A planned Muslim-led city in the heart of Texas is one step close to becoming a reality after a judge said the state must comply with developers.
The East Plano Islamic Community (EPIC) mosque is hoping to create a new neighborhood for its followers just outside of Dallas, close to the town of Josephine.
Initially called EPIC City, the project was rebranded as The Meadow last year. The master-planned city will include 1,000 homes, a mosque, green spaces and schools.
Hundreds of locals have spoken out against the idea, along with state legislators including Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who claim project leaders plan to impose Sharia law.
But developers scored a win on Tuesday when a Travis County Judge ruled that the state agency Texas Workforce Commission must comply with the terms of an agreement it reached with the developer, Community Capital Partners.
The Texas Workforce Commission refused to proceed with the next steps for The Meadow project, saying it is under investigation for potential fair housing violations.
Community Capital Partners responded by filing a lawsuit against the agency for failing 'to acknowledge, evaluate, or advance the fair housing policies' it submitted.
The Travis County judge sided with developers this week, and denied the state's request to dismiss the case the following day, paving the way for progress.
A planned Muslim-led city in the heart of Texas is one step close to becoming a reality after a judge said the state must comply with developers. The city would be located close to Dallas
Hundreds of local people have spoken out against the idea, along with state legislators including Governor Greg Abbott (pictured) and Attorney General Ken Paxton
EPIC's current mosque (pictured) is located in Plano, a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas
'This ruling confirms what we have maintained from the beginning that Community Capital Partners has been willing, ready, and committed to following Texas law at every step,' the company's president Imran Chaudhary said in a statement.
'We have done nothing wrong, and this decision reflects that.'
The Texas Workforce Commission said the court's ruling was 'flawed and overlooks substantial evidence' that shows the developers are violating the Fair Housing Act.
'This development remains under active investigation with our federal partners at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We are taking immediate steps to appeal this decision,' the agency told The Dallas Morning News.
EPIC's current mosque is located in Plano, a northern suburb of Dallas.
The green-domed house of worship can accommodate 3,200 followers, making it one of the largest mosques in the Lone Star State.
Several members of the EPIC community warmly welcomed The Daily Mail into their homes and said they were puzzled over the uproar caused by The Meadow proposal.
'It's not like it's just for Muslims. Anyone can live there. The majority are Muslim,' Fatmeh Zeidan, 19, explained in December.
However, one of the leading clerics at EPIC, Dr Yasir Qadhi, has a decades-old record of preaching hatred, homophobia and Holocaust-denial to his followers.
Yasir Qadhi once said that gay people and adulterers should be put to death under Islam
Located in Plano, the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) anchors a large Islamic community
Audio files show Qadhi openly calling in the 2000s for the execution of gay people and adulterers - as well as calling the Holocaust a 'hoax.'
In one of his chilling diatribes, Qadhi even advances a wild theory Jewish people have infiltrated religious departments of American universities in a bid to 'destroy' Muslims.
The case raises questions about Texas' fast-growing Muslim population, Islamophobia, and whether the views of clerics put the faith at odds with US values.
Sam Westrop, a counter-extremism analyst at the Middle East Forum, which unearthed the recordings, said Qadhi and his followers are dangerous fundamentalists.
'Qadhi and his mosque, EPIC, have radicalized generations of Muslims not just in the Dallas area, but across the US,' Westrop told the Daily Mail in December.
'Any sort of compound such as EPIC City will serve to radicalize future generations of Muslims.'
Qadhi's group, he claims, seeks to 'advance Sharia and other theocratic threats away from the checks and balances of Texas law and order.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to EPIC for comment on the latest developments, and on Qadhi's rhetoric.