civil rights organization has consistently condemned all forms of bigotry, including antisemitism, and all violence against any civilians, including attacks on civilians on Oct. 7th."

They also sent Newsweek an article by Awad, published by media outlet RNS in December 2023, which stated: "We have always condemned violence against both Palestinian and Israeli civilians. We have repeatedly and 'unequivocally' condemned the attacks against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, as well as past attacks on Israeli civilians dating all the way back to suicide bombings that began in the 1990s."

In December 2023, CAIR published an article clarifying Awad's comments he made at the conference. It stated: "Despite my clear remarks, an anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian hate website selected remarks from my speech out of context and spliced them together to create a completely false meaning.

"What I actually said while discussing international law: Ukrainians, Palestinians and other occupied people have the right to defend themselves and escape occupation by just and legal means, but targeting civilians is never an acceptable means of doing so, which is why I have again and again condemned the violence against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7th and past Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings, all the way back to the 1990s— just as I have condemned the decades of violence against Palestinian civilians."

Awad also posted on X in December 2023: "As a Muslim and Palestinian-American, I have always stood with people facing persecution, including the Jewish community. I've spoken against antisemitism countless times, and here I was doing so at the very start of my conference appearance that later faced dishonest attacks."

What People Are Saying

The East Plano Islamic Center said in a Facebook statement: "Unfortunately, recent misinformation online and at a public hearing has led to an increase in hate and attacks on our community. We are regularly receiving hate calls and death threats.

"Our mosque leaders' personal home addresses have been shared, jeopardizing the safety of families. Due to the hateful attacks and a cease and desist letter by the Texas Funeral Service Commission, we have stopped funeral prayers for our loved ones."

East Plano Islamic Center resident scholar Yasir Qadhi said: "EPIC City is going to be a role model community of thousands of Muslims living well-integrated.

"We are 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."

What Happens Next

The EPIC City project remains in the preliminary stage and a formal planning application has not been submitted. It is unclear what impact the stringent opposition from prominent Texan Republicans will have on the plan.