Islamic sports event tied to designated terrorist group prompts Gov. Abbott to put pressure on Texas school district
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In the letter to the school district, Abbott accused CAIR-NJ of praising “Hamas’ slaughter of innocent civilians.”
“You cannot invite such dangers through the front doors of our schools. In fact, state law requires public schools to prohibit illegal activities from taking place on school property. It is obvious, then, that you may not use taxpayer-funded public facilities to host events sponsored by a designated terror organization. To do so would violate your duty to taxpayers and the safety of students. Radical Islamic extremism is not welcome in Texas — and certainly not in our schools,” Abbott wrote.
“Texans deserve immediate action to curb the spread of Islamic extremism, and public facilities funded by their tax dollars will not be utilized to host terrorist related groups,” he added.
The Islamic Games’ website also indicated that it was slated to host the 2026 Dallas event at a school within the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District on May 9 and 10. However, the district told Blaze News that the reservation for the facility “was still in negotiation review and not yet finalized.”
“On January 19, GCISD was made aware that an organization listed as a sponsor of the Islamic Games in North Texas has been declared a Terrorist Organization by the Governor of Texas. Texas Government Code § 2252.152 states that, ‘[a] governmental entity may not enter into a governmental contract with a company identified as a foreign terrorist organization,'” Nicole Lyons, GCISD’s executive director of communications, told Blaze News.
“Thus, GCISD provided notice that it is severing the negotiations for the use of District properties for the 2026 Islamic Games,” Lyons added.
Abbott’s letter to CFISD noted that GCISD “rightfully” announced it had severed negotiations and encouraged CFISD to do the same.
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Greg Abbott. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A spokesperson with CAIR-NJ told Blaze News that its chapter “fully supports” the Islamic Games but noted that the group typically sponsors the events held in New Jersey.
“This one is outside of our state,” the spokesperson stated.
The Islamic Games have upcoming events outside Texas, including in New Jersey, Ontario, Illinois, Maryland, and Michigan.
CFISD and the Islamic Games did not respond to a request for comment.
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