Plan to build '1,000-home Muslim city' sparks Sharia law fears as locals launch fightback

The East Plano Islamic Community (EPIC) has dropped the original name "EPIC City" in favour of "The Meadow," according to the Houston Chronicle.

Mr Abbott and several Republican politicians raised concerns about whether the ambitious scheme could introduce Islamic religious law into the state after recordings emerged of the cleric associated with the project.

The development, which critics have labelled a "Muslim city," remains in its preliminary stages with no permits filed and no construction begun.

EPIC has maintained through social media that it operates as a law-abiding non-profit organisation and investigations have thus far found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Yasir Qadhi, the cleric connected to the project, has attracted scrutiny over audio recordings from the 2000s in which he expressed extremist views.

In one recording believed to be from the early 2000s, Qadhi states: "This is a part of our religion, to stone the adulterer and to kill, by the way, the homosexual. This is also our religion."

He adds in the same recording that such punishments should not be carried out in America, but says: "If we had an Islamic State, we would do this now."

Separate recordings show Qadhi dismissing the Holocaust as "false propaganda" and claiming "Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews," while urging listeners to read "The Hoax of the Holocaust."

The cleric also promoted conspiracy theories alleging Jewish people had infiltrated American university Islamic studies departments to "destroy" Muslims.

The proposed development is situated approximately 40 miles northeast of Dallas, stretching across land in both Collin and Hunt Counties.

Plans for the site include around 1,000 residential properties alongside a mosque, Islamic schools, medical clinics, retail outlets, parks and a care home for the elderly.

Organisers have reported that initial properties sold rapidly, prompting announcements of additional larger "ranches" in the surrounding area.

Building work is anticipated to commence in either 2026 or 2027, though the project has not progressed beyond its planning outline.

Sharia, the religious law derived from Islamic texts including the Koran and Hadith, is linked in certain countries to capital punishment for offences such as adultery and homosexuality, with execution methods sometimes including stoning.

Sam Westrop, a counter-extremism analyst at the Middle East Forum who brought the recordings to light, characterised Qadhi's followers as hardliners intent on returning society to an ancient era.

"Qadhi and his mosque, EPIC, have radicalised generations of Muslims not just in the Dallas area, but across the US," Westrop told the Daily Mail.

He warned that "any sort of compound such as EPIC City will serve to radicalise future generations of Muslims."

Westrop contends the organisation seeks to "advance Sharia and other theocratic threats away from the checks and balances of Texas law and order."

EPIC presents itself publicly as a "multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multilingual, non-sectarian, diverse, and open community" welcoming both men and women, including non-Muslims.

The controversy has fuelled broader debate about Texas's rapidly expanding Muslim population and concerns regarding Islamophobia.

Qadhi has acknowledged his past statements, describing them as an "error" and a "one-time mistake" that occurred when he was "young and naïve".

The cleric now presents a considerably more moderate interpretation of Islam in his public appearances, reflecting the beliefs of a global faith with approximately two billion adherents worldwide.

However, critics argue that his private remarks from previous decades stand in stark contrast to the inclusive image EPIC currently promotes.

The recordings drew comparisons to the brutal enforcement of hardline Sharia by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where gay men were executed by being thrown from buildings.

The dispute has raised questions about whether the views of individual religious leaders put their communities at odds with American values.