A planned Muslim residential community named EPIC City in Texas has received significant media attention, with some Texas officials claiming it will be an Islamic city or governed by Sharia law.
Texas
West Texas High School Football Preview: 10 coaches to watch ahead of the 2024 season
Miles’ Jayson Wilhelm talks after bi-district win over Sterling City
The Miles Bulldogs beat the Sterling City Eagles 48-0 in the bi-district round on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
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Texas high school football is only weeks away from fall practice, and excitement grows as fans, players and coaches with high aspirations anticipate the return of Friday night lights in West Texas.
For the past few weeks, the Standard-Times highlighted the top local players in seven position groups — quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, offensive linemen, defensive backs, defensive linemen, and linebackers.
In the next installment of our 2024 high school football preview series, we will spotlight the top coaches to watch during the 2024 season.
High school coaches to watch
Scott Freeman, Junction
Freeman was the 2023 All-West Texas Coach of the Year after turning the Eagle program from winless in 2022 to a playoff squad in 2023. Junction has plenty to look forward to this season with a move down to Class 2A Division II. They return all 11 starters on offense and defense and start the season ranked in the top 25 at No. 20. If Freeman can harness the potential on his roster, expect a deep playoff run from the Eagles this season.
DJ Howell, Sterling City
Howell comes from a successful stint in six-man football at Miami, replacing Trey Sisco, who moves back to the six-man football ranks with Water Valley. Howell has a clean slate to work with as he looks to replace seven starters on offense and defense, but inherits a program with plenty of pedigree. It has been four years since Sterling moved up to 11-man football after winning a state title in Class 1A Division I in 2020.
Michael McLeod, Mason
McLeod led Mason to its 14th consecutive district championship last season with an 11-1 record. However, the Punchers failed to reach the regional semifinal for the second straight season — the first time since 2008. It has been six years since Mason won its second state title with McLeod as the offensive coordinator. Now, as the head coach, he has an opportunity to get back to the title game with a roster filled with experience and talent. The Punchers come into the season ranked ninth in Class 2A Division I and are the favorite to win their district.
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Casey Otho, Christoval
It has been two seasons since Christoval had a winning season. The Cougars moved up from Class 2A Division II to Division I at the end of the 2020 season. After losing three players to graduation last year, Christoval is primed to surprise this season with a young roster deep in the trenches. If Otho and the Cougars can take advantage of their opportunity, they could find themselves back in deep playoff territory.
Shawn Rogers, Richland Springs
The Coyotes did not take long to get themselves back into the state championship conversation after a brief hiatus in 2022. Coach Shawn Rogers deserves a lot of credit for steadying the ship after the departure of longtime coach Jerry Burkhart, quickly rebounding to a 13-1 record and a state semifinal appearance. Richland Springs begins the season as favorites to make another state championship game as the No. 2 ranked team in Class 1A Division II.
Mark Smith, Central
Smith takes command of a Central program that could be on the precipice of a turning point. The Bobcats had a tumultuous 2023 season after graduating most of their starters in 2022, fielding one of the youngest teams in Class 6A last year. Despite a competitive effort, they finished the season 1-9 and hired Smith. Before coming to Central, he spent nearly a decade among the college ranks at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Colorado and Southern Methodist University, among others. Under Brent Davis, the last Central hire from the college ranks, the program was a consistent contender in the Little Southwest Conference. The hope is Smith can capture the same magic.
Craig Slaughter, Wall
Wall finished last season falling short of a state semifinal appearance with a loss to Canadian. After the loss, longtime coach Houston Guy announced he was stepping away from his position. The school district slotted Slaughter, the defensive coordinator, as the new head coach. Slaughter transformed the Hawks’ defense into a powerhouse among Class 3A Division II programs during his as defensive coordinator. The hope is he can breathe new life into the offense and help push No. 9 Wall over the hump. If he can get the offense humming early, the Hawks could have its second state title within reach by December.
Blake Weston, Sonora
Weston was named one of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s ’40 under 40’ coaches in Texas after leading the Broncos to back-to-back double-digit win seasons. This year, he faces a new challenge by replacing two of his best players in quarterback Jaime Buitron and running back and linebacker Edgar DeLuna. On top of losing two star players, the Broncos return half their starters on offense and defense. Weston kept Sonora on track without Buitron for the first half of last season, but can he keep the Broncos rolling with a new engine in 2024?
Aaron Whitmire, Water Valley
After two seasons in 11-man football, the Wildcats elected to move back to the six-man game in 2024. The last time Water Valley was in six-man football, they finished the season 12-1 under previous head coach John York. This year, the Wildcats start the season ranked No. 12, but have stiff competition with two other top 25 teams in No. 19 Irion County and No. 23 Robert Lee in their district. Whitmire brought former Sterling City head coach Trey Sisco in as an offensive coordinator, forming a formidable coaching tandem. If Whitmire can adjust his team to six-man football, it will be easy to see them in state title contention.
