McKinney’s Mosque Fight Moves Beyond City Hall 

A Texas congressional candidate is drawing attention in McKinney after posting a series of criticisms targeting U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Sharia survivor, and supporters of a local recall petition. 

Evan Hunt, the Democrat candidate running against Republican U.S. Rep. Keith Self in Texas’ 3rd Congressional District, has caused a stir online after responding to supporters of the McKinney City Council recall using his campaign’s X account.

On Hunt’s X account, he posted a video featuring a video of Self signing the petition. Hunt responded to the video, calling Self an “out-of-touch congressman” and accusing him of attempting to intimidate council members “into denying a mosque building plan.” 

“This isn’t left versus right. It’s about right versus wrong,” Hunt said in his video. “As a proud resident of McKinney and a proud neighbor of Muslims, here’s my message to this desperate Nazi quoter: Stay out of our local politics. You will not tread on us.” 

Self told The Daily Signal that he believes residents have a right to participate in local government “without fear of harassment, intimidation, or retaliation.”

“Regardless of someone’s position on the proposed mosque, the recall effort, or any other local issue, no American should be targeted for exercising their constitutional rights,” Self said.

He also told the Daily Signal that he’s aware that the Department of Justice has been notified about alleged intimidation measures and said he will continue standing by residents.

“These bullying tactics by the radical left are similar to those that I experience in Washington on a regular basis, but now they have come home to roost in McKinney,” Self said. “I continue to stand with the residents who are speaking up boldly and refusing to cower.”

What Sparked the Recall 

On Aug. 4, McKinney City Council members unanimously voted to approve a mosque relocation proposal, which would be operated by the McKinney Islamic Association.

The proposed site is a 5-acre tract along Virginia Parkway near two residential neighborhoods and a high school. It would include a 37,000-square-foot facility with a mosque, educational spaces, a gymnasium, and meeting rooms. It will also be designed to accommodate 3,000 people.

Residents at the meeting expressed concerns about the proposed site. Some said Sharia law is incompatible with American traditions and values, and one Iranian survivor spoke to the council and urged members to reject the proposal.

Self also spoke to the council, telling members to “honor your oath that starts with the U.S. Constitution.”

Other attendees at the meeting supported the proposal, saying the mosque and its members have been part of the community for years, and that the relocation would give a new generation the opportunity to foster community and mutual understanding.

More than a week after the meeting, a group of residents filed a petition to recall McKinney Mayor Bill Cox and Council Members Justin Beller, Geré Feltus, and Ernest Lynch.

Another Jab at Self

In another post directed at Self, Hunt addressed comments made by Self at the council meeting, where he spoke against the mosque proposal.

“The only time I’ve seen Congressman Keith Self show up at a McKinney City Council meeting was to spread fear and divide our community,” Hunt wrote. “Instead of addressing the issue before the council, Keith Self invoked stories about rapes in the UK and rumors about Dearborn, Michigan, inflaming the crowd with vague warnings and culture war talking points.”

“McKinney deserves representatives who bring people together, not politicians who show up to divide us,” Hunt added.

Hunt told the Daily Signal that Self “hasn’t offered facts to substantiate these broader fears.”

“If he has evidence of criminal activity or an actual threat to our community, he should present it to the appropriate authorities and to the public,” Hunt said. “What he should not do is use the actions of extremists elsewhere to cast suspicion on Muslim Americans here at home.”

Hunt Comments on Campaign

Hunt also said that instead of inserting himself in a municipal recall and “fueling division among his own constituents,” Self should focus on problems he “was elected to address.” 

“That is where my campaign is focused,” Hunt said. “Health care and housing are too expensive, our public schools are underfunded, and our infrastructure has not kept pace with North Texas growth. Our national debt is unsustainable. Artificial intelligence is transforming the workforce faster than government is preparing for it, while massive data centers raise legitimate concerns about electricity, water, privacy, and their impact on surrounding communities.” 

“We need sensible rules that address those problems without strangling innovation,” he added. 

Hunt Responds to Sharia Survivor

Hunt also responded to supporters of the recall. In multiple posts, Hunt took aim at local resident Eddie Isa, who says he survived living under Sharia in Iran. 

Isa spoke to council members at the Aug. 4 meeting, warning of the dangers of mosques and Sharia. 
 
