A privately organized Muslim holiday celebration scheduled at a city-owned water park here has been canceled after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to strip the city of more than half a million dollars in state funding unless officials called off the event.
The annual DFW Epic Eid celebration was planned by a local Islamic group at the city-owned Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark for June 1. Promotional flyers circulated online described the event as “Muslim only,” sparking controversy and drawing the attention of Mr. Abbott’s office.
Mr. Abbott labeled the event religious discrimination and told Grand Prairie to cancel the booking or repay roughly $530,000 in state grants by Monday. In a letter to Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen, Mr. Abbott drew a sharp comparison: “An event at a city-owned pool that was publicly and indiscriminately advertised as ’Whites only’ would surely violate the Constitution.” He also cited HB 4211, a recently signed Texas law aimed at preventing religiously exclusive communities and related discriminatory practices.
The city moved quickly. “After further review and in the best interest of the City of Grand Prairie, the June 1 Eid event at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark has been canceled,” the city said in a statement.
Event organizer Dr. Aminah Knight, who launched DFW Epic Eid two years ago, pushed back on the characterization of the gathering as exclusionary. She said the original “Muslim only” wording was not intended to shut people out, and organizers updated the language to emphasize modest dress and to welcome friends of different faiths who followed that code. The event’s updated website stated that women attendees were required to wear burkinis and men swim trunks and shirts.
In a statement, Dr. Knight said the flyer had originally been shared within private community spaces before being circulated more broadly by those “not interested in attending, but rather in creating division and controversy.”
The governor’s office maintained that the cancellation was necessary to prevent discrimination, while community members debated whether the event was ever intended to exclude anyone.
Despite the cancellation, Dr. Knight said she plans to organize an interfaith “Great American Cookout” on the Fourth of July, bringing together people of different faiths and backgrounds.
“Although this experience has been painful, my faith teaches me that within every difficulty there is ease,” she said in a statement provided to Fox 4.
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