U.S.: Texas

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Concerns around Holy Land Foundation trial resurface after arrest of Muslim activist 'There was no way for Marwan — or the thousands who donated and volunteered alongside him — to know that HLF would later be accused of prohibited activities,' said a statement from the Muslim Legal Fund of America.

October 3, 2025   

(Religion News) Advocates raised concerns about what they see as the Trump administration’s efforts to criminalize pro-Palestinian activism at the Arab Convention in Dearborn, Michigan, last weekend. The arrest of Marwan Marouf, a Dallas Muslim community leader placed in United States Immigration […]

Government & Politics

Florida congressman introduces bill to ban Sharia law: ‘We are not going to become a Muslim nation’ 'If you want to live under Sharia, return to where you came from.'

September 19, 2025   

(Daily Wire) Florida Congressman Randy Fine and Texas Rep. Keith Self on Friday introduced legislation that would ensure that Sharia law cannot be implemented anywhere in the United States. The “No Shari’a Act” would prohibit the application of Sharia “where such application […]

Government & Politics

Texas agency reaches deal to end fair housing probe against EPIC City developer It’s the second investigation tied to the project that’s ended.

September 18, 2025   

(Dallas Morning News) The Texas Workforce Commission has settled a Fair Housing Act complaint against the developers of EPIC City, a planned Muslim-centric community northeast of Dallas. The state agency reached a settlement with developer Community Capital Partners on Tuesday, according to […]

Alcohol & Drugs

Houston imam caught on video issuing Sharia-law ultimatums to businesses Masjid At-Tawhid mosque leader gives store owners 30-day ultimatum to stop selling Islam-prohibited alcohol, pork, and lottery tickets or face consequences

September 8, 2025   

(Jewish Onliner) Amy Mek, founder and editor-in-chief of the RAIR Foundation, broke a story on Sunday exposing what she characterizes as “Sharia patrol” activities emerging in Houston, Texas. The investigation centers on Masjid At-Tawhid, a mosque located in Houston’s Fifth Ward, and […]

Government & Politics

DHS pulls funding from groups with ‘alleged terrorist ties’ after watchdog report Review follows Middle East Forum report claiming $25M in grants went to terror-linked groups between 2013-2023

August 20, 2025   

(Fox) The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reviewing federal security grants for Muslim groups with “alleged terrorist ties” after a new report linked past funding to “extremist” organizations. According to a DHS document obtained by Fox News Digital, 49 projects “with […]

Government & Politics

Report: More than $25m in US Homeland Security grants went to radical groups with terror ties The Middle East Forum identified 'misuse of taxpayer dollars on a grand scale,' the think tank’s executive director told JNS.

July 23, 2025   

(JNS) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent more than $25 million to extremist groups with ties to Islamist terror groups between 2013 and 2023, according to a new report from the Middle East Forum. Gregg Roman, executive director of the think […]

Crime

WLBT finds watchlisted Iranian national arrested in Mississippi tied to past assault allegations Man labeled ‘suspected terrorist’ by DHS owned property in Madison County since 2013

June 25, 2025   

(WLBT) An Iranian man described as a suspected terrorist by federal authorities had been under scrutiny in Texas years earlier for allegedly attacking his wife, according to court records obtained exclusively by 3 On Your Side. Moreover, Yousef Mehridehno’s designation as a […]

Cemeteries & Funerals

Family alleges Texas mosque refused to perform funeral for gay Muslim man A Houston family is suing the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, alleging the nonprofit refused to perform contracted religious services for a gay Muslim man on the day he was buried.

June 25, 2025   

(Houston Chronicle) It was the day of the funeral. Yasmin Al-Zibdeh was home with her two sisters and mom, waiting for a phone call from their dad to tell them to come down to the mosque. She thought members of the Islamic Society […]

Christians

Major pro-Israel summit in Dallas area canceled due to security threats 'Law enforcement was completely cooperative but the threats were of a nature that required cancellation,' wrote David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, who was slated to speak at the event.

June 5, 2025   

(JNS) A major pro-Israel conference slated to begin in four days in the Dallas area that had 1,000 committed attendees postponed the event “indefinitely,” citing “escalating terror threats.” The decision came after organizers had already changed venues for the Israel Summit, which […]

Christians

Multifaith community leaders condemn EPIC City probes at North Texas news conference Spokespeople for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Jewish Voice for Peace, along with a Christian minister, call heightened scrutiny of a Muslim-centric neighborhood evidence of Islamophobia.

April 8, 2025   

(Dallas Morning News) Muslim, Jewish and Christian community leaders gathered for a news conference Tuesday morning to condemn the slew of recent investigations into Muslim-centric neighborhood EPIC City. EPIC City, currently the subject of at least five investigations announced by Texas politicians, […]

Immigration

Iraqi man, with former refugee status in US, admits to providing material support to ISIS The man was said to have used his knowledge of technology to send instructional videos to ISIS members on how to hack computers, steal credit card information and construct fake documents.

