Muslim Texans say Epic Eid cancellation signals growing Islamophobia
In Emad Salem’s Euless subdivision, he takes his Christian neighbors Arab desserts for Eid, and in return, they bring him treats around Christmastime.
“It has always been good, and I have always felt comfortable and accepted as a businessman involved in politics and civics,” Salem said about his time as a Muslim man in Tarrant County. However, he said that recent attacks from politicians cause him to worry about his wife and two daughters, all Hijabi women.
Last week, an event planned to celebrate the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha at Epic Waters water park in Grand Prairie was canceled after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to revoke state funding from the city if it allowed the event to occur.
A spokesperson for Abbott said that every Texan, regardless of their religious beliefs, is “entitled to equal treatment in public spaces.”
Several Muslims in the community believe that may be the case for certain religions, but not for Islam. Salman Bhojani was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2022, and became the first Muslim elected to the Texas legislature. Following the cancellation of the event, he and 41 other Texas legislators sent a letter to Abbott demanding he withdraw his threat.
“Your office is using state financial power to manufacture a discrimination accusation and to single out Muslim Texans for treatment that no other faith community in this state would face,” the letter read.
Asma Uddin is an attorney who serves as a fellow for religious freedom for the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan group dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms. Uddin is the author of “When Islam is not a Religion” where she documented scenarios in which Muslim communities were treated differently than other religions.
“Every other religious community, primarily Christian communities, you could be doing exactly the same thing, but it was not a source of suspicion,” Uddin said.
The Epic Eid event initially raised backlash due to language on the original flyer that read “Muslims only.” In response to the feedback, organizers changed the verbiage to clarify it was just modest dress only.
Despite the change, Abbott still demanded the event be canceled, and hours later, it was.
For Salem, the cancellation did not come as a surprise, as he said things like this have been happening to the Muslim community for “quite some time,” beginning with the Council on American-Islamic Relations being designated as a foreign terrorist group.
Last year, Abbott designated CAIR, a Muslim advocacy and civil rights group, as a foreign terrorist group. Texas and Florida are the only two states that have made this distinction, and the group has not been recognized as an foreign terrorist group by the federal government.
“They made a valuable civil rights organization into a boogeyman,” Salem said.
As a father of four sons, Zeeshan Hafeez, who previously ran to represent the 33rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, said he worries about the message that the cancellation of Muslim celebrations and discrimination toward Islam will send to his children.
Hafeez also pointed to recent legislation passed by Abbott banning Sharia compounds from forming in Texas. Two weeks later, the “No Sharia Act” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. “Sharia” in Arabic directly translates to “law” and is often used as a guide of personal religious practices for Muslims. During his Congressional run, he was asked if he planned to implement Sharia Law.
“The only thing I would hold myself to is the Constitution of the United States, but it shows the ignorance and Islamophobia that’s growing in this country,” Hafeez said.
Both Hafeez and Salem hope that situations like this will lead to conversation and understanding between Muslims and non-Muslim communities.
“We want to be a part of the American fabric. We feel like we’re just as American as anyone else. We are deeply woven into that fabric,” Hafeez said.