EPIC City: Replacing Old Glory With The Crescent Moon?

Picture this: a Muslim-only city governed by Sharia law, beyond the reach of democratically elected officials. We’d expect this in the Middle East or North Africa. But it’s happening in Texas, and its founders call it EPIC City.

The East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) is the largest mosque in Texas and one of the largest in the United States. Last year, several members of the mosque formed Community Capital Partners LP (CCP) and announced the formation of EPIC City, a master-planned Islamic development project that “caters to the evolving needs of families [in] the Muslim community.”

After EPIC City’s plans went viral earlier this spring, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other top officials acted swiftly. “Sharia law is not allowed in Texas,” Abbott said. “Nor are Sharia cities. Nor are ‘no go zones’ which [the EPIC City] project seems to imply.”

The Texas Funeral Service Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to EPIC for operating as an unlicensed funeral home. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told them that “any construction or development…is in violation of state law and should be halted immediately.” The Texas Attorney General, State Securities Board, Workforce Commission, and Rangers each launched their own investigations. The Justice Department initiated its own federal inquiry, too.

All this unfolded in the span of about a month. But now the issue has largely faded from headlines. The Justice Department closed its short-lived investigation, noting that EPIC City was “still in the planning stage.” And this week, as the Texas Legislature convenes for a Special Session, nothing on the agenda appears to address the nascent EPIC City.

So, is it over? Nothing to see here? Was this just a flare-up fueled by online activists fear mongering about a coming caliphate in Texas?

Hardly. In fact, I believe it’s just beginning. EPIC City reflects a deeper civilizational conflict unfolding in Texas. The silence now surrounding it doesn’t show a lack of evidence of wrongdoing; rather, it shows a lack of an intellectual framework to publicly discuss a domestic culture clash.

While officials search for technical violations, ordinary Texans see something deeply wrong. Even if EPIC City survives scrutiny from a dozen government agencies, they sense something isn’t right.

Concerned Texans look to major cities in Europe where large, concentrated Muslim populations have transformed neighborhoods into Islamist ghettos.

They see similar trends in Dearborn, Michigan; Paterson, New Jersey; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

They listen to Muslim politicians like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who represent heavily Islamic districts, and hear an endless stream of anti-American vitriol.

They see groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) publicly supporting EPIC City and recall CAIR’s connections with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Free Palestine and Boycott-Divest-Sanction movements, and other anti-Israel and antisemitic causes. They worry EPIC City could become a breeding ground for radicalism.

Globally, they see Muslim-majority countries plagued by dysfunction, repression, and a stifling lack of freedom. So, when EPIC’s resident scholar Yasir Qadhi says “we’re going to be showing what it means to be a Muslim neighborhood,” they reasonably expect such a neighborhood to become a similarly disordered microcosm.

They see EPIC City already shifting its messaging under scrutiny, replacing original advertising — “we will limit sales to only persons we believe will contribute to the overall makeup of our community” — with sanitized corporate language promising “vibrant, multigenerational and inclusive master planned community.”

They look at EPIC City’s geographic isolation and all-in-one amenities and see a project intentionally designed to avoid integrating into broader American society.

They know Sharia law is illegal in America and that American law — rooted in the Western Christian tradition and Anglo common law — need not embrace every Islamic practice.

They remember the cultural upheaval following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which opened the floodgates to mass immigration after nearly a century of restricted entry and successful assimilation. The Muslim population in America was virtually nonexistent before the mid-1960s. It has since swelled to around 4 million. Texans have felt the destabilizing effects of mass migration and want less of it.

They understand that America is fundamentally a Christian nation — a nation that faithfully protects religious minorities under the First Amendment, but that remains deeply Christian in character. When Texans see their state’s largest mosque planning fully integrated, self-contained Muslim communities, they reasonably feel it doesn’t belong here.

I don’t believe these concerns stem from bigotry or hate. Texans love our neighbors and respect religious freedom. But this is different. Even if EPIC City passes every legal and regulatory test, do we really remain defenseless to protect our civilization from Islamization? I don’t think so.

So, what’s next?

First, state executive-branch agencies should remain vigilant in their investigations to stop EPIC’s plans before they take root. Remember: most sophisticated organized crime rings aren’t taken down for murder, trafficking, or the like, but for tax evasion or other process crimes.

Second, the Texas legislature should strengthen the recently-passed HB 4211, designed to “ensure developments like EPIC City are unable to impose Sharia law in Texas” and grant the attorney general stronger enforcement powers.

Lastly, Texans should speak out: We don’t want EPIC City or any Sharia enclaves here. We welcome assimilable, Western-aligned patriots of all faiths to live peacefully in our country. But we cannot abide the vision that EPIC City represents. We will not — and will never — replace Old Glory with the Crescent Moon.

Aaron Reitz is an attorney and was formerly the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy. He is currently running for Texas Attorney General.