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Protesters hold signs opposing Sharia law is seen from the premises of the Islamic Association of Collin County on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Plano.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
It was quiet in the sister\u2019s room of the Plano mosque<\/a> Friday afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Women were praying, their heads bowed as young and old slowly filled the rows, kneeling on green stripes on the carpeted floor. The slow song of prayer filled the room<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just outside the mosque\u2019s walls, dozens of protestors gathered<\/a> with signs reading \u201cDon\u2019t Mecca my Texas\u201d and \u201cSharia brings no joy, no love, no peace.\u201d Some carried guns and others large, billowing flags. One attendee held a sign brought from the previous night\u2019s Republican convention in Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A rally of about 50 people invited by the Lone Star Legionaries demonstrated against Islam<\/a>. The group\u2019s website says it\u2019s committed to preserving \u201cthe history, heritage, culture and values that make Texas unique.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Zeba Siddiqui was one of the dozens of women in peaceful prayer and came to the Friday service despite a warning of the demonstration nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like we shouldn\u2019t be afraid of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt like we should do what we normally do.\u201d<\/p>\n Congregators gather outside following the Jummah prayer, on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 at Islamic Association of Collin County in Plano.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Protests outside the mosque are not an unusual sight for congregants in recent years as North Texas sees a wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric. In McKinney, the approval of the site plan for a mosque contributed to a recall effort to oust half the City Council. In Frisco, a recent mayoral candidate compared Indian immigrants to rats and called Islam a \u201cterrorist group.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Late last year, anti-Islam protesters gathered outside of a different mosque in Plano<\/a>, organized by far-right activist and conservative influencer Jake Lang, who held a severed pig’s head and led a small crowd around the city with a banner reading \u201cAmericans against Islamification.\u201d<\/p>\n The mosque sees about 1,500 people on any given day. It\u2019s a busy meeting place for Muslims<\/a> in the area like Siddiqui, who has lived near the mosque for nearly three decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n Protesters hold signs opposing Sharia law outside the Islamic Association of Collin County on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Plano.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re protesting against Shariah law,\u201d she said after the afternoon prayer service. \u201cI don\u2019t think they understand what that is, and I think they\u2019re being fed a lot of propaganda about who we are and what it means to be Muslim\u2026. because of that, I give them grace.\u201d<\/p>\n Shariah is the moral and religious code in Islam that guides all aspects of Muslim life<\/a>. Friday is a holy day in Islam, when congregations meet for midday prayers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The mosque had prepared for protests<\/a> by notifying law enforcement and recruiting volunteers to patrol the area, said Akram Syed, president of the congregation, also called the Islamic Association of Collin County. Several police officers and congregants wearing security vests and speaking into walkie talkies patrolled the grounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Otherwise, Friday prayers and activities in the mosque continued as planned.\u00a0<\/p>\n Supporters gather in solidarity with Muslims ahead of Jummah prayer on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, at the Islamic Association of Collin County in Plano.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The building opened just months after 9\/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, when anti-Muslim sentiment<\/a> spiked.\u00a0<\/p>\n Islamophobia in Texas in recent years is different, said Syed, who has lived in the area since 1992.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n For the last three decades, he said his community did not receive much pushback.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe rhetoric and the otherization, marginalization of certain people \u2026 This thing is very recent,\u201d Syed said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brandon Burkhart, who organized the rally, drove about five hours from the Hill County to demonstrate against Islam.<\/a> He said he wants to stop the spread of \u201cterroristic ways \u2026 hiding behind a religion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re not going to allow Shariah law to be taking effect here. We’re going to continue to fight this,\u201d he said, standing outside the yellow caution tape marking the mosque\u2019s property. \u201cWe’re trying to wake Texans up.\u201d<\/p>\n Imam Sh. Chad Earl leads the khutbah during Jummah prayer on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, at the Islamic Association of Collin County in Plano.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Across from Burkhart\u2019s \u00a0group, about 40 counterprotesters held signs that read \u201cLove thy neighbor\u201d and \u201cUnite, don\u2019t divide.\u201d The group was organized by the Clergy League for Emergency Action and Response, CLEAR D-FW, an interfaith coalition which had supporters at other mosques Friday across North Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe just want them to know that we care about them,\u201d Almas Muscatwalla said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Inside the mosque, Siddiqui hopes the protestors get to know real Muslim people<\/a> to understand the religion better.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of disrespect and insult that is tolerated these days,\u201d she said, \u201cI have not seen that in my lifetime here in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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