The Texas political debate over Islam is moving beyond inflammatory campaign rhetoric and into government policy governing schools, property, public facilities and access to state programs.
Muslim leaders and civil-rights advocates contend that the combined actions represent government hostility toward one faith. State officials say they are protecting taxpayers, preventing discrimination and confronting extremist ideologies.
The State Board of Education recently approved social-studies standards requiring high school students to examine “the teachings of jihad” and the “rise of radical Islam,” including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, the Sept. 11 attacks and ISIS.
Critics say this language risks presenting Islam itself as a security threat. Supporters argue that students cannot understand modern terrorism without studying the ideologies invoked by extremist organizations. The standards are scheduled to enter classrooms beginning in the 2033–34 school year.
The First Amendment requires government neutrality toward religion. Constitutional concerns could arise if classroom materials promote Christianity while portraying Islam as inherently violent or inferior.
A dispute at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport illustrates a similar disagreement over religious accommodation. DFW considered adding two ablution facilities, which are low washing fixtures that allow Muslim travelers to wash their feet safely before prayer.
Airport officials said the proposal would cost roughly $120,000 and use airport revenue, not general tax dollars. However, Gov. Greg Abbott called the proposal religious favoritism and ordered a review of state grants to DFW and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, which also has ablution facilities.
DFW abandoned the expansion, citing uncertain operational benefits. Abbott subsequently requested a federal investigation, while Muslim advocates argued that the facilities were permissible accommodations comparable to airport chapels, kosher meals or nursing rooms.
The conflict has also reached Texas’ new $1 billion school-voucher program, formally called Texas Education Freedom Accounts. Eligible families can receive approximately $10,400 per student for private-school tuition, including tuition at religious schools.
More than 20 Islamic schools were initially excluded despite assertions that they met the program’s accreditation requirements.
State officials cited possible connections to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, which Abbott designated a “foreign terrorist organization” under state authority. CAIR denies supporting terrorism, and the federal government has not designated the organization as a terrorist group.
Parents and Islamic schools filed federal lawsuits alleging religious discrimination. A judge ordered Texas to extend its application period, and at least four Islamic schools were subsequently admitted to the program. The larger legal dispute remains unresolved.
The exclusions present a significant First Amendment question. The Supreme Court has ruled that once a state offers tuition assistance to private schools, it generally may not exclude otherwise eligible schools solely because of their religious identity or instruction.
Texas has also enacted restrictions affecting large residential developments after Abbott described EPIC City, a proposed Muslim-centered community near Dallas, as a “Sharia compound.”
Project officials maintain that the development would follow American law and remain open without regard to religion. A federal civil rights investigation closed without charges, although state scrutiny continued.
Taken separately, state officials say each action has a secular justification. Taken together, critics argue they establish a pattern in which Muslim religious practices and institutions receive a degree of suspicion not directed at other faiths.
Guest:
Sameeha Rizvi is the policy and advocacy coordinator for the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR.
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