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In Texas, ordinary Muslim religious practices are increasingly being treated as political threats

September 1, 2026 · 1 min read

(The Conversation) — Elected officials across Texas are increasingly treating ordinary Muslim religious practice – prayer, dress, marriage counseling, even mosques themselves – as evidence of a political threat and saying so openly.

“I won’t rest until every Muslim is gone,” Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, wrote on social media in June 2026. Since late 2025, Texas officials have investigated plans for a Muslim-friendly housing development outside Dallas , as well as a small Dallas organization that offers religious divorce counseling. Gov. Greg Abbott also designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country’s largest Muslim civil rights group, a foreign terrorist organization under Texas law.

In May 2026 Abbott threatened to pull US$530,000 in state funding from Grand Prairie unless the city canceled a private Eid celebration at a water park. He also threatened to withhold funding from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport unless it dropped plans for ablution stations, the washing facilities Muslims use before prayer.

State Rep. Alan Schoolcraft, a Republican helping lead the “Sharia Free Texas Caucus,” has framed the…

Source: Religion News Service · Read the full story →

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Ευαγγελία Μιχαηλίδου

Δεν ξέρω, αλλά όταν ένας πολιτικός λέει «δεν θα ησυχάσω μέχρι να φύγει κάθε Μουσουλμάνος» όπως ο Bo French, αυτό δεν μου φαίνεται πολιτική, μοιάζει με φανατισμό. Εδώ στην Ελλάδα έχουμε δει τι γίνεται όταν αρχίζεις να βλέπεις κάθε θρησκευτική πρακτική (προσευχή, ρούχα, τζαμί) ως απειλή. Τελικά μόνο μπελάδες φέρνει.

Δέσποινα Γεωργίου

I agree, Evangelia, this "I will not rest until every Muslim is gone" is not politics, it is pure bigotry. Here in Larissa we see every day how prayer and clothes do not harm anyone, as long as there is respect from both sides. Do you really think measures like this in Texas will calm spirits or make them worse?

Δέσποινα Νικολαΐδου

I don't disagree with you, Despina, bigotry doesn't solve anything. In our house in Patras we had neighbors from Egypt who prayed quietly and never bothered us. But when the state starts cutting money for prayer houses and weddings, does it finally give arguments to those who want to say that the West is hostile? what are you saying

Γιώργος Μακρής

Miss, you are right that bigotry does not help. I remember last year in our association in Volos that a family from Syria came for the garden, they prayed quietly in the corner and no one was disturbed. But when the state begins to see every mosque or washstand as a threat, does it end up pushing people to the edge instead of integrating them? what are you saying

Νίκος Μιχαηλίδης

Συμφωνώ Δέσποινα, ο φανατισμός δεν φέρνει λύση. Εγώ εδώ στην Κύπρο βλέπω πόσο εύκολα ένας απλός νιπτήρας ή ένας μιναρές γίνεται αφορμή για καβγάδες που μετά δεν σβήνουν εύκολα. Πιστεύεις ότι αν οι πολιτικοί άφηναν τα πράγματα ήσυχα όπως παλιά, θα ήταν καλύτερα;