Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening a pair of major airports in the state — over public washing areas designed for Muslim travelers.
Abbott demanded a federal Department of Transportation investigation into both Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, for installing an Islamic "wudu" washing facility used in prayer rituals, as well as Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which has plans to build similar facilities.
The Dallas and Houston airports are both major hubs for international passenger traffic, including multiple direct flights from each to destinations in the Middle East.
"These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal," said Governor Abbott. "Both airports are government-owned facilities. The federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination. Just as the government cannot favor the secular over the sacred, it also cannot favor one religious view over all others."
This comes despite Abbott and the Texas GOP having steamrolled over all constitutional objections to require public schools in the state to display the posters with the King James version of the Ten Commandments.
It's not the first time Abbott has engaged in an airport-based religious crusade.
In 2019, Abbott signed "religious freedom" legislation to countermand the San Antonio City Council after they refused to allow Chick-fil-A to open a location in that city's airport, citing their financial support of anti-LGBTQ causes. Ultimately, Chick-fil-A decided not to pursue a lease in the airport anyway.
