No fund for you if you have Islamic wudu washing facilities: Major row over Texas Governor’s warning to two airports

A
majo
ow
bega
afte
G eg
Abbott
wa ed
two
ai po ts
ove
Islamic
wudu
wash
basi s.

Texas
Gove o
G eg
Abbott
wa ed
Dallas-Fo t
Wo th
Ai po t
a d
Geo ge
Bush
I te co ti e tal
Ai po t
i
Housto
accusi g
them
of
eligious
bias
ove
Islamic
wudu
washi g
facilities.
Abbott
said
gove me t-ow ed
ai po ts
ca ot
favo
o e
eligio
ove
all
othe s
a d
they
should
be
i vestigated
a d
thei
fu ds
should
be
stopped
if
they
a e
fou d
doi g
somethi g
like
that.
Abbott
said
the
state
will
eview
g a ts
to
botth
the
ai po ts
fo
possible
evocatio
a d
de ial
of
futu e
fu di g.
He
also
efe ed
both
ai po ts
to
the
US
Depa tme t
of
T a spo tatio
fo
i vestigatio .”Gove me t-ow ed
ai po ts
ca ot
favo
o e
eligio
ove
all
othe s,”
Abbott
w ote.
“DFW
pla s
to
i stall
Islamic
wudu
washi g
facilities
a e
illegal.
I’ve
di ected
a
eview
of
all
state
g a ts
to
both
ai po ts
fo
possible
evocatio ,
a d
efe ed
DFW
&
IAH
to
USDOT
fo
i vestigatio .”Texas
will
ot
allow
illegal
eligious
disc imi atio
at
taxpaye -fu ded
facilities,”
he
wa ed.

DFW
sc aps
ew
wudu
washi g
facilities
but
what
about
those
existi g?

Fox
News
epo ted
that
Dallas
Fo t
Wo th
I te atio al
Ai po t
said
that
it
sc apped
its
p oject
to
i stal
Islamic
washi g
statio s.

The
autho ities
said
that
it
had
bee
evaluati g
a
p oposal
to
add
wudu
washi g
statio s
o
the
p e-secu ity
side
of
Te mi al
D,
its
i te atio al
te mi al,
but
did
ot
fi d
e ough
ope atio al
be efits.”DFW
was
i
the
p ocess
of
evaluati g
a
i te al
p oposal
to
add
a
set
of
ablutio
washi g
statio s
o
the
p e-secu ity
side
of
Te mi al
D,
the
i te atio al
te mi al.
Like
all
p oposed
p ojects,
the
ai po t
ultimately
co side s
the
ope atio al
be efits,
custome
se vice
impacts,
ope atio al
isks
a d
costs
befo e
app ovi g
them,”
the
ai po t
said.”While
that
evaluatio
was
pla ed,
the
ai po t
accele ated
its
eview
due
to
elevated
public
i te est
this
week
a d
has
dete mi ed
ot
to
p oceed
with
the
p oject
as
it
would
ot
delive
the
o igi ally
a ticipated
ope atio al
be efits.”

Wudu
wash
basi
owWudu
basi
is
a
specialized
st uctu e
that
allows
easy
washi g
of
ha ds,
face,
a ms,
a d
feet
befo e
daily
p aye s.The e
was
a
co fusio
ove
the
DFW
pla ,
as
o e
eco d
showed
it
as
a
p oject
which
will
be
p ivately
fu ded
a d
would
cost
app oximately
$300,000.
But
it
was
alte ed
to
a
public
fu d
p oject,
a d
the
cost
was
sig ifica tly
educed
to
$115,000.
The
ai po t
autho ities
said
the
mismatch
was
a
admi ist ative
e o
by
a
outside
desig
fi m
but
ow
the
p oject
has
bee
ca ed.The
DFW
sc apped
the
p oject
to
add
two
ew
wash
basi s
but
it’s
ot
k ow
what
would
happe
to
the
existi g
o es.”It’s
g eat
that
the
ew
Wudu
statio s
i
DFW
we e
ca celed
afte
Gove o
Abbott
comi g
out
a d
opposi g
them,
but
do ’t
be
fooled
u de
Gove o
Abbotts
leade ship
i
2019,
Wudu
statio s
we e
i stalled
a d
a e
cu e tly
i
use
i
Te mi al
D
of
DFW
Ai po t,”
Republica
leade
Alexa de
Du ca
said,
addi g
that
Abbott
had
bee
complicit
i
the
‘Islamic
i vasio ‘
of
Texas.