By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday sought a federal probe into airport facilities for ritual washing before Islamic prayers, a move that a Muslim advocacy group called an "anti-Muslim political stunt."
In a letter to the Department of Justice, Abbott called on the department to immediately review the ablution facilities at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, casting them as discriminatory.
"Because the airports
receive federal funds, they are subject to numerous conditions attached to that funding - including the requirement to comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination," Abbott's office said in a statement.
Many Muslims wash their faces, arms and legs before daily prayers.
"These are not 'Muslim-only' spaces any more than a nursing room or an interfaith prayer room is 'Christian-only' or 'mothers-only,'" said the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group.
"They are accommodations, open to any traveler, that happen to be used mostly by the Muslim community. That is not discrimination. That is what accessible public infrastructure looks like," CAIR-Texas said in a statement.
Last week, Abbott referred the airports to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for investigation and threatened to revoke state funding.
Following that referral, Abbott said, DFW abandoned its plans to install more ablution facilities. The airport said this week that officials had "determined the originally anticipated benefit may not be achieved" if the stations were built.
There are about 4.5 million Muslims in the U.S., including more than 300,000 in Texas, the World Population Review says.
U.S. rights advocates say Islamophobia has risen since the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon, and more recently because of anti-immigration policies, white supremacy and the fallout of Israel's war in Gaza.
Rights advocates have also documented a spike in anti-Muslim messaging and rhetoric in U.S. political campaigns as Muslim American politicians have risen to prominent offices and roles.
Republican governors in Florida and Texas have cast CAIR, which has opposed Republican President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration and pro-Palestinian protests, as a terrorist group.
CAIR and other civil rights groups have denounced the claims and said Republicans have attempted to stoke fear against Muslims.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by William Mallard)
