The husband of the organizer behind a now-canceled “Muslim-only” event at a taxpayer-owned North Texas waterpark is accusing Gov. Greg Abbott of fueling “hatred” after city officials canceled the gathering amid statewide backlash. The governor had threatened to pull $530,000 in state grant funding over the event.
Muhammad Abdullah, whose wife Dr. Aminah Knight organized the annual Eid celebration at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark in Grand Prairie, posted a video on Instagram criticizing Abbott and other Republican officials following the event’s cancellation.
“The governor of Texas is attacking my family, and I’m sick of it,” Abdullah said in the video. “Greg Abbott forced the city of Grand Prairie to cancel our Eid event at Epic Waters.”
Abdullah claimed the event had been mischaracterized by critics after an online flyer described the gathering as a “Muslim-only” event. He said organizers later changed the wording to “modest dress only” to clarify the intent.
“We never banned other religions,” Abdullah said. “Then the Islamophobes got a hold of a private flyer and twisted it into something it was never meant to be.”
Despite those claims, Abdullah’s own video displayed the original promotional flyer describing the gathering as a “Muslim Only Event” before organizers later changed the wording online.
The controversy escalated after Abbott publicly condemned the event and warned the city could lose state funding if it proceeded.
“To be clear, Sharia law is not allowed in Texas. Nor are Sharia cities. Nor are ‘no go zones’ which this event seems to imply,” Abbott wrote on X last week. “The City of Grand Prairie and Epic Waters must immediately cancel this event and prohibit any such future events. Failure to do so will trigger the loss of state funds.”
Abbott also stated that religious discrimination violates Texas law.
The city later announced the event had been canceled “after further review and in the best interest of the City of Grand Prairie.”
In an interview with BlazeTV and Texas Scorecard host Sara Gonzales following the controversy, Knight acknowledged the goal was to create a gathering specifically for Muslims.
Knight stated that after an earlier public event at the waterpark, members of the Muslim community requested “a day where the water park was rented out and it was just Muslims at the water park.”
She also defended the concept by arguing that “marginalized groups” sometimes need spaces exclusively for their own communities.
During the interview, Gonzales repeatedly questioned how a religiously exclusive event at a publicly owned facility differed from other forms of prohibited discrimination. Knight responded that she “didn’t think anything was wrong with that.”
Abdullah said his family has received harassment and threats since the controversy erupted, but vowed to continue speaking out against Republican officials who criticized the event.
“But hear me clearly,” Abdullah said. “I’m not gonna back down.”
“I’m taking these bigoted, hate filled politicians down.”
