An event billed as a “Muslims only” celebration at a publicly owned water park in Texas has been canceled after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott intervened.
The Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark in Grand Prairie, which is owned by the city and operated by a private company, initially scheduled a June 1 event to celebrate Eid, a major Muslim holiday, according to CBS News.
A flyer touting the event said it was for “Muslims only,” making this event a lightning rod for controversy.
“After further review and in the best interest of the City of Grand Prairie, the June 1 Eid event at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark has been canceled,” the city said in a statement.
Abbott had made his opinion clear in an ultimatum he gave the city.
“A city-owned water park in Grand Prairie openly advertised a ‘MUSLIMS ONLY’ event — closed to the general public,” Abbott wrote Wednesday in a post on X.
“That’s religious discrimination. It’s unconstitutional. I signed HB 4211 into law — banning Muslim only no-go zones in Texas,” he wrote.
“The City must cancel the event and commit to never allowing something like it again by May 11th, or lose $530,000 in state grants,” he wrote.