By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews
McKINNEY, Texas — U.S. Rep. Keith Self said he could not envision a new mosque he would support during an Aug. 17 radio interview about McKinney’s recall effort and the controversy surrounding the McKinney Islamic Association.
Self appeared on The Mark Davis Show on 660 AM The Answer after announcing he would sign the petition seeking to recall Mayor Bill Cox and Council Members Ernest Lynch, Geré Feltus and Justin Beller.
During the interview, Self also made a series of claims about Sharia law and Muslims in North Texas, including questions about unattended Muslim deaths in Plano.
What Could the Council Have Done?
Davis asked Self what McKinney council members should have done differently Aug. 5. City officials had said the Islamic association’s site plan met city requirements, and the council approved it 7-0.
“What choice did we have?” Davis asked.
Self cited HB 4211, saying Texas lawmakers and Gov. Greg Abbott need to give local governments “more authority against this.” But his answer didn’t stay focused on the McKinney site plan.
He turned instead to what he sees as a broader threat from Sharia law.
Self claimed “76% of American Muslims prefer Sharia,” then raised honor killings, wife beating, child marriage and punishment for leaving Islam. He also said Muslims in Texas have told people they could not walk dogs on public sidewalks because dogs are forbidden under Sharia.
He offered no evidence for the 76% figure or the dog incidents during the interview and did not connect the McKinney Islamic Association to the other practices he described. His office did not respond to a request for supporting information.
Davis pushed the discussion further. What if a mosque promised it would not conduct honor killings or operate a Sharia court?
Self brought up taqiyya, describing it as allowing Muslims to lie to advance what he called “political Islam.”
Several local Muslims told TX3DNews they had never heard of taqiyya before it began coming up in the recent debate over Sharia and the McKinney mosque.
Davis eventually asked whether Self’s position amounted to a “de facto mosque ban.”
Could he “envision or describe a new mosque that would be OK to build?”
“I cannot,” Self answered.
“What Are They Doing With the Bodies?”
Self also raised questions about how Muslim deaths are handled in Plano.
“The Plano police have never been called to an unattended death, a Muslim unattended death,” Self said, before asking, “so what are they doing with the bodies?”
Plano Police told TX3DNews the department does not collect data on calls or offenses based on religion, meaning it has no way to track or verify Self’s claim about Muslim unattended deaths.
Police also outlined the department’s normal response to an unattended death. Patrol officers and Plano Fire-Rescue respond first, with detectives and crime scene investigators brought in depending on the circumstances. The Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office is also contacted.
Investigators may gather information from family members, health history and medications at the scene as they work to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.
Plano Police said it had received no previous inquiry from Self or his office about Muslim unattended deaths. The department is still checking whether broader statistics on unattended-death calls are available.
Self’s office was asked what information his statement was based on and whether he was suggesting Muslim deaths were occurring without required notification or investigation. No response had been received by publication.
Why Self Supports the Recall
Self said the mosque vote isn’t his only reason for supporting the McKinney recall.
He said residents believe the council does not listen to them and pointed to the city’s commercial airport as another source of frustration.
Self said he had been a “cheerleader for the airport for years” while serving as Collin County judge but said residents weren’t ready for it. He pointed to the city’s decision to move forward with a smaller project after voters rejected a $200 million airport bond in 2023.
The congressman also discussed the intimidation, bullying and “threats of retribution” he previously said recall supporters were facing.
When Davis asked who he was referring to, Self pointed to former McKinney Mayor George Fuller and characterized Fuller’s comments about petition signatures becoming public as essentially saying, “we’re gonna dox anybody.”
Fuller Pushes Back
Davis interviewed Fuller separately and challenged him over whether his comments could be viewed as intimidation.
Fuller denied saying petition signers should suffer reputational harm. He said knowing a signature is public could encourage people to spend more time understanding what they are signing instead of relying only on what a petition volunteer tells them.
When Davis asked whether people who understood the issue and still strongly supported the recall should sign, Fuller was clear.
“They absolutely should do it,” Fuller said.
Support Local Journalism
TX3DNews covers the decisions, elections and issues shaping Texas’ 3rd Congressional District.
Your support helps keep independent local journalism available to our community.
Advertise with TX3DNews
Reach readers in communities across Texas’ 3rd Congressional District with affordable advertising options for local businesses and organizations.
How can he represent the public with such a closed mind about some of our citizens’ religions? Not having facts to back up his position tells me that facts don’t matter to him. I would have suggested that a visit with some leaders in the Muslim community might help him better understand some of his constituents. But it doesn’t sound like it would be productive.