<\/p>\n
A woman reacts towards former McKinney Mayor George Fuller after he spoke during a City Council meeting at City Hall in McKinney on Tuesday,\u00a0Aug. 4, 2026. The council was voting on the site plan for a mosque submitted by the McKinney Islamic Association.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
McKINNEY \u2014 \u201cTraitor!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The word followed former Mayor George Fuller<\/a> out from a packed council chambers. A woman physically confronted him at the door, and the resounding booing continued in the parking lot.<\/p>\n Some also thanked Fuller, who served as mayor\u00a0from 2017\u00a0to 2025<\/a>, for his comments asking council members to treat the McKinney Islamic Association\u2019s request for approval of a new campus \u201cfairly, impartially and according to the law.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n City Hall became a raucous chamber Tuesday before the McKinney City Council voted unanimously to approve a site plan for the McKinney Islamic Association\u2019s<\/a> new sanctuary, gym and classroom building.<\/p>\n For more than four hours, over 100 people spoke to the council, dozens in opposition to the mosque and to Islam itself, answering the calls of Texas Republican leaders to \u201cSTOP the spread of\u00a0Sharia in Texas,\u201d as Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney, wrote on X regarding the McKinney mosque. \u00a0<\/p>\n People hold up signs during a City Council meeting at City Hall in McKinney on Tuesday,\u00a0Aug. 4, 2026. The council was voting on the site plan for a mosque submitted by the McKinney Islamic Association.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Shariah is the moral and religious code in Islam that guides the personal religious practices of Muslims.<\/p>\n \u201cThe freedom to choose our faith or not does not exist in political Islam,\u201d Self said to McKinney residents and council members<\/a> Tuesday during public comments. \u201cThis is your time to choose to honor your oath that starts with the U.S. Constitution,\u201d he told council members.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The site plan did not ask for any variance from the city\u2019s zoning rules or design exceptions, city staff said. The plan is \u201cfully compliant\u201d with city rules, according to city documents. Other approvals, like building permits, will require further consideration.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a site plan approval and nothing else,\u201d said council member Justin Beller over boos and shouts of \u201crecall\u201d from the crowd. \u201cI would encourage all citizens to resist this reckless political rhetoric which, in my opinion, amounts to election year fear-mongering.\u201d<\/p>\n McKinney city staff went \u201cabove and beyond\u201d any item council member Dr.\u00a0Ger\u00e9 Feltus has seen them address, she said on the dais.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is not one question that has gone unanswered,\u201d she said. \u201cThere’s always some growing pains \u2026 It’s not going to be perfect, but we’re going to keep looking for solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The association’s president,\u00a0Yasser Wardany, said the group \u201clistened carefully\u201d to the city and community<\/a> when their earlier rezoning request for an expanded mosque faced opposition two years ago. The association paused plans in 2024 after city officials said the proposed building was too large for the site.<\/p>\n The new plans, recommended unanimously for approval by the city\u2019s planning and zoning commission last month, include three smaller buildings. The group hosted a town hall, worked with engineers to study impacts and redesigned the project over several years to address traffic, drainage and parking concerns,\u00a0Wardany said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have satisfied every requirement of the city,\u201d he said following the vote. \u201cWe are part of the texture of the community, and we know it.\u201d<\/p>\n The McKinney Islamic Association has met at its current mosque on\u00a0Eldorado Parkway, which will remain open as the new buildings are constructed, for over a decade. The association has been part of the community since the 1990s, \u201cquietly serving families while becoming part of the fabric of McKinney,\u201d Fuller said. \u201cTheir members are our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: McKinney mosque faces continued opposition to expansion ahead of council vote<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n McKinney resident Whitney\u00a0Shahan was disappointed in the outcome of the council\u2019s vote, which went against the will of most speakers at the meeting, and she said it could affect voting in future council elections.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think we were heard,\u201d she said following the vote. \u201cThey don’t seem to care.\u201d<\/p>\n The crowd became unruly at times during Tuesday\u2019s council meeting, some attendees banging on windows from outside and shouting at speakers. Mayor Bill Cox asked several times for attendees to maintain decorum.<\/p>\n Before\u00a0Cox hit the gavel<\/a>, an overflow room had filled up and the Fire Marshal was threatening to issue citations to the crowds reluctant to clear the walkways. Every seat, every square inch of bench was filled in the chambers and some outside pressed against windows to peer inside.<\/p>\n Over several hours, some spoke against the mosque over concerns about\u00a0traffic and parking. Others opposed the religion itself, fearing ideological incompatibility or the faith overtaking the community.