A planned Eid celebration at Epic Waters in Grand Prairie has been canceled after criticism from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, leaving the event’s organizer uncertain about what comes next.
The city announced late Wednesday that the June 1 event at the city-owned indoor water park would not move forward “after further review and in the best interest of the city.” The decision came after Abbott called the event “religious discrimination” and “unconstitutional,” and warned the city it risked losing $530,000 in grant funding.
Aminah Knight, who organized the event now in its third year, said she is still waiting for direct communication from city officials.
Knight acknowledged an early version of a promotional flyer described the event as “Muslims only,” calling it a mistake. She said she later revised the language to be more inclusive while maintaining a modest attire requirement. She said her intent has always been to create a space for people to celebrate Eid.
“I know that within every difficulty is ease,” Knight said.
Knight said she believes people should be allowed to practice their faith within constitutional limits.
“If it’s outside of the Constitution, I get it,” she said. “But if it’s within the Constitution, people have the right to practice their religion.”
Matthew Wilson, a political science professor and director of the Center for Faith and Learning at SMU, said the controversy may be driven more by politics than religion.
“I think this is more a political story than it is a religious story,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the initial wording of the event promotion made it difficult to shift public perception, even after changes were made.
“Once some publicity went out that said ‘Muslims only,’ it was virtually impossible to correct that,” he said.
Despite the cancellation, Wilson said members of the Muslim community may still be able to visit Epic Waters on June 1, but without any guarantees about the environment.
“What’s going to be different, though, is they can no longer have any assurance that other people who may be dressed immodestly might also be using that facility on that particular day,” Wilson said.
Knight said she has not yet decided on her next steps but remains encouraged by the support she has received.
“The messages that I get from just random Texans who I don’t know mean the world to me,” she said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.