CAIR, CAIR-TX Urge DOJ to Reject Gov. Abbott’s Baseless Referral Targeting Muslim Religious Practice
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CAIR, CAIR-TX Urge DOJ to Reject Gov. Abbott’s Baseless Referral Targeting Muslim Religious Practice
Muslim groups call on Justice Department to focus on real civil rights threats instead of investigating airport facilities open to all travelers
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and its Texas chapter (CAIR-Texas) today sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon urging the Department of Justice to reject Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s request that federal authorities investigate washing stations and prayer facilities at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
The letter argues that the facilities are open to all travelers regardless of faith and that Governor Abbott’s comparison of the facilities to segregation-era “white-only bathrooms” is both offensive and fundamentally inaccurate. CAIR and CAIR-Texas further urged DOJ to focus federal civil rights resources on genuine threats to religious liberty, including anti-Muslim violence, attacks on houses of worship, and discriminatory actions targeting religious communities.
CLICK HERE: READ CAIR & CAIR-TX LETTER TO THE DOJ
Today’s letter follows a series of responses by CAIR-Texas to Governor Abbott’s attacks on airport prayer and ablution facilities. On August 18, CAIR-Texas commended Houston Mayor John Whitmire for rejecting Abbott’s claims and confirming that IAH’s ablution and prayer facilities are open to all travelers regardless of faith and funded by international-airline fees rather than taxpayer dollars. On August 21, CAIR-Texas condemned Abbott’s comparison of those facilities to segregation-era “white-only bathrooms” as “offensive,” “inaccurate,” and a “grotesque distortion” of American civil rights history, noting that the facilities are open to all travelers and exclude no one. Today’s letter asks the Department of Justice to reject Abbott’s referral outright and focus instead on genuine civil rights threats facing religious communities.
In a statement, CAIR and CAIR-Texas said:
“Governor Abbott’s referral is not a civil rights complaint. It is an attempt to transform ordinary Muslim religious practice into a law-enforcement issue. The prayer and ablution facilities at DFW and IAH are open to all travelers, exclude no one, and represent the type of reasonable religious accommodation that has long been protected by our constitutional tradition. This latest referral is part of a broader pattern in which Governor Abbott and his administration have repeatedly singled out Muslim communities, institutions, and religious practices for investigation, criticism, and adverse government action. The Department of Justice should reject this baseless request and focus instead on genuine civil rights threats, including anti-Muslim violence, attacks on houses of worship, discriminatory land-use decisions affecting mosques, and other unlawful efforts to deny Americans the free exercise of their faith.”
In their letter, CAIR and CAIR-Texas note that ritual washing before worship is an ancient Abrahamic practice observed by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and argue that accommodating such practices is consistent with America’s longstanding commitment to religious liberty and equal access to public facilities.
The organizations also state that Abbott’s referral is the latest in a broader pattern of actions targeting Muslim communities, institutions, and religious practices in Texas. The letter cites multiple state investigations involving Muslim community developments, scrutiny of Islamic mediation and arbitration services, challenges to Muslim cemetery projects, efforts targeting Muslim religious accommodations and community events, state action against private Muslim schools, attempts to exclude Islamic schools from benefits available to other faith-based schools, the establishment of a “Sharia Free Caucus” in the Texas House, and policies affecting public-school religious instruction and curriculum.
The letter further notes that while state resources have been directed toward investigating Muslim institutions and accommodations, Muslim communities continue to face genuine threats, including anti-Muslim violence, threats against houses of worship, vandalism, arson, and local government efforts to block mosque construction.
CAIR and CAIR-Texas urged the Department to decline Abbott’s request and reaffirm that the mission of the Justice Department is to protect religious liberty and civil rights, not investigate constitutionally protected religious practices.
The shared mission of CAIR and CAIR-Texas is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-DFW Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll, 469-200-0273, mcarroll@cair.com; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com
