The Justice Division has opened an investigation right into a deliberate housing improvement exterior of Dallas that may have a mosque at its middle, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, stated on Friday.
Mr. Cornyn, who will face Texas’s hard-right lawyer common, Ken Paxton, subsequent yr in what could possibly be a heated Republican main contest for his personal Senate seat, is the most recent Texas Republican to problem the event within the rural city of Josephine, Texas.
The undertaking is backed by members of the East Plano Islamic Heart, a mosque in Plano, about 20 miles from Josephine, and has drawn intense scrutiny from Republicans, together with Gov. Greg Abbott, who’ve accused the planners of searching for to create an solely Muslim neighborhood and to impose Islamic regulation on residents.
In latest months, Mr. Abbott has directed a number of state businesses to analyze the event, often called EPIC Metropolis, suggesting it could have violated truthful housing and monetary legal guidelines, and that the Islamic middle had performed unlawful funerals in its mosque.
Mr. Paxton has additionally initiated a prison investigation.
Now Mr. Cornyn has requested a federal investigation. Mr. Cornyn desires the Justice Division to analyze whether or not the Muslim builders engaged in non secular discrimination. A spokesman for the Justice Division didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
“Spiritual discrimination and Sharia Regulation haven’t any house in Texas,” Mr. Cornyn wrote on social media on Friday. “Any violations of federal regulation should be swiftly prosecuted.”
A lawyer for the East Plano Islamic Heart, or EPIC, denied any wrongdoing by the mosque or these elevating cash for the event. Building has not begun, and no permits to start constructing have been issued.
“EPIC has achieved nothing unlawful and we’ll cooperate totally with any and all investigations,” stated the lawyer, Dan Cogdell, in an announcement. “Texans could be much better served by the great Senator fixing actual issues and as a substitute of twisting himself right into a pretzel over imaginary ones.”
Mr. Paxton has made clear he’ll attempt to unseat Mr. Cornyn by courting hard- proper voters. Mr. Cornyn has responded by underscoring his conservative credentials and aligning himself with President Trump.
