Free Republic

A self-described Muslim university operating in North Texas is facing a lawsuit from the State of Texas over allegations it illegally offered unapproved degrees while misleading prospective students about its legitimacy and ties to Texas A&M University. Filed Monday in Collin County district court, the lawsuit targets Texas American Muslim University—also referred to as “TexAM”—along with administrators Shahid A. Bajwa, Bilal Piracha, and Arsalan Shahzad. The state is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions as well as more than $1 million in civil penalties. According to the petition, TexAM operated as an unlicensed and unaccredited “university” despite never receiving authorization from...

At the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has ordered the Texas American Muslim University at Dallas (TexAM) to halt its operations, stating that the organization is not a recognized university and thus “prohibited by law from granting or offering to grant degrees.” But there are other reasons for state agencies to be concerned: TexAM directors maintain ties to domestic radicals and foreign extremists. One of its founders is an overt supporter of foreign terror operatives, while seemingly accused of stalking and distributing “revenge porn” against a former mistress. Terror-Aligned Extremism Despite four different...

TexAM University at Dallas is marketing itself as a new, Dallas-based “Texas American Muslim University” that blends STEM degrees with mandatory Islamic studies and explicitly positions Islam at the center of its academic model. With a physical address in Richardson, the university has received a warm welcome from Mayor Amir Omar, who is the city’s first Muslim mayor. The address is shared by the Dallas Diyanet Mosque and the Islamic Seminary of America. In a video posted to social media, Omar praised TexAM’s plans and signaled strong support, even joking that he has already “picked out” future office space for...