March 8, 2025   

(Jerusalem Post) Abdulrahman Mohammed Hafedh Alqaysi, a 28-year-old Iraqi national who gained legal permanent residence in Texas after receiving refugee status, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, the US Justice Department announced on Friday. Alqaysi was […]

Clerics & Preachers

They dream of building Muslim-centric neighborhoods near Dallas. Will it work? The developments are facing questions from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and commenters on social media.

February 24, 2025 and   

(Dallas Morning News) For the members of one of North Texas’ largest mosques, the 402-acre tract of land that straddles Collin and Hunt counties is the start of a dream. The East Plano Islamic Center’s members hope the dream will materialize in […]

Clerics & Preachers

An Islamic enclave in Texas? The urban project that could impose Sharia law near Dallas There are fears that the project would implement a governance model based on Islamic principles that could conflict with the U.S. legal and cultural framework.

February 18, 2025   

(Voz) In Texas, an ambitious urban development project has triggered intense debate. It is EPIC City, a planned community near Dallas that, according to its promoters, will follow Sharia or Islamic law. The initiative, led by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) and […]

Academics & Education

‘It’s a gut punch’: Muslim group calls on Houston ISD to reinstate Eid al-Fitr as school holiday Houston ISD’s 2025-26 calendar does not include a day off for Eid al-Fitr, one of two major holidays for Muslims. The district had implemented a school holiday for Eid in 2023.

February 18, 2025   

(Houston Public Media) Houston ISD’s calendar for next school year does not include a holiday for Eid al-Fitr — one of the biggest celebrations in the Islamic faith — and a local Muslim organization is calling on the district to reinstate it. […]

Context

Chemical used for explosives found in Texas storage locker linked to New Orleans attacker, authorities say Bottles of sulfuric acid were found in a unit northwest of Houston during a search by the FBI and the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

January 7, 2025 , and   

(NBC) A common chemical used for explosives was discovered in a Texas storage locker linked to the Army veteran who killed 14 people and injured more than two dozen others when he plowed into New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, law enforcement […]

Context

‘I joined ISIS’: The New Orleans attacker’s secret radicalization Recordings and interviews detail Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s growing discontent with American society and increasing isolation even within his local Muslim community.

January 4, 2025 , , and   

(NY Times) His electric truck was already headed toward New Orleans, traveling from his trailer home outside Houston and past the twinkling oil refineries to the east, when Shamsud-Din Jabbar began capturing a video on his phone in the dark. “I wanted […]

Clerics & Preachers

At New Orleans terrorist’s local mosque, imam says Hitler killed Jews ‘because of the economy thing, they were in control of the economy’ Jews 'have many problems, but that's one of the main problems — they like to take control of the economy,' Eiad Soudan said during 2023 event

January 2, 2025   

(Free Beacon) Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the Islamic terrorist who killed 14 people in the New Year’s Eve attack on New Orleans, lived near a Houston mosque led by a radical imam who once preached that Hitler massacred Jews because “they like to take […]

Holidays

Refer FBI to CAIR, New Orleans attacker’s local mosque tells members 'It is deeply troubling and wrong for this local Houston mosque to refer all questions to CAIR, a Jew-hating group which praised other Islamist terrorist attacks,' Morton Klein told JNS.

January 2, 2025   

(JNS) Masjid Bilal, the local Houston mosque near the home of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, has been receiving a good deal of unwanted press attention since the 42-year-old drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, […]

Clerics & Preachers

Hotel in Texas to host two speakers tied to Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood One of the speakers had previously nearly been denied US citizenship over his links with Hamas and the [MB].

November 20, 2024   

(Jerusalem Post) The Hilton hotel in Houston Westchase is hosting an event featuring two speakers with reported ties to terror organizations, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. The event — named “From horror to hope: A benefit event for Gaza aid” — […]

Interfaith

FBI: Man admits to planning terror attack from his Houston-area apartment, arrest captured on video The FBI said 28-year-old Anas Said bragged that he would commit a '9/11-style' attack and worked with ISIS in a plot to kill former President George W. Bush.

November 14, 2024   

(KHOU) FBI Houston on Thursday announced the arrest of a man they say tried to provide support to ISIS and admitted to planning a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Documents show he was also connected to a plot to harm former President […]

Legal

Daniel Khalife entered ‘new phase’ of spying when he was on exercise in the US, court hears Daniel Khalife is accused of spending two years passing secrets to the Iranians while serving with the Royal Corps of Signals, but denies the charges.

November 13, 2024   

(Sky News) Daniel Khalife, the former soldier accused of spying for Iran, entered a “new phase” of his relationship with his handlers during a series of calls from a base in the US, a court has heard. Khalife told his trial his […]