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If America is to remain a beacon of freedom for future generations, we must recover the wisdom and courage to distinguish between welcoming diverse individuals with diverse beliefs and embracing ideological systems that are incompatible with our constitutional foundation.
Texas stands once again as America’s bulwark — this time against a troubling development outside Dallas that raises profound questions about America’s constitutional future.
A 400-acre master-planned community spearheaded by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) isn’t merely about homes and a mosque. It represents something far more consequential: the establishment of what Gov. Greg Abbott rightly identified as potentially the first “Shariah city” on American soil.
This isn’t hysteria, it’s biblical discernment. The facts demand our attention, and those are Islam’s historical incompatibility with American constitutional principles, the explicit segregationist aims of EPIC City’s founders, the erosion of religious liberties for non-Muslims wherever Islamic governance takes root, and the spiritual mandate for Christians to defend truth while preserving the blessings of liberty.
American freedom was purchased too dearly to surrender it through misguided tolerance of systems that, by their very nature, are intolerant and cannot sustain the constitutional order our Founders established.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802, “Religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his God…the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions.”
This foundational distinction — that government exists to regulate actions, not beliefs — provided the bedrock for genuine religious liberty in America. Yet this very distinction is precisely what Islamic governance historically rejects. As such, the government that Abbott leads has both the right and the responsibility to protect this crucial separation.
The EPIC development’s promotional materials boldly declares their vision: “a meticulously designed community that brings Islam to the forefront.” These aren’t my words but theirs.
This language reveals not a neighborhood seeking to integrate into the American tapestry but a deliberate effort to create a segregated religious enclave.
Scripture commands us to “test everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). What should we understand about Islam’s historical pattern wherever it gains territorial and demographic supremacy?
In nations where Islam becomes dominant, religious liberty withers. In Pakistan, Christians face blasphemy laws carrying death sentences. In Iran, converting from Islam remains punishable by death. In Saudi Arabia, public Christian worship remains forbidden. These aren’t anomalies — they’re the consistent pattern of Islamic governance.
Consider Turkey’s transformation, which was once a secular democracy founded by Atatürk, but is now increasingly authoritarian under Erdogan’s Islamist vision. In less than two decades, Turkey has witnessed the conversion of the Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque, curtailment of press freedoms, diminished women’s rights, and systematic marginalization of religious minorities.
This real-world case study reveals how quickly pluralism recedes when Islamic governance ascends. The progression is predictable: first influence, then authority, and ultimately supremacy.
To those who dismiss these concerns as “Islamophobic,” I respond: Truth is not phobic. Recognizing incompatible worldviews isn’t hatred, it’s wisdom. Islam’s incompatibility with constitutional government isn’t a matter of prejudice but of historical record and theological reality. The Quran and Hadith prescribe governance, not merely personal devotion. We disrespect both Muslims and ourselves by pretending otherwise.
The U.S. Constitution emerged from a specific worldview, one shaped by Judeo-Christian presuppositions about human dignity, limited government, and individual liberty. John Adams rightly observed: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
America has always welcomed the stranger and protected religious expression. But the Founders never envisioned religious liberty as permission to establish parallel legal systems at odds with constitutional governance.
When Imam Nadim Bashir describes Shariah merely as “a personal moral code of life,” he obscures the comprehensive legal and political dimensions of Islamic law, which govern everything from criminal punishment to inheritance, from marriage to apostasy. Shariah isn’t just personal piety, it’s governance.
Romans 13:3-4 teaches that government exists as “God’s servant for your good” and “does not bear the sword in vain.” The divine purpose of government includes protecting citizens from threats to ordered liberty. Gov. Abbott’s intervention represents proper governmental authority fulfilling its God-ordained purpose by protecting Texans from an ideology that historically dismantles the very freedoms Americans cherish.
This matters profoundly to Texans, whose heritage of independence, self-governance, and religious liberty stands directly in Islam’s crosshairs. The tradition of religious pluralism within constitutional boundaries in the Lone Star State has produced unprecedented prosperity and freedom. From the Alamo to the present day, Texans have understood that liberty requires vigilance and courage. EPIC City represents not just another suburban development but a fundamental challenge to Texas values — independence, individual liberty, and equality under the law.
Scripture commands us to “watch and pray” (Matthew 26:41), maintaining vigilance against both spiritual and civic threats. The framers of our Constitution shared this wisdom, establishing checks and balances precisely because they understood that liberty, once surrendered, is difficult to recover.
The cities of Dearborn and Hamtramck in Michigan serve as examples of what occurs when Islamic political influence reaches a significant level. School curricula changes. Speech codes emerge. The public square transforms to accommodate one religious viewpoint, while increasingly constraining others. These aren’t hypothetical scenarios but observable realities.
While Scripture commands us to love our neighbors (including our Muslim neighbors), it also calls believers to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Constitutional vigilance is not in conflict with genuine charity. In fact, true love requires truth — and the truth is that civilizational incompatibilities don’t disappear through wishful thinking or political correctness.
Americans must rediscover the courage to speak truthfully: Not all religious systems are equally compatible with constitutional governance. Our Founding Fathers understood this when they specifically grounded our rights in the Creator’s design, not in government’s benevolence.
Texas isn’t rejecting religious freedom; it’s preserving the very constitutional order that makes religious liberty possible. While individual Muslims deserve the full protection of American law and the genuine love of Christian neighbors, Islamic political aspirations require unflinching scrutiny.
If America is to remain a beacon of liberty for future generations, we must recover the wisdom and courage to distinguish between welcoming diverse individuals with diverse beliefs and embracing ideological systems that are incompatible with our constitutional foundation.
This controversy in Texas represents a critical front in the broader struggle for America’s constitutional soul.
From schools embracing radical gender ideology to corporations imposing woke conformity, from universities suppressing free speech to media censoring any dissent from certain approved beliefs, we face a multi-front war on the values that built this nation.
The Islamic enclave in Texas isn’t an isolated concern but one manifestation of the fundamental question: Will America remain America?
The answer depends on whether citizens and leaders like Gov. Abbott find the moral courage to stand firm on constitutional principles, even when doing so invites the predictable accusations of bigotry and intolerance.
Truth matters more than approval. Liberty requires vigilance. And Texas must show the way.
The battle in Texas isn’t ultimately about property rights or zoning laws — it’s about whether America will retain the courage to defend the very values that made us free.
PHOTO: The mosque at EPIC City, a “vibrant and inclusive community” in Texas “that caters to the evolving needs of the Muslim community.” CREDIT: EPIC City website
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