Jayson Wilhelm, Miles
Wilhelm led Miles to its first playoff win since 2010-11 with a shutout win over Sterling City last year. The Bulldogs return most of their starters but lost All-West Texas Offensive MVP and star quarterback Hayven Book to graduation — an integral part of their explosive passing attack. Even with the loss of their quarterback, Miles has an impressive roster of upperclassmen littered with varsity experience. They face one of the toughest districts in Class 2A Division II, featuring two-time defending state champions Albany, but have all of the tools to make a deep playoff run this season.
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer
Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer and the Detroit Tigers pulled away to a 7-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday night.
Torkelson had gone five games without a homer after tying a franchise record by homering in five consecutive games.
Kevin McGonigle had two RBI singles and Matt Vierling added a two-run double for Detroit, which has won all five of its home series. Hao-Yu Lee chipped in a run-scoring single.
Tyler Holton served as an opener and retired two of the three batters he faced. Brant Hunter (4-0) tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, allowing two hits and striking out two.
Rangers starter Jack Leiter tied his career high with 10 strikeouts. He lasted 6 2/3 innings and was charged with five runs.
Leiter struck out six of the first eight batters he faced. He didn’t allow a baserunner until he issued a four-pitch walk to Riley Greene. Torkelson fell behind in the count 0-2, then clubbed a hanging slider over the left field wall to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.
McGonigle’s line drive single in the sixth knocked in Jake Rogers, who led off the inning with a liner that bounced past center fielder Evan Carter for a triple.
Texas scored in the seventh on Kyle Higashioka’s RBI groundout. The Tigers then scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Vierling’s two-run bloop double.
Up next
The Rangers begin a three-game road series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01) will start for Texas.
Tigers ace LHP Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.70) will start the opener of a three-game home series against Boston on Monday.
The developers and Muslim American groups deny these claims and say it will be a “Muslim neighborhood” and not a separately-governed space.
So what is true?
EPIC city is a planned large-scale development project in Texas, promoted by a private development group associated with the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) area community.
The “city” is a plan to develop a 402-acre tract of land in Hunt and Collin Counties that, when built, will host more than 1,000 residential lots, a faith-based K-12 school, commercial and retail centers, and a mosque. It has now been quietly rebranded “The Meadow.”
It is not a new city, and will not have its own government. It will remain under Texas state law.
Marketing materials lead to HUD investigation
However, marketing materials that promoted the development have referred to it as an exclusively “Muslim community” that will serve as “the epicenter of Islam in America.”
This prompted the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) to launch an investigation to determine whether EPIC City’s plans violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in religious and national-origin discrimination.
This included reviews into whether the project used discriminatory financial terms that required lot owners to subsidize a mosque and Islamic educational centers.
“It is deeply concerning that the East Plano Islamic Center may have violated the Fair Housing Act and participated in religious discrimination,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
“As HUD Secretary, I will not stand for illegal religious or national origin discrimination in housing and will ensure that this matter receives a thorough investigation so that this community is open to all Texans.”
Texas state officials, Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, have been repeatedly attempting to block the project, believing it to be a potential for Sharia law.
Paxton has filed multiple active lawsuits against them, including for securities fraud and illegal maneuvers involving their municipal utility district. These are multiple separate cases, and there is no single unified case against EPIC City.
Abbott has already directed multiple state agencies to get to the bottom of it. He claimed that the Texas Rangers also opened up a criminal investigation.
“Sharia law is not allowed in Texas,” he has said on multiple occasions.
Last week, Travis County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled that the Texas Workforce Commission must honor a settlement agreement and back off its fair housing scrutiny of EPIC City.
This was after EPIC filed an underlying lawsuit to force the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”) to approve certain fair housing documents despite an ongoing federal investigation involving EPIC.
Abbott, however, said on X/Twitter Thursday, “This erroneous court ruling has already been appealed and halted. Additionally, the so-called city is the subject of other litigation and countless investigations. It will never see the light of day.”
Paxton has appealed the ruling, suspending the temporary injunction pending appeal, and ensuring that the Texas Workforce Commission will not be forced to take unlawful action while the case proceeds.
“Following my appeal of the flawed ruling that would have required the Texas Workforce Commission to unlawfully approve fair housing documents for EPIC, I am glad to see that the developers will not receive such services as this lawsuit is proceeding,” said Attorney General Paxton.
