Jesus Would Be Ashamed Of GOP Outrage Over Muslim Prayer at DFW Airport

For the last year in North Texas, Muslims attempting to go about their daily lives have been the subject of vitriol and scorn from state lawmakers who claim to subscribe to the religion that tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

A multi-pronged investigation into the proposed Muslim community in Collin County, the opposition to a new mosque in McKinney and the targeting of a Muslim Texas House representative from Tarrant County by the head of the local Republican Party all stand as evidence that it’s an uncomfortable time to be a believer of the Islamic faith in North Texas. And in recent weeks, yet another example of Republican-sanctioned Islamophobia added itself to what has become a running list. 

Tom Ascol, a North Texas native who now serves as the head preacher of the Grace Baptist Church in Florida, took to social media last month to share about an experience at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s interfaith chapel that he says left him “grieved and angered.” According to a tweet posted on Sept. 26 and a follow-up statement issued on Oct. 1, Ascol found himself with a few hours to kill in Terminal D of the airport when an announcement advertising a prayer service that “all were welcome” came over the loudspeakers. 

Ascol, who said he is unable to grant media requests “for personal reasons” and “will not be commenting further,” says he approached the terminal’s chapel and saw several men kneeling on prayer mats being led in prayer.  

“I looked through the door, bags in hand, processing the fact that what the travelers in DFW were invited to was, in fact, Muslim prayers,” wrote Ascol. 

The airport chaplaincy’s website states that DFW Airport’s chapels are open to travelers who are “Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or simply seeking a moment of stillness.” 

Ascol says he attempted to enter the room to observe the ritual but was barred from entering by a man who spoke “about the prophet Mohammed” before saying “there was a chair in the back” for Ascol to sit in, but he needed to remove his shoes to enter. Removing one’s shoes is a standard expectation before entering an Islamic prayer area.

Even though Ascol was offered a chair in the chapel, Ascol claims that this exchange is proof that some “false worship” is being “promoted in deceitful ways by DFW authorities.” He added that the experience “grieved (him) as an American,” as if there is something un-American about Muslim worship. 

Since Ascol took to social media, Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General Mayes Middleton and Republican Congressman Chip Roy (whose district includes no part of North Texas) have launched unofficial probes into the airport chapel, calling for the airport to deliver documents such as service schedules and any communications related to Ascol’s claims to their respective offices. 

At the start of Ascol’s post, he admits his expectations for the “open to all” prayer service were low — perhaps some “weak ecumenical offering,” he wrote. (It seems Ascol was begrudgingly expecting a service relating to several types of Christian Churches.) It feels telling that his offense came when a purportedly “open to all” service wasn’t inherently Christian — but then, how would Ascol have reacted if he’d been engaged in a Christian service and a Muslim man with a prayer mat attempted to enter the service? 

In a statement, Rev. Greg McBrayer, the executive director of the airport’s chaplaincy, said the airport’s chaplains “never refuse others from observing any service, or place requirements or restrictions on entering the space during any services.” The chaplaincy’s Muslim cleric, who McBrayer says is the longest-serving cleric on the worship team, was “shocked and saddened at (Ascol’s) claim,” and was unaware of the incident until Ascol posted his complaints online. 

“We want our airport community to know that we are shaken by this incident, which would run counter to our core mission, values and beliefs that all are welcome in our spaces,” the statement said. 

Muslims from North Texas have endured a year of political bullying. Nationally, anti-Muslim discrimination is on the rise. In 2024, 8,658 complaints of discrimination were filed with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the highest number since the organization began recording complaints for an annual civil rights report in 1996.

Ascol punched down when he posted to social media. His tweet, which has been viewed 116,600 times, opened the floodgates for racist and Islamophobic commentary that mirrors the “Islam problem” rhetoric that has, unfortunately, become common across the Lone Star State. 

We hope DFW Airport doesn’t bow to Roy and Middleton’s Christian/GOP brown-nosing and that the interfaith chaplaincy will continue its mission of serving every person passing through North Texas in need of guidance, no matter their creed or color. 

That’s what Jesus would want.