Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is planning to install two washing stations designed to accommodate the Islamic practice of wudu, adding another airport to the list of American transportation hubs providing facilities for travelers’ religious practices.
According to a project filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the privately funded project has an estimated construction cost of $300,000 and concerns restrooms in Terminal D.
The filing describes plans for a wudu station in the men’s restroom and another in the women’s restroom.
Wudu, sometimes called ablution, is the ritual washing Muslims generally perform before prayer. It includes washing the face, hands and arms and feet, along with wiping the head.
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Texas leaders are worried… pic.twitter.com/HoSvNeV307
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The practice is referenced directly in the Quran. Quran 5:6 instructs believers preparing for prayer to “wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles.”
Providing dedicated facilities can allow travelers to perform those washings without attempting to wash their feet in conventional restroom sinks, which aren’t designed for that purpose.
DFW would not be the first major American airport to accommodate religious practices in this fashion. Fox News noted that Chicago O’Hare International Airport, for example, provides interfaith facilities.
The development comes as Texas continues to attract attention for the size and growth of its Muslim communities. Estimates vary considerably depending upon the source and methodology. POI Data lists 122 mosques in Texas, while the Halal Times has reported a substantially higher figure and estimates the state’s Muslim population at more than 300,000.
Separate controversy has surrounded the East Plano Islamic Center’s proposed residential development, commonly known as EPIC City, which has faced scrutiny from state and federal officials.
Sen. John Cornyn raised concerns about possible religious discrimination, and the Justice Department investigated the development. CBS News reported June 25 that the DOJ had concluded its investigation.
Those controversies, however, should not be treated as evidence that two airport washing facilities amount to the establishment of Islamic law.
There is an important legal distinction between accommodating an individual’s religious practice and allowing a religious organization to exercise governmental authority.
The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion while prohibiting government establishment of religion. That protection applies to Muslims just as it applies to Christians, Jews, Hindus and people of other faiths.
Likewise, claims that Muslims as a group secretly intend to impose a caliphate or that ordinary expressions of religious observance constitute “taqiyya” require evidence about the specific people involved. A person’s Muslim faith, by itself, establishes neither an intention to overthrow American law nor support for replacing the Constitution with Sharia.
Concerns about any organization attempting to operate outside state or federal law can and should be investigated on evidence. If a development discriminates illegally, violates zoning requirements or attempts to substitute private religious authority for binding American law, those are concrete matters for courts and regulators.
But installing a place to wash before prayer is something considerably narrower.
That doesn’t mean DFW’s project is beyond scrutiny.
A $300,000 price tag for two restroom modifications naturally invites questions about precisely what is being constructed and why it costs that much, even if the money is privately supplied. Airport officials can also reasonably be asked how the facilities will operate and whether comparable accommodations are available to travelers of other faiths where needed.
