AUSTIN: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a review of state grants awarded to entities operating Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), arguing that facilities provided for Muslim ablution may amount to unlawful religious discrimination at government-owned airports.
According to a statement issued by the governor’s office on August 14, the review could lead to the revocation of existing state grants or the denial of future funding.
Governor Abbott has also referred both airports to the US Department of Transportation for investigation and possible enforcement action.
The governor’s office said that DFW plans to install facilities for wudu, the ritual washing performed by Muslims before prayer, while IAH has already installed an ablution facility linked to a prayer room.
In a letter to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Abbott asked the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to immediately review the religious facilities and accommodations at both airports and take what he described as appropriate corrective action.
The governor argued that because both airports are government-owned and receive public funding, they must comply with constitutional and statutory requirements prohibiting religious discrimination.
“These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion,” Abbott said in the official statement, adding that the government could not favour one religious viewpoint over others.
In a separate social media statement, the governor said that government-owned airports could not favour one religion over another and described DFW’s planned Muslim washing facilities as “illegal”.
He said Texas would not permit what he called religious discrimination at taxpayer-funded facilities.
The move is likely to draw scrutiny over the distinction between government endorsement of religion and the provision of neutral accommodations for religious practices.
The next step will depend on how federal transportation authorities assess the facilities at the two airports and whether they find any violation of federal law.
The Texas governor’s office said entities accepting state grants are required to certify compliance with laws prohibiting discrimination.
