Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the East Plano Islamic Center, a large Dallas-area mosque affiliated with a Muslim-centric neighborhood being developed in North Texas, must cease and desist all funeral service operations.
Abbott said in a news release that the mosque is operating a funeral home without an establishment license in violation of a Texas law that lays out the requirements for licensed funeral services.
“The group behind the proposed East Plano Islamic Center compound in Collin County is knowingly breaking state law in many ways, including by operating a funeral home without a license,” Abbott said. “This is a crime, and it will not be tolerated.”
Abbott’s representatives declined to provide further details.
The mosque’s board of directors did not respond to an email request and a call to its current board president was not immediately returned.
EPIC says on its website that it partners with Rahma Funeral Home to provide funeral services. “Rahma is approved/licensed by the State of Texas and has been operated by a licensed Funeral Director since August 11, 2004,” according to the website.
The Wednesday news release included a copy of the letter Abbott said was sent to EPIC. The letter said the Texas Funeral Service Commission was making a criminal referral to the Collin County District Attorney.
“The East Plano Islamic Center is not licensed with the Texas Funeral Service Commission,” according to Sarah Sanders, the commission’s staff attorney. “The establishment is unlawfully functioning as a funeral establishment without the requisite licensing in violation of Tex. Occ. Code § 651.351.
The investigation into further violations is ongoing.”
“Texas will continue to defend our communities from any threats posed by EPIC City,” Abbott said.
EPIC City is a planned development of more than 1,000 homes, a K-12 faith-based school, a mosque, elderly and assisted living, apartments, clinics, retail shops, a community college and sports fields just outside the town of Josephine, about 40 minutes northeast of downtown Dallas.
“EPIC City is going to be a role model community of thousands of Muslims living well-integrated,” Yasir Qadhi, resident scholar at the East Plano Islamic Center, said while giving an update on the projects at EPIC in February.
“We are not forming a cult. We’re not forming big barriers between the rest of society,” he said. “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.”
In February, Abbott posted about the development projects on X: “To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas. Nor are Sharia cities. Nor are ‘no go zones’ which this project seems to imply. Bottom line: The project as proposed in the video is not allowed in Texas.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office is investigating whether the development project violates Texas consumer protection laws, according to a March 25 news release. Paxton is seeking information relevant to that investigation.
“Under my watch, there will be zero tolerance for any person or entity that breaks Texas law,” Paxton said in the release.
Representatives for Paxton did not immediately provide more details regarding the investigation.
The East Plano Islamic Center created Community Capital Partners LP, a for-profit entity, to manage the EPIC City project. Imran Chaudhary, president of Community Capital Partners, told The News in a statement that the group will work with Paxton’s office.
“We understand that there has been a lot of rumor-milling and misinformation circulated by many who are uninformed,” he said. “We look forward to working with the Attorney General to ensure that we are in legal compliance every step of the way and educating the broader community about our project.”
Staff writer Nick Wooten contributed to this report.
Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.
