Muslim cleric Uthman ibn Farooq called for Islam’s spread in America and praised historic Muslim military victories at a September 18 gathering in McKinney, urging Muslims in the United States to remain uncompromising in their faith.
The gathering took place at Sufaraa Center’s McKinney campus, 2220 Bush Drive. The event description billed it as a “Special Night” featuring Farooq and Dr. Karim AbuZaid.
“We love this country,” Farooq said, The Federalist reported. “We want good for this country. And that’s why we want Islam for this country, ’cause we think that’s the best thing. And we’re not going to be ashamed of that.”
Separately, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has named Texas one of 12 priority states in a national campaign to mobilize 3 million additional American Muslim voters. Its election plan calls for registration drives at mosques and trips to polling places after Friday prayers.
“The problem is that Christians are not organizing,” radio host Glenn Beck said in a September 22 broadcast challenging pastors to match that organizing effort.
Elsewhere in Texas, outreach connecting Muslims with school-board candidates has drawn a pointed question from former Round Rock ISD Trustee Mary Bone: “Where are the Christian churches?”
Those challenges come as The Dallas Express examines what major Dallas-Fort Worth churches are doing to register voters and encourage participation ahead of the November 3 election.
Christian civic participation also figured in a September 27 gathering at Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth, where Republican leaders urged believers to understand local races and vote, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Farooq invokes conquest and warns against compromise
Later in the same speech, Farooq invoked past Muslim rule in Spain, Portugal and Sicily while arguing that religious devotion brought victory and compromise brought defeat.
He described one Muslim leader advancing with “sword in hand” and credited religious devotion with “Victory after victory,” according to the transcript.
Farooq blamed subsequent Muslim losses on abandoning religious practices and accommodating conduct he considered forbidden. He said “that’s happening today in America,” criticizing music, birthday celebrations and dating as examples.
Farooq urged his audience to remain “uncompromising, unwavering, unapologetic,” contrasting that resolve with seeking invitations to the White House and governor’s mansion. He asked whether Muslims’ future would resemble the losses in Spain or the victories of those who spread their faith.
Farooq also defended adherence to Sharia as a constitutionally protected religious belief: “That’s our right to believe in the Sharia. Yes, I said it. That’s our right.”
“Islam does not come with sitting down,” he said earlier in the livestream, according to the transcript.
Plans for a Richardson Islamic campus
The McKinney program advertised a Jumuah sermon, or Friday congregational sermon, and a family gathering after Maghrib, the sunset prayer. Farooq and AbuZaid were joined by Ustadh Haroon Siddiqui and Shaykh Huzaifah Siddiqui, according to the event description.
Sufaraa, which has campuses in McKinney and Prosper, describes its mission as teaching, studying and practicing the Quran and Sunnah. Its programs include Quran studies, religious education, youth activities and community gatherings.
The event was presented with Authentic Ilm Mission’s (AIM) Dawah Academy & Seminary. AIM says its planned Richardson campus encompasses a four-acre former church property with roughly 40,000 square feet of facilities.
AIM said affiliated nonprofit Salahuddin Future Academy purchased Korean World Mission Baptist Church at 201 N. Plano Road, as The Dallas Express previously reported. The Richardson property is separate from the McKinney event venue.
AIM’s campus plans include a seminary and dawah academy, a K-12 Islamic school, a mosque and community center, a humanitarian relief facility, student housing and a gymnasium. Its fundraising appeal identified an $800,000 property obligation due September 30.
Farooq said the center would train young Muslims to explain and defend their religion in schools, workplaces and daily life, and carry out dawah, or Islamic proselytizing, in other cities.
“Not just one person, one place, but duplicate in every city all over the world,” Farooq said in the transcript.
CAIR sets targets for voter mobilization
CAIR’s strategic plan sets a national target of 2 million net new Muslim voter registrations during the 2026 cycle. It calls for its more than 35 chapters to designate civic engagement leaders, submit quarterly mobilization reports and prepare written voter-protection plans.
The plan pairs mosque and college registration drives with voter guides, early-voting outreach and transportation to the polls. Those are published goals and planned activities; the document does not establish that the registration targets have been met.
CAIR describes the campaign as nonpartisan and says it does not endorse or oppose candidates. Separately, CAIR Action’s Texas primary recommendations included state Rep. James Talarico (D-District 50) for U.S. Senate and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-District 49) for governor.
Mosque-based voter organizing also extends to Houston. Islamic Society of Greater Houston President Emran Gazi said area mosques were registering about 1,000 voters a week after Texas adopted new social studies standards, as The Dallas Express previously reported. DX has not independently verified that figure.
In an October 1 post, Bone accused CAIR-Texas of coordinating school-board outreach with the Islamic Center of Round Rock. An email screenshot shared with the post invites a Round Rock ISD candidate to meet local Muslims on a Friday at 2 p.m. It identifies Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR-Texas Austin operations director, as a logistics contact.
“One faith in schools is treated as a threat. The other gets a scheduled candidate forum. Where are the Christian churches?” Bone wrote.
