Hurst-Area Muslims Face Political Storm Over Canceled Eid Water Park Event
A planned Eid celebration at a Grand Prairie water park near Hurst became the center of a statewide political controversy when the event was canceled following Governor Greg Abbott's threats to pull state funding over diversity concerns. Pakistani-American Texas State Representative Salman Bhojani responded with a pointed public accusation of Islamophobia, while national media turned its attention to the event's organizer and the broader implications for Muslim communities across Texas.
🗳️ Rep. Bhojani Accuses Abbott of Islamophobia Over Canceled Eid Event
Texas State Representative Salman Bhojani, a Pakistani-American lawmaker representing the Euless-Hurst-Bedford corridor of Tarrant County, publicly accused Governor Greg Abbott of Islamophobia after a Muslim community Eid celebration at a Grand Prairie water park was abruptly canceled. The cancellation came in the wake of Governor Abbott's threat to withhold state funding from entities seen as promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The Eid event, organized for the Dallas-Fort Worth Muslim community including the substantial South Asian Muslim population in the Hurst and Grand Prairie areas, had been anticipated as a family-friendly cultural celebration tied to one of Islam's most significant holidays. Rep. Bhojani, whose family traces its roots to Pakistan and who has been a vocal advocate for Muslim and South Asian communities in the Texas legislature, characterized Abbott's intervention as a targeted act of hostility against religious minorities. The CBS News Texas report highlighted Bhojani's argument that the governor's actions went beyond policy disagreement and amounted to singling out a specific faith community for political pressure. The cancellation drew swift reactions from civil liberties organizations and Muslim advocacy groups across the state, who argued that threatening public funding over a private community event set a troubling precedent for religious freedom in Texas. For the Hurst and Tarrant County Muslim community — many of whom are of South Asian descent — the episode underscored the complex political environment in which they now live and practice their faith, raising urgent questions about how state-level politics will continue to shape the spaces available to minority religious communities going forward. [2]
Scrutiny Falls on Organizer of 'Muslim-Only' Water Park Gathering
As the political fallout over the canceled Eid water park event continued, the New York Post turned its lens on the event's organizer, reporting that the individual behind the 'Muslim only' water park gathering also operated a childcare organization with a conspicuous misspelling in its name — a 'Learing Center' rather than a 'Learning Center.' The Post's coverage reflected a broader national debate that erupted around the event, which had been marketed with language restricting entry to Muslim attendees only. While supporters argued that the segregated swim event was intended to provide a modest, culturally appropriate space for Muslim women and families — a practice observed in many South Asian and Middle Eastern Muslim communities — critics, including conservative commentators and allies of Governor Abbott's office, framed it as a form of discriminatory exclusion incompatible with the use of public or publicly adjacent facilities. The organizer faced a wave of online criticism following the Post's reporting. For the DFW-area South Asian Muslim community, however, the debate carried deeper resonance: 'sisters-only' or 'Muslim-only' swim events have long been organized informally in community centers, mosques, and private venues as a way to allow Muslim women who observe hijab or practice modesty standards to participate in recreational water activities alongside family. The cancellation and accompanying media scrutiny placed the local Muslim community — including many Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi families in Hurst and neighboring cities — at the center of a nationally charged conversation about religious accommodation, inclusion, and the boundaries of public community space. [5]
Sources: [2] CBS News · [5] New York Post