Court Allows Islamic Center's Claim of Religious Discrimination to Proceed
A federal judge ruled that the East Plano Islamic Center can move forward with its lawsuit alleging the Texas Funeral Services Commission targeted its religious funeral practices.
In a June 24 opinion, Judge David Alan Ezra concluded that the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) may pursue its lawsuit against the Texas Funeral Services Commission (TFSC) and former chair Kristin Tips. EPIC argues that the March 2025 cease-and-desist letter, which alleged unlicensed funeral activities, was issued despite decades of TFSC allowing non-profit religious burials without a license. The court accepted EPIC’s claim that the commission’s action was motivated by anti-Islamic bias, citing historical letters from 1987 and 2014 that affirmed such exemptions, as well as recent hostile remarks by Tips and political figures.
The opinion draws parallels to the Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling, emphasizing that discriminatory enforcement violates the Free Exercise and Equal Protection clauses. While the case does not address whether EPIC’s practices constitute “Sharia law,” the court noted the lack of specific violations cited in the cease-and-desist. Attorneys Eric A. Hudson and Benjamin L. Dower represent EPIC. The decision allows the religious-freedom claim to move forward in federal court.
Why it matters
The ruling lets a Muslim nonprofit challenge alleged state discrimination over religious burial rites.
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