A city-owned water park in Grand Prairie has canceled a “Muslims only” day after the Texas Public Safety Office sent a letter on Wednesday threatening to pull approximately $530,000 in grants from the city for “discriminating based on religion.”
Epic Waters Indoor Water Park, operated by American Resort Management, LLC, had advertised the event as closed to the public and open only to Muslims, as part of a June 1 Eid celebration.
“An event at a city-owned pool that was publicly and indiscriminately advertised as ‘whites only’ would surely violate the Constitution,” Andrew Friedrichs, executive director of the state PSO, wrote. “The same must be true here.”
Friedrichs pointed to five PSO grants active in the city, and said Grand Prairie was “in breach with respect to all grant agreements” unless it confirmed in writing that the event would not take place on city property and committed to “never allowing a ‘Muslim only’ event to occur in property owned or operated by the city.”
On Tuesday, the city released a statement that it had been in contact with the park’s management team “to ensure all policies and procedures have been followed,” adding that individuals and organizations can rent the park “like other city-owned facilities.”
“After further review and in the best interest of the City of Grand Prairie, the June 1 Eid event at Epic Indoor Waterpark has been canceled,” the city stated the next day.
The event’s organizer, Aminah Knight, said promotional materials for the annual event had been updated to be more inclusive of other faiths.
“In response to feedback, we have updated our materials to clearly reflect that this is a modest dress-only event, centered around a respectful and family-friendly environment,” she said. “So if you are a friend of a different faith who wants to celebrate the Eid holiday with us and adhere to the modest dress code, this event is for you too.”
