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A little more than a week after Gov. Greg Abbott criticized religious washing facilities at Texas airports, he is now asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.
Abbott announced Aug. 21 that he referred ablution facilities at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to the DOJ, arguing that the accommodations amount to religious discrimination.
“These ablution stations single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion,” Abbott said in a news release. “They are not interfaith chapels open to all. They exist to benefit the Muslim population alone. Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others.”
In an Aug. 21 letter to the Justice Department, Abbott asked federal officials to review the facilities and take what he described as appropriate corrective action.
He argued that government-owned airports should not provide spaces that favor one religion over others.
Abbott said DFW currently has two ablution stations, while Bush Intercontinental has an ablution facility connected to a prayer room containing copies of the Quran, prayer rugs, prayer beads and a turban — an object used by some Muslims during prayer.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire has pushed back on Abbott’s characterization, saying in an Aug. 17 statement that the facilities at Bush Intercontinental are open to travelers, employees and others, regardless of religion. Whitmire also said the project was paid for through fees charged to international airlines and did not use city taxpayer money or state or federal grants.
DFW, meanwhile, has dropped a proposal to add additional ablution stations, according to several news outlets, including the San Antonio Express-News.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma on Facebook.