AUSTIN: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has officially signed the House Bill 4211, a new law aimed at preventing religiously exclusive residential developments, such as the controversial EPIC City project in Collin County.
The bill bans the creation of so-called Sharia compounds and protects Texans from discrimination and fraudulent housing practices.
The ceremonial signing took place Friday afternoon in McKinney, where state and local leaders joined Governor Abbott, including Congressman Keith Self, Senator Angela Paxton, Representative Jeff Leach, Representative Candy Noble, Representative Katrina Pierson, Representative Keresa Richardson, and Representative Matt Shaheen.
Speaking at the event, Governor Abbott said the legislation addresses two key issues: religious freedom and the right to contract.
“Religious freedom is a cornerstone of the Texas Constitution,” he said.
Abbott further explained that EPIC City organisers sought to create a Muslim-only community, impose Sharia law on residents, and restrict landowners from selling property outside of the community.
“This law protects religious freedom while ensuring that no one can forcibly impose Sharia law or create segregated ‘no-go zones’ in Texas,” Abbott added.
According to a press release issued by the State of Texas, House Bill 4211 regulates business schemes that develop residential communities to ensure they do not engage in discriminatory housing practices or unfair investment tactics that harm Texans.
It requires that all disputes related to these developments be resolved in state or federal courts, not through any other religious or alternative systems.
At county meetings, residents claimed EPIC City would be an “Islamic compound” where “Sharia law” would be enforced.
EPIC City’s attorney, Dan Cogdell, strongly denied these allegations, calling them false and politically motivated.
“We never intended to impose Sharia law or create a Muslim-only zone,” Cogdell said. “Our buyers are doctors, lawyers, and engineers — law-abiding citizens who just want to live peacefully. This has become nothing but propaganda”.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-DFW) also condemned Governor Abbott’s statements, calling them “hurtful and dangerous” for Texas’ nearly one million Muslims.
CAIR-DFW leader Mustafaa Carroll said: “There are no so-called Sharia compounds. This rhetoric spreads fear and paints Muslims as outsiders. It’s harmful and completely baseless”.
The EPIC City project, announced in 2024 by members of the East Plano Islamic Centre through a company called Community Capital Partners, was planned as a 402-acre “Muslim-friendly” community near Josephine in rural Collin County. Plans included more than 1,000 homes, a mosque, a K-12 faith-based school, apartments, a senior living centre, and retail shops.
