In Texas, candidates running for office during the primaries have made Muslims and what they call the Islamification of Texas the center of their campaigns.

The state's top Republicans have also passed legislation and made policies targeting Muslim organizations and housing developments.

Stephanie Sai reports on how the rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies in the Lone Star State is affecting its Muslim communities.

On a typical Friday service, the East Plano Islamic Center is packed wall-to-wall.

Known by its acronym, Epic, the center's prayer halls are

so crowded it's resorted to overflow rooms.

We are now one of the largest, one of the most active mosques really in the country.

Yasser Kadi, Epic's resident Islamic scholar, says mosque membership has ballooned, along with

the population of the Dallas-Fort Worth

metro area.

It's basically saturated out.

You know, we have so many people living in this vicinity.

The idea came from some of the local congregants here.

What if we were to have a planned neighborhood?

Right here you have the mosque and the community center.

That planned neighborhood, known as Epic City, began to take shape in 2024.

The proposed development sits 40 minutes northeast of Dallas, with about 1,000 single and

multifamily homes planned across 400 acres.

Imran Chaudry is the lead developer.

When you came up with this plan, did you think it would be controversial?

No, absolutely not.

We were just developing a community which will be just Muslim friendly.

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