The Texas State Board of Education voted on April 10 against a proposal by Muslim advocates to include more information in the curriculum about the contributions of Islam, including a claim that it might have influenced the Alamo.
The vote came after a lengthy public comment session on April 7 that lasted late into the night.
Activists and board members clashed over how Islam and minorities are portrayed in the classroom.
Members of the Texas Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its allies have recently attended board meetings to voice concerns about Muslim representation in the curriculum.
Shaimaa Zayan, Austin operations manager for the CAIR, objected during public comment to the term radical Islam in the curriculum, adding that terrorism shouldn’t be associated with only Muslims in world history lessons.
That prompted Board of Education member Brandon Hall, a Republican, to question why CAIR—which he noted had been designated as a terrorist group by Gov. Greg Abbott—was lobbying to influence social studies lessons.
Zayan defended CAIR, saying it is a civil rights group, not a terrorist group. She said students should have factual information.
“CAIR has no track, no evidence of violence,” she said, noting the organization sued Abbott over the designation.
Other critics argue that social studies standards disproportionately focus on Western civilization, American exceptionalism, and Texas history, reducing inclusivity.
In his letter, Middleton wrote, “The recent demands from CAIR-linked groups represent an organized effort to increase Islamic content in Texas classrooms.”
Middleton’s letter stated that groups want more Islamic-focused classroom materials minus “the evils of Sharia law, the reality of Islamification.”
Middleton told The Epoch Times his concerns are based on national and state security rather than religious differences.
“They see us as the infidel and that they can commit jihad against us,” he said, referencing the Quran.
Middleton added that a state-designated terrorist organization has no business showing up at the Board of Education to “indoctrinate our children.”
Board member Julie Pickren, a Republican, told The Epoch Times there has been a marked increase in appearances by CAIR and its allies at school board meetings.
Pickren said public comments over the past months have included statements that the Alamo has Islamic design elements.
Critics oppose what they see as Judeo-Christian influence in the standards.
“I think that there is an active effort by these alliances that have formed to fundamentally change America, to fundamentally change Texas,” she said.
Pickren said the board, dominated by Republicans, approved the proposed social studies standard on a party-line vote in April but worried it could be revised at the upcoming June meeting.
The final vote on the proposed social studies standard is scheduled for the June meeting. If passed, the standards will be implemented in 2030.
Some grassroots conservatives have expressed concerns about assimilation and the potential influence of Sharia law as the state’s Muslim population grows.
Texas has the fifth-largest Muslim population in the country, according to the World Population Review.
As the Muslim population has grown, particularly near Dallas and Houston, its political influence has also increased.
In 2025, Richardson, a North Texas town, elected its first Muslim mayor.
Islamic schools and Muslim parents are using the courts to fight against what they see as discrimination.
Texas lawmakers passed school choice legislation in 2025. Subsequently, the state faced a religious discrimination lawsuit due to the exclusion of Islamic schools.
The lawsuit claims the state accepted hundreds of other private schools while unconstitutionally discriminating against Islamic schools.
The expansion of the Muslim population in Texas has led to tensions over Muslim-centric developments.
Last year, EPIC City, a 400-acre development named after developer East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), was promoted as the “epicenter of Islam in America.”
Local residents showed up to oppose the development in a rural town east of Dallas.
Posts on social media warned of a growing Muslim influence in a red state.
That prompted Attorney General Ken Paxton to sue the developers, claiming that the housing development would be illegally reserved for Muslim residents.
The lawsuit also alleged the development violated Texas securities laws. The developers have denied any wrongdoing.
