CAIR calls Abbott's DFW Airport criticism an 'anti-Muslim political stunt'

DALLAS - The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called Gov. [Fox 7 Austin]

DFW Airport has decided against constructing additional Islamic ablution facilities after an accelerated review process that followed public attention to the proposal, an airport spokesperson announced Friday.

The proposal centered on adding new washing stations accessible from the pre-security area of the airport. Ablution facilities have existed for years on the secured side of the international terminal. According to airport officials, an internal evaluation of the project was underway when heightened public interest prompted the expedited review. The airport determined the new installations would not provide the operational advantages initially anticipated and chose not to move forward.

"Like all proposed projects, the airport ultimately considers the operational benefits, customer service impacts, operational risks and costs before approving them," an airport representative said. "While that evaluation was planned, the airport accelerated its review due to elevated public interest this week and has determined not to proceed with the project as it would not deliver the originally anticipated operational benefits."

The decision came after Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday he would seek a review of state funding allocated to both DFW Airport and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Abbott characterized the proposed stations as potentially constituting "illegal religious discrimination," asserting the facilities would grant preferential treatment to a specific religious group.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' Texas chapter rejected Abbott's characterization, calling it a "manufactured controversy" and describing the dispute as politically motivated. The group noted that ablution stations serve all travelers regardless of faith and compared them to interfaith prayer rooms maintained at numerous airports nationwide.

"Unlike forcing biblical readings on public school students and hanging the Ten Commandments in every Texas classroom, the additional washing station at DFW Airport would be a universally-accessible and perfectly legal amenity that would benefit any and all travelers, not just one faith group," CAIR-Texas stated.

The group called for Abbott to redirect his attention toward other state priorities, citing data center expansion, school safety and economic disparity. The rebuke referenced Abbott's 2023 designation of CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations.