![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Image-2026-03-04T172516.788-1000x750.jpg\")
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Natalie Weber \/ Houston Public Media<\/p>\n
An American flag and a Texas flag wave above the Maryam Islamic Center in Sugar Land on March 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
It’s a Saturday evening during Ramadan and chicken curry, naan and rice are on the menu at the Maryam Islamic Center in Sugar Land. <\/p>\n
Hundreds of people have gathered in the Houston suburb to break their fasts, under an American flag and a Texas flag waving in the center’s courtyard. <\/p>\n
Sign up for the Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n “Ramadan is a spiritually grounding month for me,” said Warda Wyne, a 25-year-old Pakistani American from the Dallas area. “I feel like it kind of redirects my intentions and purpose.”<\/p>\n Wyne, who moved to Houston for dental school, brought a Catholic classmate with her to the mosque’s iftar. This year, the two friends began observing Ramadan and Lent on the same day. <\/p>\n Click here for more inDepth features.<\/a><\/p>\n Ramadan is the Muslim holy month observed with daylight fasting as well as communal prayer and reflection. Lent is a 40-day observance by Christians that is marked by prayer, fasting and almsgiving.<\/p>\n “I feel like our generation has been doing a good job of, you know, educating themselves, getting information, seeking information and kind of making opinions and judgments on their own accord,” Wyne said.<\/p>\n But the conversations she’s having with her peers are very different from the conversations playing out in the Texas government.<\/p>\n Top Texas Republicans are invoking fears of Islamic extremism in their recent rhetoric<\/a> and legal actions targeting Muslim groups.<\/p>\n In September, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law banning what his office called “sharia compounds,” targeting a Dallas-area housing development geared toward Muslims. Sharia is a set of Islamic religious laws.<\/p>\n “The ban on sharia law in Texas is now strengthened,” the governor said while signing House Bill 4211<\/a> into law.<\/p>\n Abbott has also barred the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national Muslim civil rights group, from purchasing land in Texas by designating it as a “foreign terrorist<\/a>” and “transnational criminal” organization.<\/p>\n CAIR has disputed Abbott\u2019s characterization and filed a lawsuit against the governor<\/a> shortly after his declaration. <\/p>\n RELATED: Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s campaign against Muslim group faces challenges under Texas and federal law<\/a><\/p>\n The governor has been joined in his efforts by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate<\/a>, and two GOP congressmen from Texas who started the Sharia-Free America Caucus. <\/p>\n Natalie Weber \/ Houston Public Media<\/p>\n Worshippers enter the Maryam Islamic Center in Sugar Land for prayer after an iftar on Feb. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n For many young Muslims, this attitude is at odds with the largely welcoming Texas they call home.<\/p>\n Later that same Saturday in Sugar Land, dozens came to hang out at a Yemeni coffee shop and socialize after breaking their daily fast. <\/p>\n Among them was 27-year-old Ayesha Imran, who ordered a caramel macchiato and honeycomb bread. <\/p>\n “When people see the truth and how welcoming people are from the Muslim community, I think that all that propaganda goes, you know, out the window, to be honest,” she said.<\/p>\n Imran grew up in Massachusetts, where she said she was one of the only Muslims in her friend group. Here she feels part of a larger Muslim community. <\/p>\n RELATED: Houston\u2019s historic Ismaili Center opening its doors to the public<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Worshippers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Image-2026-03-04T172529.189-1000x750.jpg\")
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