Islamic city planned for Texas hires ex-Paxton attorney to defuse Sharia law concerns

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) in late March directed the Texas Rangers, the Texas State Securities Board, and the Texas Workforce Commission to launch investigations into the East Plano Islamic Center concerning its plans to develop a Muslim-centric city on 402 acres near Josephine, roughly 40 miles outside Dallas.

The development would reportedly feature a mosque, a K-12 faith-based school, an outreach center, commercial developments, sports facilities, and 1,000 homes, townhomes, and apartments.

'There definitely could be an argument that there's conflict because I'm still being represented by him and he's representing clients that we are investigating.'

The proposed city has ignited fears within the surrounding community that it will implement Sharia law and potentially ultimately lead to a "no-go zone."

State investigations

Abbott has repeatedly expressed concerns about the planned community.

In February, Abbott stated in a post on social media, "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," the governor concluded, referring to EPIC's promotional clip advertising the plans.

The Texas Funeral Service Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to EPIC in March, demanding that it "immediately stop all illegal funeral service operations."

According to Abbott, EPIC had been operating a funeral home without an established license in violation of state law.

Abbott announced on April 1 that EPIC "may not begin construction" on its community, stating that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality discovered it had failed to obtain required "authorizations or permits."

The governor insisted that EPIC City "has serious legal issues" and announced that a dozen state agencies are looking into the proposed community.

The governor tasked the Texas Rangers with investigating EPIC "for potential criminal activities." The Texas Workforce Commission is probing "potential discrimination in violation of the Texas Fair Housing Act." The Texas State Securities Board is looking into any "potential financial harm to Texans." Additionally, state Attorney General Ken Paxton is examining "potential violations of Texas consumer protection laws."

"Texas vigorously safeguards the freedoms granted to American citizens in the U.S. Constitution, including the freedom of religion," Abbott said. "To that end, the Texas Workforce Commission opened an investigation into the group behind the proposed EPIC compound who are potentially breaking state fair housing laws by refusing to sell or rent housing to certain groups based on religion or other protected traits."

Texans share concerns

The RAIR Foundation USA was among the first to begin sounding the alarm about EPIC and its proposed city.

Amy Mek, the founder and editor in chief of the RAIR Foundation, warned that the project is not just "a housing development."

"It's the expansion of a Sharia-controlled society, starting with the radical school already operating at the EPIC Mosque in Plano, Texas," Mek wrote. "Now, EPIC is scaling up — EPIC City will operate with no city oversight, no state-controlled curriculum, and no accountability to American laws."

'No one associated with EPIC … follows Sharia law or is in favor of Sharia law.'

Many residents in Blue Ridge, a city roughly 20 miles away from Josephine, voiced their concerns about the proposed development during a recent city council meeting.

Douglas Deaton, a former police lieutenant in Plano, stated that a Sharia law enclave existed in Texas long before EPIC proposed its city plans.

"There seems to be a general misunderstanding that we're talking about a plan to build an Islamic, Sharia-friendly community. The EPIC neighborhood already exists in Plano. It's been there for nearly 12 years. With 74 residential properties, a massive mosque, schools, a medical clinic, and multiple businesses," he told the city council. "You have to be a member of their mosque to live there."

"This is not a matter of radicals hiding in plain sight; they're not hiding. They've been open about their beliefs and their intent," Deaton added.

On Wednesday, Paxton spoke with Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck about the governor's actions against EPIC, revealing interesting new details about the controversy.

"We're not going to sacrifice [our constitution] for Sharia law. It's just not going to happen in Texas," Paxton told Beck. "At the same time, we want to be cognizant that people have a right to have their own religion, and we respect that."

Paxton explained that the community cannot discriminate against potential residents based on religion, noting that doing so would violate housing laws.

He stated that he recently learned that the attorney representing EPIC City's developers, Dan Cogdell, is the same lawyer who previously defended him against impeachment. Paxton was acquitted of all charges in 2023.

The AG called it "a little concerning" that he was not made aware of that fact sooner.

"There definitely could be an argument that there's conflict because I'm still being represented by him and he's representing clients that we are investigating," Paxton told Beck.

EPIC responds

EPIC has denied claims that its proposed community will disregard state and federal laws to implement Sharia law.

Cogdell accused Abbott of spreading lies about the planned city, claiming that the project is "the victim of racial profiling."

"These aren't foreign adversaries. These are Texans. These are Americans. These are United States citizens," Cogdell told KTVT last week. "No one associated with EPIC, no one associated with that community follows Sharia law or is in favor of Sharia law."

Cogdell had a message for Abbott.

"Quit tweeting lies, false information, and nonsense. Because my clients right now, what they are doing is they are suffering from essentially gubernatorial hate speech," he stated.

Cogdell reportedly told KTVK that his clients have received "dozens of death threats." As a result, the developers were "too scared to go on camera," according to the news outlet.

When reached for comment, the governor's office referred KTVK to previously released statements.

Beck was offered an opportunity to speak with the project's developer on Thursday, only to discover that Cogdell had been tapped to talk on their behalf. Upon realizing this, Beck canceled, insisting that he wanted a candid conversation with the developer, not the attorney. The developer signaled interest in rescheduling for next week.

During Thursday's radio show, Beck stated, "I got an email from somebody who said, 'You know, you should talk to the developer directly.'"

The email read, "Given the amount of misinformation circulating, it might be beneficial to speak directly with the landowner developer to ensure accuracy."

"So I said yes to that on the program," Beck stated. "Then I find out that it's the lawyer. Well, what happened to the directly to the landowner developer? So they said he'll be prepared for our conversation sometime next week."

"I don't have anything bad to say about the developer if it's all on the up and up," he added. "It's just, there's some things about this, the people that are engaged in it, that are a little disturbing."

The developer did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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