Texas judge issues restraining order against utility district involved with Islamic development
COLLIN COUNTY, Texas - The acting board of directors for a North Texas utility district has been stopped in their tracks by a judge after the state accused them of illegally acting in support of a controversial Islamic development.
The temporary restraining order issued Thursday follows a lawsuit from the attorney general's office, accusing the utility district of helping East Plano Islamic Center developers duck state regulation.
Texas utility district restrained
The TRO was issued by a district court in North Texas on Thursday, enjoining the Double R Municipal Utility District No. 2A of Hunt and Collin Counties ("Double R MUD") from taking actions in their board meeting scheduled for Friday, March 20. The defendants in the TRO, referred to as the "purported directs," are now barred from taking up or deciding on most of the agenda items they had planned.
Those defendants, named as Yaneli Molina, Hatim Mahmoud Yusuf, Nadeem Ashraf Khan, Asim Hussain Khan, and Faisal Abbas, are accused of breaking portions of the Texas Water Code. The order says they "did not own taxable property within Double R MUD’s geographic boundaries as they existed prior to the purported annexation of lands on September 12, 2025."
According to a previous state lawsuit, the MUD was inactive until September 2025, when developers involved in the Meadow, previously EPIC City, allegedly "engineered the takeover" of the district rather than creating a new one for the development. Paxton claimed this was to avoid state regulation, calling the actions "highly unusual."
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What the board can't do
Double R MUD's Friday agenda is not readily available online or included in AG Ken Paxton's Thursday release announcing the TRO, but the order gives a list of specific items the board can't do until the court takes further action:
- Act as board members or run the district at all
- Appoint or remove directors, or reorganize the board
- Enter into contracts or take on financial obligations (like issuing bonds or other debts)
- Approve legal, engineering, or financial work tied to those decisions
- Submit certain filings to regulators unless required
- Set up offices or hold meetings outside the district improperly
- Go forward with the planned March 20 meeting or act on its agenda (except for things needed to participate in the lawsuit)
What's next:
The court is set for another hearing on the state's request for an injunction against the MUD on Monday, March 30. If no action is taken, the TRO expires April 1.
FOX Local has reached out to EPIC for a statement. They had not responded at the time of publishing.
North Texas Islamic development
The backstory:
EPIC City has drawn the attention of Governor Greg Abbott, Paxton and other Texas leaders as a facet of the ongoing crusade against "Sharia law." The proposed development would be a Muslim-centric community surrounding a new mosque and K-12 private school. Lawmakers have been attempting to halt it every step of the way.
EPIC and their developers have also been targeted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, who previously sent a letter to CCP about the permits required to create a municipal utility district.
Gov. Greg Abbott has also asked the Texas Rangers to investigate the mosque and related businesses. In a post about EPIC City on social media, Abbott commented, "Sharia law is not allowed in Texas."
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The mosque was also sent a letter from the Texas Funeral Service Commission and has drawn the attention of the Texas Workforce Commission.
Paxton opened an investigation into communications between EPIC and city officials in Plano, Richardson and Wylie. His office is also looking into CCP.
Sen. John Cornyn requested a DOJ investigation into EPIC City in April, bringing up concerns that the community could discriminate based on faith. The investigation was dropped in June.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Ken Paxton and previous FOX Local reporting.