Sitting congressman encourages anti-Islam hysteria during McKinney mosque vote

A North Texas congressman appeared before the McKinney City Council on Tuesday evening to urge the body to reject a long-awaited zoning application for a new neighborhood mosque. 

Keith Self has served as a U.S. Representative for the district that includes McKinney since 2023, and may be reelected to a third term this November. Over the past year, Self has become one of the Texas GOP’s leading voices against Islam as anti-Muslim sentiment has spread across the state party. 

On Tuesday, Self voiced his opposition to the 5.5-acre worship house designed by the Islamic Association of McKinney by stating his overall distrust of those who practice the Muslim faith. Self referenced a political controversy in the United Kingdom known as “grooming gangs,” which suggests that British law enforcement may have failed to investigate wide-scale child sexual abuse, as evidence of his claims. 

The matter has become politicized, with conservatives pointing out that in some cases, perpetrators of the crimes were of Middle Eastern descent. Self referenced some 250,000 non-muslim girls who have fallen victim to the gangs. That number is unverified by official reports, but has spread widely over social media and been referenced by conservatives such as Elon Musk and British politician Rupert James Graham Lowe.

Self is one of several Texas Republicans who have fully committed to an anti-Sharia law platform over the past year. Sharia is the body of religious law that informs the Islamic tradition, but many Texas Republicans have begun using the phrase as a dog whistle for religious extremism. On Tuesday, Self warned that inviting “political Islam” into North Texas would be a dangerous decision. 

“Child marriage, honor killings, don’t tell me that can’t happen here,” Self said. “There is no state cavalry coming to save you.” 

Self’s stark remarks were backed up by a crowd full of supporters. Throughout the evening, more than 150 North Texans addressed the council, and many spoke against the spread of Islam across Texas, their fears of Sharia law and the need for immigrant communities to “adapt to our norms.” Former McKinney Mayor George Fuller was called a “traitor” after advocating for the development.

How did we get here? 

The major mosque planned for Virginia Parkway and Crutcher Crossing has been in the works for years, but has faced a steep uphill battle. 

In the summer of 2024, dozens of McKinney residents voiced opposition to the planned worship house when it was considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission. While some neighbors offered veiled suggestions that their opposition to the development was rooted in their Christian faith, most were concerned about the impact the influx of traffic would have on a nearby neighborhood. 

A year earlier, the city had conducted a traffic survey to ensure the building’s compatibility with the area. Nonetheless, the commission unanimously denied the application and urged the applicants to consider reducing the building’s footprint. 

“I do feel that most of [the neighbors] are good-hearted people with their concerns, and we respect those and we’ll try to answer those,” Samad Syed, former president of the McKinney Islamic Association, told the Observer at the time. “There’ll always be people who don’t like you, and I don’t think we can do anything about that, but our job is to educate and tell people who we are and try to be good neighbors.”

The association spent the last two years redesigning the buildings and studying traffic and drainage impacts that development may have. But in that time, an anti-Muslim sentiment brewed across Texas, particularly in North Texas, where the development of a Muslim residential community called EPIC City inspired state investigations and denunciations from Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Self and others. 

Abbott has been a leader of the anti-Muslim sentiment, taking steps to designate groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” and targeting events such as a Grand Prairie swim party meant to celebrate the Eid holiday. A spokesperson for Abbott told The Dallas Morning News that the governor plans to pursue a “complete ban on Sharia law in Texas” during the 2027 legislative session. 

In September 2025, a sign announcing that the McKinney mosque would be “coming soon” was defaced with Christian imagery. Large crosses and the words “Jesus Christ” were spray-painted over the signage, and the act was investigated as vandalism. 

On Tuesday, after hours of tense public comment, the council unanimously approved the Islamic Association of McKinney’s zoning request, stating that the plan is “fully compliant” with city rules. Approvals for specific building permits will still be considered on an individual basis. 

City staff acknowledged that construction and early development may result in some hiccups, such as traffic delays, but that interruptions are to be expected of any development and can be worked through. Council member Justin Beller encouraged the crowd to resist the anti-Sharia message that he sees as “election year fear-mongering.”

“Watching partisan politicians with power to gain use fear and outrage is disappointing,” said Beller. “Otherizing people and groups is a cheap way to gain power, and evidence that there are no concrete ideas to serve their constituents. There are enough legitimate concerns in the world without manufacturing new ones.”