Grand Prairie cancels Muslim event at water park after Abbott threatens funding
Grand Prairie canceled a private party for Muslims at a city-owned water park after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funding.
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The city announced the cancelation Wednesday evening, about seven hours after Abbott issued the ultimatum on social media: Call off the event by May 11 or lose $530,000 in state funds.
“That’s religious discrimination,” Abbott wrote on X. “It’s unconstitutional.”
In an emailed statement to The Dallas Morning News, Grand Prairie said it canceled the party “after further review and in the best interest” of the city.
Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark had planned to host a June 1 celebration for Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holy day that celebrates devotion and sacrifice. But fliers for the event circulated on social media in recent days, prompting a backlash among conservatives and social media influencers.
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Abbott pointed to a law he signed last year that targeted the business structure behind The Meadow, a planned Muslim-centric neighborhood about 40 miles northeast of Dallas, previously called Epic City. It is not clear if the law applies to private events at publicly funded facilities.
Fliers initially described the event as for “Muslims only,” with a modest dress code and private prayer area. Aminah Knight, a Dallas-area mother of six who is hosting the event, said she did not intend to exclude anyone and later revised the flier to say “All are welcome.”
“As Muslims, we have a modest dress code. Going to a water park can be a challenge,” Knight said. “This is a way to have fun and make sure our children and community feel seen.”
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After learning the event was canceled, Knight said she was disappointed but would not give up. She said she plans to host an interfaith cookout this summer to celebrate July 4.
“My faith is not something to fear,” she said in a message to The News. “Not because I am personally afraid of disagreement, but because fear and misunderstanding can grow into discrimination, and that is dangerous for any society. When people begin to see their neighbors as foreign or as though they do not belong, it weakens the fabric of our nation.”
Epic Waters opened in 2017 after voters approved a 0.25% sales tax. The park, which is managed by an outside third party, can be rented by groups or individuals for a minimum of $5,000 an hour.
This would have been the third year Knight reserved the facility for fellow Muslims, drawing little notice in the past. This year was different.
Citing what some called an “Islamic threat,” influencers urged followers to complain to the city of Grand Prairie. Prominent conservative commentators, including radio host Dana Loesch and activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, lambasted the event and city.
“How is a taxpayer-funded, city-owned entity allowed to discriminate against non-Muslims at a public water park?” Loesch said.
Anti-Islamic rhetoric in Texas and across the U.S. has surged in the past year, according to a report last month by the nonprofit Center for the Study of Organized Hate. The center traced the current wave of Islamophobia to a single tweet from Abbott in February 2025, in which he amplified a post calling the Epic City development a “Sharia city.”
Over the next several months, anti-Islamic posts flooded social media, the center found. Many framed Muslims through the lens of terrorism and national security, calling for the deportation or denaturalization of Muslims. Others used dehumanizing language, labeling Islam as a “death cult,” “cancer,” and “plague.”
Abbott did not respond to an email from The News on Wednesday seeking comment.
This is not the first time the governor has sought to use funding as leverage, adopting a strategy favored by President Donald Trump, who has threatened to pull funds from states and cities whose policies did not align with his administration.
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Last month, Abbott threatened to pull $32 million in state funds if Dallas did not repeal police department rules around collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He issued similar warnings to Houston and Austin.
In response, Dallas revised its rules to allow police to ask people detained or arrested about their immigration status, work with federal immigration authorities and share immigration-status information with them.
Related: Texas AG Paxton launches investigation into H-1B visa fraud in North Texas