While critics yell “Christian nationalism,” CAIR-Texas is coordinating school-board outreach with the Islamic Center of Round Rock.
An email invites a Round Rock ISD candidate to meet local Muslims Friday at 2 p.m. Logistics go through Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR-Texas Austin operations… pic.twitter.com/W4GHa5hUNT
— Dr. Mary Bone (@drbone4tx) October 1, 2026
The screenshot shows an invitation; it does not establish that a candidate accepted or that a forum occurred.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) designated CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations under Texas law on November 18, 2025, as The Dallas Express previously reported. His office said the action bars the organizations from acquiring land in Texas. CAIR disputes the allegations, and its Texas chapters challenged the designation in federal court.
A separate appeal from Iran
In a separate September 29 letter, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps urged Americans to use their votes to change the government and accused President Donald Trump (R) of winning support through deception and false promises.
The Daily Wire characterized the appeal as a call to vote for Democrats in the midterms.
“Remove from power the evil, deceitful, and violent politicians who are responsible for America’s current state,” the letter urged. It also told Americans to “Take back control.”
Beck challenges pastors to organize
The scale and structure of CAIR’s effort drew a direct challenge to Christian churches from Beck during his September 22 program.
“This is not a pamphlet. It’s an operation,” he said of CAIR’s plan.
Beck said registering neighbors and providing rides to polling places were legitimate civic activities. He argued that Christians should respond by organizing voters themselves, then challenged pastors over reluctance to speak out.
“Do you spend a second wondering what the Lord’s going to say to you that you did not speak out in these times because you had to raise money?” Beck asked.
Beck urged pastors to help congregants register and participate without endorsing candidates. Neutral, nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives are permissible for 501(c)(3) organizations, according to IRS guidance.
What DFW churches have documented
The Dallas Express asked major DFW churches about voter registration, education, election reminders, forums and other civic activities.
Churches contacted included The Potter’s House, led by co-senior pastors Touré Roberts and Sarah Jakes Roberts; Gateway Church, led by Daniel Floyd; First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth, led by Lance Marshall; and Stonebriar Community Church, led by Jonathan Murphy.
DX also contacted Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, led by Jonathan Evans; Watermark Community Church, led by Timothy Ateek; First Baptist Dallas, led by Robert Jeffress; and St. Rita Parish.
The church responses and public materials reviewed by DX document individual programs and past teaching. They do not establish a coordinated 2026 voter-mobilization effort across the congregations contacted or provide comparable registration and turnout totals for those churches.
Gateway’s current group listing describes a Tarrant County Pray Vote Stand chapter in Grapevine that encourages voting in local, county and national elections. The listing says the group partners with the Family Research Council and gives October 24 as its next meeting date.
In an October 1 statement, Watermark’s elders said building a “voting bloc” was not the church’s mission and rejected using its name, facilities or reputation for partisan contests.
“Caesar is welcome to the ballot box, but he does not get the sanctuary,” Watermark’s elders wrote. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we are waiting on a Savior rather than a nominee.”
The same statement encouraged members to study candidates and issues and vote according to their consciences. It did not describe a current voter-registration drive or turnout program.
Other churches’ available resources include older voter education. Stonebriar’s voting seminar dates to November 3, 2024, and First Baptist Dallas’ sermon notes to September 8, 2024. Those materials document past voter education, not the scope or results of a 2026 registration effort.
First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth lists an October 6 program featuring political communications researcher Rita Kirk on rebuilding social trust and the human relationships that sustain democratic life. The event description does not identify it as a voter registration or turnout effort.
The Potter’s House describes voter outreach
The Potter’s House said approximately 50 people from Dallas, Tarrant and Denton counties registered to vote at its September 27 drive, while additional attendees received information and checked their registration status. Executive Director of Public Relations Jordan Hora provided the figures in written responses to The Dallas Express.
Hora said the effort was led by Tiffany Brinkly, director of global and local community impact for United MegaCare and The Potter’s House Outreach, and church minister and volunteer Dr. Martina Van Norden. Partners included Raise Your Hand Texas, the League of Women Voters–Dallas and PEN America, according to the response.
The church also described its ongoing Ministry in Civics program, volunteer deputy registrars and nonpartisan get-out-the-vote activities across Dallas and Fort Worth. It said upcoming efforts would focus on understanding the ballot and preparing to vote early, with additional event dates still undecided.
“The Potter’s House does not promote or endorse any particular candidate or political party,” Hora wrote.
Prestonwood’s civic program
Prestonwood Baptist Church also publicly documents a civic engagement program. Its foundation’s civic program, the Culture Impact Team, provides election information and encourages members to participate. A church guide describes voter registration drives, candidate forums, voting guides and a partnership with Christians Engaged for election reminders and civic education.
The church declined an interview through its communications ministry.
Senior Pastor Jack Graham explained his approach in a separate May 19, 2026, interview with The Korea Times.
“We’re salt, and salt is no good if it’s just in the salt shaker,” Graham said. “As a pastor, I know I don’t endorse political candidates, but I preach the Bible and I teach morality, and I encourage our people at our church to vote and to be involved in the process, to be an informed voter.”
