Rep. Keith Self Raises Alarm Over Sharia Enclave in Plano

U.S. Rep. Keith Self (R-McKinney) went before cameras at CPAC in late March and declared that the East Plano Islamic Center has been running what he called a "Sharia-adherent enclave" in his congressional district for more than a decade, linking the mosque to a planned 402-acre development near Josephine that has drawn scrutiny from state and federal agencies alike. His remarks placed Plano, a Collin County city of roughly 290,000, at the center of a national political fight over Islam, housing, and constitutional rights.

"Sharia is alive, well, and operating in Plano, Texas. Right now, as I speak, there is an existing Sharia-adherent enclave run by the East Plano Islamic Center in my congressional district. It's been functioning for 12 years right in our midst. This is not a hypothetical or future threat. It is here, now and operational," Self said, according to video of his remarks circulated online.

The word "enclave," however, carries no distinct legal weight under U.S. law. It implies no separate governance structure, no authority to enforce a parallel legal code, and no power to exclude law enforcement. No Plano Police Department statement, no Collin County Sheriff's report, and no state or federal law enforcement agency has documented any instance of religious law being enforced on residents at or around the East Plano Islamic Center. Self's office did not respond to a request for comment.

EPIC members describe Sharia law as personal religious practice, not a governance system. The mosque's own materials describe it as encompassing parts of Islamic tradition surrounding lifestyle, including when to pray, what to eat, and clothes to wear. EPIC attorney Cogdell noted that Imran Chaudhary, the president of the company developing the proposed community, "had to Google what Sharia meant."

The development at the center of Self's broader alarm is The Meadow, a project in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties northeast of Dallas, near the small city of Josephine. The project would include a new mosque, more than 1,000 single and multi-family homes, a K-12 faith-based school, parks, and commercial and retail businesses. As of late 2025, no formal plans had been filed with the county. The project was formerly called EPIC City before being rebranded as The Meadow.

In terms of actual regulatory status, the development faces serious legal headwinds that have nothing to do with Sharia law. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a Fair Housing Act investigation into EPIC Real Properties, Inc., and Community Capital Partners, LP, citing marketing materials that promoted the development as an exclusively "Muslim community" and financial terms that required lot owners to subsidize a mosque and Islamic educational centers. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton separately sued a municipal utility district in Collin and Hunt counties in February, accusing it of improperly supporting the development; a Collin County judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the group from exercising authority beyond complying with Paxton's lawsuit.

Crucially, those investigations center on potential securities violations and Fair Housing Act concerns, not on any finding that Sharia law is being enforced. A prior U.S. Department of Justice inquiry closed without finding legal grounds to block the community from being built.

Self co-founded the Sharia-Free America Caucus with Rep. Chip Roy in December alongside a bill that would deny entry to anyone deemed to "adhere to Sharia law." Self has said the issue polls as an "80/20" advantage in his district, adding: "People are concerned about the growth, the Islamization, the number of mosques in my district, absolutely." The TX-03 race is heading into a competitive 2026 election cycle.

One Plano Muslim resident, who said he had previously donated to Self's campaign and met with him privately, said he had requested another meeting but received no response. For EPIC members, the gap between the rhetoric and the record has become the story.