“EPIC city developers have sought out any possible way to evade the law and further their development scheme. I will be relentless in ensuring that any attempt by EPIC City to move its development forward in violation of the law is stopped.”
On the same day, a state court judge in Collin County temporarily blocked further actions by a utility district slated to serve EPIC City.
“The state is just asking for a pause until we can figure out what’s going on,” Wesley Williams with the Texas attorney general’s office told Judge Nowak. “There’s a lot of secrecy surrounding this board.”
The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas) has, however, defended the project and called the allegations against it “Islamophobic witch hunts and politically driven regulatory harassment.”
In a statement on Thursday, CAIR-Tx said: “For over a year, state leaders have abused their authority in a bigoted attempt to deny Texas Muslims their constitutional right to develop an inclusive, family-oriented community.”
“We applaud the court for holding state agencies accountable and recognizing that the law applies equally to everyone, including the State of Texas.”
According to archived materials found by The Jerusalem Post, the project has moved from public-facing to more private over the last year, likely due to the public scrutiny.
While its website is currently inactive, its February 2023 site described the project as “a safe purpose-built community to serve the growing needs of the Muslim community.”
In the investor pitch, now also not available, it said that anyone wishing to purchase a lot must note that the “price of the lots covers land purchase cost, land development of roads and utilities, construction of EPIC 2.0 Masjid [mosque], and Construction of EPIC QCA School.
It also said that while many owners are free to choose any financing institution they prefer, “to provide convenience for our investors, we are working with Islamic Financing companies to ensure that Islamic Financing is available.”
Elsewhere, the terms and conditions say the developer intends to donate portions of the Land to EPIC for the mosque and the private school, and also intends to donate to EPIC 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of Lots to the mosque.
The developer is essentially saying: “We will build the infrastructure, sell the lots, and give the profits and some land to EPIC to support its mosque and school.”
None of this is outright illegal. However, it becomes illegal if people are excluded based on religion. Any project must also comply with fair housing, zoning, and development regulations.
What does this mean? A project cannot require buyers to be Muslim, it cannot exclude non-Muslims, it cannot advertise it as “Muslim-only housing,” and it cannot enforce religious membership as a condition of ownership.
Additionally, if buyers are indirectly funding a religious institution through land purchases, regulators may assess whether risks are clearly disclosed and whether profits are properly marketed.
It is this aspect that Abbott and Paxton have been investigating.
One of the main figures, the face of the project, is Yasir Qadhi (formerly Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi), who is both the dean of The Islamic Seminary of America and resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center.
A former Salafist, he was criticized in 2010 for saying “Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews” and “that Hitler never actually intended to massacre the Jews, he actually wanted to expel them to neighboring lands.” He later apologized for this and went on a trip to Auschwitz as part of a delegation.
Regarding EPIC City, Qadhi said it will be a “role model community of thousands of Muslims living well-integrated.”
“We are not forming a cult. We’re not forming big barriers between the rest of society. We’re going to be giving back to this state and this country, and we’re going to be showing what it means to be a Muslim neighborhood.”
The town of Mineral Wells is slowly healing after being hit by an EF‑3 tornado on Tuesday evening.
“We know a lot of impacted families, whether it was their home or their workplace, and Woody’s has always been a special place to them. I just want them to know that they have a special place with us, and we want to do whatever we can to help,” said Taylor Oliver, general manager of Woody’s Bar and Grill.
Woody’s has been a staple in the community. On Saturday, instead of celebrating its 75‑year anniversary, the restaurant hosted a relief fundraiser.
“We’re going to put any profit that we make today towards that,” said Oliver.
Storm caused widespread property damage
The storm left a path of destruction. The National Weather Service says winds reached 145 miles per hour, destroying and damaging homes and businesses.
“We have 140 properties that have been impacted, with 82 of those properties being a residence,” said Mineral Wells Mayor Regan Johnson.
With several commercial buildings damaged, the city says about 500 employees were affected. Some have already returned to work, and officials emphasized that despite the destruction, no lives were lost.
“I mean, that much damage, that many buildings and structures gone, and no fatalities, I mean,” said Oliver.
Residents recount moments the tornado hit
Christopher Hester and Rebecca Scott were home when the tornado came through.
“When everything happened, we were standing right there… This is the first part that we saw come up, and you can see, like the wood being lifted in the nails we immediately ducked down, grabbed the dog and then ran to right here,” said Scott.
The couple, along with many others who lost everything, have been given temporary housing at no cost for now.
Community support fuels recovery efforts
The community has rallied to support those impacted, and many say there’s no doubt Mineral Wells will come back stronger than before.
“Mineral Wells people are so resilient, we’re going to fight this, of course we’re going to win this, of cour—”
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