Muslim Community’s Texas Religious Lawsuit to Proceed

A religious freedom lawsuit filed by the East Plano Islamic Center, better known as EPIC, against the state of Texas was allowed to proceed by a federal judge in the Western District of Texas.

Previously, the state had moved to dismiss the claim. The lawsuit, centered around preventing Muslim funeral rites being performed at 4700 14th Street in Plano, will now continue to make its way through the courts, according to Texas Monthly.

A story from the outlet earlier this month detailed how Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office took a puzzlingly large role in a routine funeral commission’s regulatory case against EPIC. It’s been over a year since the Texas funeral commission filed a cease and desist with abnormal inflammatory language, and no violations have been found by investigations.

The order demanded that the mosque cease performing traditional funeral rites on the grounds that it was performing them without a license.

Since the cease and desist, Abbott and other Texas Republicans have claimed that EPIC and a proposed master-planned community, called The Meadow, which includes upwards of 1,000 proposed residential units, are working to institute Sharia law in Texas. A U.S. Department of Justice probe found no malfeasance concerning the pair, but plans for the development have stalled as a legal battle drags on.

In July 2025, EPIC filed a lawsuit against the state, contending that the order was an unconstitutional prohibition on traditional religious practices. The state, along with Attorney General Ken Paxton, have been pushing to dismiss the lawsuit, which will now continue.

Paxton, in particular, has been aggressive in pursuing the community, filing three lawsuits against it over the course of the past year. The most recent lawsuit came just days after a judge sided with the community, and alleges that the board of a municipal utility district tied to The Meadow violated state open meetings laws.

In previous comments, the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations praised the decision to dismiss a Paxton lawsuit, calling the state’s actions a “witch hunt.”

— Hunter Cooke