A Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order on March 19 halting a controversial “Muslim-only” residential project in North Texas, according to court documents filed in Collin County, court records show.
The 493rd Judicial District Court in Collin County barred the board of Double R Municipal Utility District No. 2A and its directors—Yaneli Molina, Hatim Mahmoud Yusuf, Nadeem Ashraf Khan, Asim Hussain Khan and Faisal Abba—from exercising authority or holding governing meetings in connection with the planned residential development formerly known as EPIC City, now marketed as “The Meadow.”
The project was initiated by the East Plano Islamic Center, a Sunni mosque in Plano, and would span about 402 acres near Josephine, roughly 40 minutes northeast of Dallas.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which alleges the board helped developers evade state oversight and illegally advance the housing project by restructuring the utility district. According to the filing, a probe by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the individuals did not own taxable property within the district’s boundaries as required under state law.
Paxton’s office says several state investigations into the development are ongoing.
“Today, a court stopped EPIC City’s latest attempt to organize a community,” stated Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“When we uncovered legal violations by EPIC City, the developers tried to rebrand it as ‘The Meadow,’” he wrote. “Today’s court order stops them in their tracks.”
“We will not rest in the mission to stop the spread of radical Islam,” Abbott stated.
The restraining order will remain in effect pending a March 30 hearing, when the court will consider whether to grant a temporary injunction.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity last month accepted a complaint and launched its own investigation into whether the development’s marketing and sales practices violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of religion or national origin.
