Republicans are pushing back against a massive Muslim-dominated housing development in North Texas called EPIC community, with concerns about “Sharia law” leading to a Department of Justice investigation into the development and a massive wave of controversy online.
For background, EPIC City, a 402-acre in-progress development 40 miles northeast of Dallas, Texas, has come under scrutiny for appearing to be exclusively Muslim, leading Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn (R) to initiate criminal probes into the development based on speculation that it was becoming a so-called “Sharia city,” which enforces fundamentalist Islamic tenets rather than the laws of the land.
Notably, Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote a viral X post on February 24, 2025, condemning the EPIC community. He wrote, “To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas,” adding, “Nor are Sharia cities. Nor are ‘no go zones’ which this project seems to imply.” The governor concluded, “Bottom line. The project…is not allowed in Texas.”
After Gov. Abbott weighed in on the EPIC community online, commenters were polarized. X user Shibli Zaman wrote, “You don’t even know what ‘Sharia’ is, clown. As long as people observe state laws and regulations, and get the required permits, they can build houses wherever they want.” On the other hand, Republican congressional candidate Valentina Gomez said, “They have 56 Muslims (sic) nations, they can enjoy their Sharia law there.”
In addition, in April 2025, Gov. Abbott appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” and announced a criminal probe into the EPIC community, saying, “We’ve even received information that they may have been conducting a funeral home without legal authority.” The governor added, “We had to call the elite Texas Rangers.”
Moreover, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi calling for an investigation into the EPIC community, saying, “A master-planned ‘community of thousands of Muslims’ could violate the constitutional rights of Jewish and Christian Texans, by preventing them from living in this new community and discriminating against them within the community.”
Continuing his comments on the community, Sen. Cornyn called for the DOJ to investigate “whether Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslim minorities would receive equal protection under the law in this new community.” He added, “Religious discrimination, whether explicit or implicit, is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our nation’s values, and I am concerned this community potentially undermines this vital protection.”
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Importantly, the DOJ did, in fact, conduct a civil rights investigation into EPIC City, with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon writing a letter on June 13, 2025, confirming that Community Capital Partners, the corporate entity behind EPIC, had “affirmed that all will be welcome in any future development, and that you plan to revise and develop marketing materials to reinforce that message consistent with your obligations under the Fair Housing Act.”
Featured image credit: Shutterstock