The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-TX) today condemned a post by Governor Greg Abbott’s press office comparing Islamic ablution, or wudu, facilities at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to segregation-era “White-only bathrooms.”
The post, published by the Governor Abbott Press Office account, claimed the airports “finance, maintain, advertise, and operate Muslim-only spaces” and stated that “Airports can no more offer Muslim-only bathroom spaces than they can maintain White-only bathrooms.”
SEE: Governor Abbott Refers Discriminatory Airport Religious Facilities to DOJ
In a statement, CAIR-Texas said:
“Comparing a washing station that any travelers can use regardless of their faith to whites-only bathrooms is a grotesque distortion of one of the darkest chapters in American history. Segregation was designed to exclude. These facilities were designed to include. Nobody is turned away.
“These are not ‘Muslim-only’ spaces any more than a nursing room or an interfaith prayer room is ‘Christian-only’ or ‘mothers-only.’ They are accommodations, open to any traveler, that happen to be used mostly by the Muslim community. That is not discrimination. That is what accessible public infrastructure looks like.
“Governor Abbott has spent the better part of a year using the machinery of state government — the Attorney General’s office, state agencies, and now a direct referral to the federal government — against Texas Muslims’ everyday religious practice. A sink is not a civil rights violation. Weaponizing the Department of Justice against Muslim Texans for washing their feet before prayer is.
“Instead of wasting taxpayer resources on this latest anti-Muslim political stunt, Governor Abbott should focus on our state’s real problems under his leadership, from harmful data centers to school shootings to economic inequality to the erosion of religious freedom.”
Following Abbott’s earlier targeting of the foot-washing stations, DFW Airport abandoned plans to add additional foot-washing stations after Abbott threatened to withhold state funding.
In 2024, CAIR’s Houston chapter recognized the leadership team at Houston Airports for their forward-thinking initiative in constructing a wudu (ablution) room and prayer facilities at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), one of the first airports in the U.S. to offer such amenities.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
CONTACT: CAIR-Austin Director, Shaimaa Zayan, [email protected], 512-785-7105; CAIR-DFW Executive Director, Mustafaa Carroll, [email protected], 832-549-1042; CAIR-Houston Director, Imran Ghani, [email protected], 713-922-5270; CAIR Texas Government Affairs and Legislative Manager, Sameeha Rizvi, [email protected], 512-893-1371; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]