A Travis County judge just ruled that construction can resume on a 402-acre Muslim-centric planned city about 40 miles northeast of Dallas. The project was originally called “East Plano Islamic Center” — EPIC, for short — but they’ve since rebranded it as “The Meadow” because apparently the first name was a little too on-the-nose for the PR team. Governor Abbott took one look at the ruling and basically said: not in my state, not on my watch.
Because nothing says “totally normal residential development” like having to change your name to hide what you actually are.
Judge Amy Meachum ordered the Texas Workforce Commission to comply with an agreement the developers claim was already in place. The TWC immediately said they’d appeal, citing an ongoing HUD investigation into potential fair housing violations. You know, the kind of investigation you launch when a housing project might be designed to exclude people based on religion. Minor detail.
The developers say they “repeatedly denied” accusations of implementing Sharia law or creating exclusionary zones for non-Muslims. Great. They also said the community would operate under Texas and U.S. law. Even better. But here’s the thing — when you name your project after an Islamic center, buy 402 acres in rural Collin and Hunt counties, and market it as a faith-based community, people are going to have questions. Reasonable questions. The kind of questions that CAIR immediately called an “Islamophobic witch hunt” because that’s the only play in their book.
Ah yes, CAIR. They released a statement calling the ruling “a powerful affirmation that the rule of law prevails over Islamophobic witch hunts and politically driven regulatory harassment.” Translation: “We won in an Austin courtroom and we’d like everyone who disagrees with us to shut up now.”
(Spoiler: we will not be shutting up.)
Governor Abbott didn’t mince words. He made it crystal clear that this project will not move forward under his watch. And unlike some governors we could name — looking at you, Gavin — when Abbott draws a line, he tends to mean it. This is the same governor who put razor wire on the border when the federal government wouldn’t, bused illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities until the mayors screamed uncle, and told the Supreme Court “come and take it” over border enforcement.
So yeah. A Travis County judge says build. The Governor of Texas says no. We know how this ends.
The real story here isn’t even about religion. It’s about a pattern we keep seeing — an unelected judge in a liberal county making decisions that override what the actual citizens of Texas want. Nobody in Collin County voted for a 402-acre planned community based around a single religious identity. Nobody in Hunt County asked for it. But one judge in Austin said it’s happening, and we’re all supposed to accept it.
That’s not how Texas works. That’s not how America works.
The TWC is appealing. Abbott is pushing back. And the developers can rebrand their project from “EPIC” to “The Meadow” to “Sunshine Happy Funtime Village” for all anyone cares — the questions aren’t going away just because you changed the sign out front.
When you have the Governor of Texas, a pending HUD investigation, and an active appeal all pushing against your project, maybe — just maybe — the Travis County judge who greenlit the whole thing doesn’t get the last word.
But at least CAIR got to use the word “Islamophobic” in a press release. So there’s that.