“Every country that is Islamic now used to be a Christian country,” said Eddie Isa, who described himself as a survivor of Sharia from Iran. “We were soft Christians, and we allowed these people to come in, bring their Sharia law into their countries, and slowly kill us off left and right.” 

“These people will use ‘Takia’ to lie to you, to manipulate you, because whenever Islam is little, they will lie to you and tell you they come in peace. This is Level One. Level Two is what’s happening in the U.K. right now,” he added. 

Isa has been outspoken about Sharia law in the United States, speaking to Wylie ISD, the Frisco City Council, and the McKinney City Council about what he describes as the dangers Sharia law and Islam pose to the U.S. 

Isa told the Daily Signal that inside the mosques they are committed to Sharia. 

“There’s a reason why they don’t want to allow people to go in there and listen to what they have to teach,” Isa said. “They will lie to you, manipulate the truth, and not tell you the truth about Sharia law, which is … religion and state. That means for blasphemy there’s punishment. For apostasy, there’s punishment.” 

Hunt responded to Isa in multiple posts, questioning Isa’s description of himself as a Sharia survivor.

“Ah yes, it’s wannabe influencer Eddie. And no, I don’t platform bullies and bigots who claim to be ‘survivors’ of religions they willfully converted to, and then willfully converted away from,” Hunt wrote in response to Isa telling him to attend the Sept. 1 meeting. “Did I get that right? You don’t speak for people in McKinney.”

In another response to Isa, who told Hunt to stop smearing residents concerned about Islam, Hunt said Isa was attempting to “try to get famous.”

“No thanks—I’ll keep standing up for the regular people of McKinney and for the constitutional freedom of religion, not to mention innocence before proven guilt,” Hunt said. “I guess you’ll keep doing whatever you’re doing—which sure seems like demonizing billions of people to try and get famous.”

Hunt told the Daily Signal that Isa has every right to discuss his experiences, but that it does not give him the right to “assign collective guilt.”

“Mr. Isa describes himself as a “Sharia law survivor” who left Iran as a child. His experiences are his own and he has every right to discuss them. They do not give him the right to assign collective guilt to American Muslims who had nothing to do with what happened to him,” Hunt said. “I will stand against prejudice and bigotry just as firmly as I will stand against religious extremism in any form.”

Isa told the Daily Signal that Hunt is “clueless as to what Islam is,” and noted his own experience as someone who studied the religion for 12 years and “lived under Islamic theocracy.”

“When he’s trying to tell me, who lived under Islamic theocracy, is that I don’t have the right to tell what’s going on, when I see exactly what’s been happening for the 1,400 years, about the conquest and how the crusades started. …But nobody wants to talk about that,” Isa added.

Hunt said his primary concern with Isa is that he said he would “ruin my career,” told him to “get the f— out of Texas,” and made a vulgar sexual comment about his wife

“If you make a public practice of judging and criticizing others, you should be prepared to have your own rhetoric challenged,” Hunt said. “I will not be intimidated out of defending the constitutional rights of people in my community.”

Isa moved from California to Texas and said he fears that it will turn into another New York or Dearborn, Michigan.

“People like that [Hunt] are the biggest virus in Texas. I left California because of people like him,” Isa said. “I’m not going to let people like him turn Texas into another hellhole.”

Isa then challenged Hunt to live in an Islamic country.

“If he thinks he has the good version of Islam, why doesn’t he go and preach to the Muslims over there? If he had the guts to actually go and run for anything over there,” Isa told The Daily Signal.

Hunt Defends His Position 

Hunt emphasized to the Daily Signal that he has “no problem with McKinney residents supporting a recall, questioning what expansion is best for their community, challenging religious extremism, criticizing me, or exercising their First Amendment rights.”

He did, however, say that he takes issue with people who go from one City Council meeting to another “stirring up fear and conflict in communities where they do not live.”

Hunt added that he fought in the U.S. military alongside Muslim Americans.

“Muslim Americans are our neighbors, coworkers, business owners, parents, veterans, and members of our communities,” Hunt said. “They are entitled to exactly the same constitutional protections as every other American.”

Isa told The Daily Signal that the people who live next door to Muslims are afraid because of Sharia.

“Those next door neighbors are fearing apostasy, because they know the minute they become apostates, their life is in danger,” Isa said.

Petitioners have until Sept. 26 to collect 5,805 signatures, which is equivalent to 30% of the turnout in the last general election.

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