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Former McKinney Mayor George Fuller is booed as he is greeted by a supporter after he spoke during a City Council meeting at City Hall in McKinney, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. The council was voting on the site plan for a mosque submitted by the McKinney Islamic Association.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n \u201cI have concerns about the cultural ramifications of welcoming yet another Muslim enclave to our area,\u201d Elisa Norman told to the council. \u201cMy concern is with the spread of Islam itself.\u201d<\/p>\n Connie Gibson said she has lingering concerns about traffic and parking.<\/p>\n \u201cThose issues have not been addressed,\u201d she told the council. \u201cDo what is the best thing for our community \u2026 that is what real leadership looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n Renee Francis said she heeds warnings from officials, like Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a>, who have spoken out against Muslim groups. She worries if the mosque will fit in the community and asked the council to vote against it.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cMcKinney has a distinct civic identity built over decades, and new institutions, regardless of the denomination, should demonstrate how it will integrate,\u201d she told the council. \u201cThey should adapt to our norms. Cultural assimilation is essentially for maintaining cohesion. We ask the council to uphold these principles.\u201d<\/p>\n The crowd during a City Council meeting at City Hall in McKinney on Tuesday,\u00a0Aug. 4, 2026. The council was voting on the site plan for a mosque submitted by the McKinney Islamic Association.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Wardany said he felt \u201ctortured\u201d during the hourslong meeting, but also heard positive comments condemning the judgment of others. Some spoke in support of the plans and for religious freedom, and against \u201cthe racism, Islamophobia and hate\u201d observed by Kassey Stanfill, she said in her comments to the council.<\/p>\n \u201cShariah is about practice, not enforcement,\u201d\u00a0Lubna Khan said to the council. \u201cOur mosque will be a place of peace, and we respectfully ask you [for] your approval.\u201d<\/p>\n Public comments went deeper than the site plan and spoke to deep disagreements over the community\u2019s and the country\u2019s values, identity and politics.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not fear Muslim Americans in our community,\u201d Evan Hunt said to the council. \u201cFear and prejudice have no place in public policy or in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are seeing a congressman using hate to con his voters into being afraid of their neighbors,\u201d said Jeremy Sutka, chair of the Collin County Democratic Party. \u201cThey use hate to divide us \u2026 let our Muslim neighbors know that they are welcome here,\u201d he told the council.<\/p>\n Two hours into public comments, there were still 100 people signed up to speak. For hours, the chambers erupted in energetic applause, boos and shouts. The meeting, which began around 6:30 p.m., stretched past midnight.<\/p>\n Hind Jarrah, 76, is a longtime member of the McKinney Islamic Association. She has seen the suburb grow<\/a> from a town with two-lane roads to the booming population center it is today. Over the decades, the mosque has grown, too, she said.<\/p>\n Jarrah said she wished that those opposed to the mosque’s expansion would take the time to meet its members and get to know them as people who have had a “contributing, positive influence” on McKinney, some as doctors, lawyers and nonprofit leaders.<\/p>\n “Our people are very active and very involved,” she said.<\/p>\n Maida Asif signs up to be a speaker prior to the start of a City Council meeting at City Hall in McKinney on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. The council was voting on the site plan for a mosque submitted by the McKinney Islamic Association.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The contention at McKinney’s council meeting comes as anti-Muslim rhetoric spreads in North Texas. In Frisco\u2019s recent mayoral race<\/a>, a candidate called Islam a terrorist organization and backed out of a campaign event at a mosque.\u00a0<\/p>\n Protests have disrupted a mosque in Plano tied to a planned Muslim-centric neighborhood outside of Dallas opposed by several prominent Texas Republicans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this year, a Muslim group was harassed while praying at a Plano park<\/a>.<\/p>\n Outside of Texas, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, and the Islamic Society of Tulsa announced this week they are suing the City of Broken Arrow for denying the latter group a rezoning application to build a mosque, citing religious freedom laws. Abbott designated CAIR<\/a> a foreign terrorist organization last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Staff writer Isabella Volmert contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n Email tips on all things Collin County to lilly.kersh@dallasnews.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A woman reacts towards former McKinney Mayor George Fuller after he spoke during a City Council meeting at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[95010,160,162,161,88573,88338,93223,88949,88339],"class_list":["post-398498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-news-politics","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-news","tag-tp-traffic","tag-tp-collin-county","tag-tp-demographics","tag-tp-mckinney","tag-tp-population"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n