Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering a review of state grants to the operators of major airports in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth in the wake of an abandoned proposal to install Islamic washing machines.
Abbott wrote on Friday that the state will look at the possible revocation of grants and denial of future funding to entities operating Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, referring both to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation.
“Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others,” Abbott wrote, calling the airports’ plans to install Islamic wudu washing facilities “illegal,” and asserting that “Texas will not allow illegal religious discrimination at taxpayer-funded facilities.”
Wudu is a ritual purification in Islam, performed to cleanse certain parts of the body before prayer or reading the Quran. Ablution stations, also known as wudu stations, are low-level basins with specialized faucets, foot-level spray nozzles and seats to facilitate washing of the hands, face, arms and feet.
Fox News Digital reports that DFW said it had accelerated a review of a proposal to add ablution washing stations on the pre-security side of its international terminal due to an increase in public attention to the issue, but said it did not plan to proceed with the proposal, “as it would not deliver the originally anticipated operational benefits.”
A July 31 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation said the project would be privately funded, with construction to be completed by the end of the year at a cost at $300,000, but DFW said the project had never received final approval, attributing the filing to errors on the part of the airport’s design firm.
DFW clarified to Fox News Digital that the project was not to be privately funded, and would have come in closer to $120,000, which would have come from the usual pot of money generated from airport operations, which do not include taxpayer funds.
Abbott’s office noted that George Bush Intercontinental Airport already has an ablution station in place, along with an adjoining prayer room. The governor is asking the Transportation Department to look into religious facilities and accommodations at both airports to see if “one subset of the population” is being given “special treatment based on religion,” according to his office.
Those receiving state grants, Abbott’s office said, must certify compliance with laws prohibiting discrimination.
