AUSTIN: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has officially signed House Bill 4211, a new law aimed at preventing religiously exclusive housing development, such as the controversial Epic City project in Collin County.
The bill prohibits the creation of so-called Sharia connections and protects Texans from discrimination and false housing practices.
The ceremonial signature took place on Friday afternoon in McKinney, where state and local leaders joined Governor Abbott, including congressman Keith Self, Senator Angela Paxton, Representative Jeff Leach, representative Candy Noble, representative Katrina Pierson, representative Keresa Richardson and representative Matt Shaheen.
In a speech at the event, Governor Abbott said the legislation addresses two key questions: religious freedom and the right to contract.
“Freedom of religion is a cornerstone of the Texas Constitution,” he said.
Abbott also explained that epic urban organizers were trying to create a Muslim community, impose residents of residents Sharia law and restrict landowners from selling property outside the community.
“This law protects religious freedom while ensuring that no one can forcibly impose the Sharia law or create separate ‘no-go zones’ in Texas,” Abbott added.
According to a press release issued by the State of Texas, House Bill 4211 regulates business schemes that develop housing communities to ensure that they do not participate in discriminatory housing practices or unreasonable investment tactics that harm Texans.
It requires that all disputes related to these developments be resolved by state or federal courts, not through other religious or alternative systems.
At county meetings, the residents claimed that Epic City would be an “Islamic connection” where the “Sharia law” would be enforced.
Epic City’s lawyer, Dan Cogdell, strongly denied these claims and called them false and politically motivated.
“We never intended to impose on Sharia law or create a Muslim zone only,” Cogdell said. “Our buyers are doctors, lawyers and engineers-law-abiding citizens who just want to live peacefully. This has become nothing but propaganda.”
The Council of American-Islamic Relations (Cair-DFW) also condemned Governor Abbott’s statements and called them “hurt and dangerous” for Texas’ almost a million Muslims.
Cair-DFW leader Mustafaa Carroll said, “There are no so-called Sharia connections. This rhetoric spreads fear and paints Muslims as outsiders. It is harmful and completely baseless”.
The epic city project announced by 2024 by members of the East Plano Islamic Center through a company called Community Capital Partners, was planned as a 402 goal large “Muslim-friendly” community near Josephine in the Collin County rural Collin County. The plans included more than 1,000 houses, a mosque, a K-12 tro-based school, apartments, a senior housing center and retail shops.
