Texas – Ted Cruz defended Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to stop plans for additional Muslim foot-washing facilities at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, arguing that the Constitution protects religious freedom but does not protect efforts to use government power to impose religious law on others.
“I’m glad Gov. Abbott stepped in to stop the foot-washing station at DFW Airport,” Cruz said. “The Constitution protects the right of every American to practice his faith. Islamism is different: it seeks to use government force to impose Sharia law on everyone else. Sharia law has zero place in the United States.”
Cruz made the comments while discussing Abbott’s recent actions involving Islamic ablution facilities at Texas airports. The facilities, commonly known as wudu stations, are used by Muslims to wash their hands, face and feet before prayer.
The controversy began after reports emerged that DFW was considering adding two additional ablution stations in Terminal D. The airport later abandoned the proposal after Abbott threatened to review state grants and called for federal scrutiny of religious washing facilities at DFW and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Abbott argued that government-owned airports should not provide facilities that he said give special treatment to one religion. On Aug. 14, he directed a review of state grants to entities operating Texas airports and referred DFW and IAH to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. Abbott said the facilities appeared designed to “single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion,” per reports.
DFW subsequently said it would not move forward with the proposed additional facilities. Airport officials said the project had been an internal proposal that had not yet received final approval and that the airport accelerated its review because of increased public attention. DFW ultimately determined that the project would not provide the operational benefits originally anticipated.
The dispute did not mean DFW had never provided ablution facilities. The airport has had washing facilities available in its international terminal since 2019, according to KERA. The existing facilities are connected to an interfaith chapel and allow Muslim travelers to perform ritual washing before prayer.
Abbott later escalated the dispute by asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the washing facilities at both DFW and IAH. NBC 5 reported that Abbott characterized the facilities as discriminatory because they were designed around the religious practices of Muslims.
The issue has drawn criticism from Muslim advocacy organizations and religious-liberty experts, who have argued that the facilities are accommodations rather than government endorsement of Islam. The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Texas called Abbott’s actions an anti-Muslim political stunt, while other officials pointed out that the facilities are available to travelers and are intended to address practical needs at busy international airports.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire also defended the ablution facility at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, saying it was not funded with city taxpayer money and was available to travelers regardless of religion.
Cruz, however, drew a distinction between the Islamic faith itself and what he described as “Islamism.”
In the video, Cruz said religious liberty is protected by the Constitution and that Muslims, like other Americans, have the right to practice their faith and worship according to their beliefs.
“The Constitution protects the right to practice your faith,” Cruz said.
He then argued that Islamism is different because, in his characterization, it involves using political power, law, military force or violence to impose interpretations of Sharia law on others.
“That’s very different than saying I want to practice my faith,” Cruz said.
The senator added that Christians, Jews and other Americans should not be forced to live according to the religious rules of another group.
The debate over the airport facilities comes amid a broader political fight in Texas over Islam, religious accommodations and the role of government in public spaces. Abbott has also recently taken action on other issues involving Muslim organizations and developments in the state, while Cruz has been involved in congressional scrutiny of alleged ties between Muslim organizations and political movements.
For now, DFW’s proposed additional washing stations will not be installed, while the federal review sought by Abbott remains part of the broader dispute over whether such facilities constitute religious discrimination or permissible accommodations for travelers.
Cruz’s comments placed the airport controversy within a larger argument over the limits of religious freedom, emphasizing that the constitutional protection of individual religious practice, in his view, does not extend to using government authority to impose religious rules on other Americans.
