McKinney Mosque Fact Check: Self, Richardson Claims Reviewed

By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews

McKINNEY, Texas — U.S. Rep. Keith Self and State Rep. Keresa Richardson urged the McKinney City Council to stop or delay a proposed Islamic center’s site plan, citing concerns about Sharia law, an Islamic tribunal, crimes in Britain and potential foreign influence.

The council ultimately approved the site plan 7-0.

Some claims raised by Self and Richardson referenced documented events and ongoing investigations. Others cited figures or connections that lack official corroboration or a demonstrated link to the McKinney Islamic Association or its site plan.

What McKinney Was Deciding

The council was not deciding whether an Islamic center should be allowed on the property.

Religious assembly was already permitted under the existing zoning. The application before council was a site plan, and city staff determined it complied with applicable development requirements.

Self and Richardson focused primarily on broader concerns about Islam, Sharia law and the Islamic Tribunal rather than the technical requirements of the site-plan application.

Self: 250,000 Girls Abducted in Britain

Self told council members that “250,000” non-Muslim girls had been abducted from British streets and passed among members of rape gangs.

Group-based child sexual exploitation in Britain is real, and official investigations have documented horrific abuse and failures by authorities.

But the 250,000 figure is not a documented national victim count. Britain’s official National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse found serious deficiencies in available data and said the national scale of the problem could not be reliably determined.

Finding: Unsupported as a documented national figure.

There is also no evidence connecting British grooming gangs to MIA or its McKinney development.

Self’s Broader Warnings About Islam

Self also warned about child marriage, honor killings, wife beating and polygamy, saying such practices are condoned under what he called “Sharia political Islam.”

Two Texas cases have been widely described as honor killings: the 2018 case involving Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan in the Houston area and the 2022 conviction of Yaser Abdel Said in Irving. Neither has any documented connection to MIA, its imam or its congregation. Said’s defense disputed the “honor killing” characterization at trial.

Self also told council members, “Ask any Muslim what the penalty is for leaving political Islam. It’s death.”

Classical interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence have included severe penalties for apostasy. But Muslims and Muslim scholars do not universally hold that leaving Islam should be punishable by death.

No evidence was presented that MIA advocates or supports such a position.

Finding: Broad claims with no demonstrated connection to MIA.

Richardson: A Real Connection, But a Larger Leap

Richardson identified Mohamed Al-Gebaly, the imam of MIA, as holding leadership roles with the Islamic Tribunal of the Dallas area. The Tribunal’s website identifies Al-Gebaly as MIA’s imam and lists him as an advisory chair and community scholar.

The Tribunal has attracted scrutiny from Texas officials. Gov. Greg Abbott called for investigations in November into entities he said “may be masquerading” as legal courts and attempting to enforce Sharia law. Attorney General Ken Paxton later demanded documents from the Islamic Tribunal as part of an investigation.

Those facts do not establish wrongdoing by MIA.

Paxton’s announcement said his investigation seeks evidence to determine whether the Tribunal is engaged in illegal activity. The allegations were made, but they are not findings that illegal conduct occurred.

The state’s announcement identifies the Islamic Tribunal — not MIA or its proposed McKinney development — as the subject of that investigation.

Al-Gebaly’s association with both organizations establishes a connection. It does not establish that alleged conduct involving the Tribunal occurred at MIA or had anything to do with the site plan.

Finding: The connections are real, but they do not establish wrongdoing by MIA or its development.

What About Foreign Influence?

Richardson cited biographical information saying Al-Gebaly had previously been appointed by an Egyptian government ministry to serve as an imam in Virginia.

She said that raised questions about “potential foreign influence.”

Even if that history is accurate, it does not establish that Egypt currently controls, finances or directs MIA. Richardson presented no evidence of foreign government involvement in the McKinney project.

Finding: A biographical fact was used to suggest a connection that was not established.

Could Council Use These Arguments to Stop the Project?

Self told council members this was their “moment of truth.” Richardson explicitly asked them to pause final action.

But neither identified a deficiency in the site plan that city staff said would justify doing so.

Some issues they raised are legitimate. The Islamic Tribunal investigation exists, and Al-Gebaly’s relationship with it is relevant. Questions about whether a religious arbitration organization is improperly claiming governmental authority are fair to ask.

But an investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing. Association is not proof of misconduct. And crimes elsewhere do not establish what an organization in McKinney intends to do.

Federal law prohibits land-use decisions that discriminate based on religion. Religious organizations must follow zoning and development rules, but concerns about Islam or Sharia cannot replace those standards.

TX3DNews contacted Self and Richardson seeking comment and clarification. Neither had responded by publication. This article will be updated if either responds.

The council was deciding whether a site plan complied with city rules. Neither Self nor Richardson presented evidence that it did not.