Dallas Fort Worth International Airport plans to add Islamic ablution stations to men’s and women’s concourse restrooms in Terminal D through a $300,000 renovation that drew national criticism Thursday.
A project record registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on July 31 identifies the work as “DFW – Wudu – Ablution stations – Terminal D.”
The 170-square-foot renovation “consists of adding Ablution stations to existing concourse level restrooms in Terminal D,” with one station in an existing men’s restroom and one in an existing women’s restroom, the filing says.
Regulators list August 31 as the projected start date and December 31 as the estimated completion date. The filing’s status remained “Project Registered” Thursday.
Filing does not identify payer
TDLR classifies the project as “privately funded, on private land for private use.” The same filing identifies City of Dallas/DFW Airport as the owner and says the tenant is not providing the private funds. It does not identify who is supplying the $300,000.
DFW Airport is a public governmental entity jointly owned by Dallas and Fort Worth. The publicly available record does not identify City of Dallas general-fund money as the source and does not name the private payer.
National criticism and defense
The Media Research Center shared a Newsmax clip of Bill D’Agostino, the group’s media editor and senior research analyst, criticizing the accommodation.
“If you need to wash your feet in the public airport, then America is probably not the right country for you,” D’Agostino said.
“If you need to wash your feet in the public airport, then America is probably not the right country for you.”@Banned_Bill discusses Dallas dropping $300k on foot baths in the Dallas Airport to accommodate Muslims washing their feet on @NEWSMAX. pic.twitter.com/tX6mexIFEu
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) August 13, 2026
Activist Ryan Fournier urged a more measured response. “People are freaking out over foot-washing stations at DFW, but let’s look at the actual facts before jumping to conclusions. This isn’t about pushing an ideology — it’s basic airport management,” Fournier wrote, Fox News reported.
Fournier said dedicated low-level basins keep people from washing their feet in standard sinks, which he said can leave floors wet and damage counters. That practical explanation came from Fournier, not from DFW Airport’s public project filing.
DFW already has ablution facilities
The restroom project would expand, not introduce, ablution facilities at DFW. The airport announced in March 2019 that its relocated Terminal D interfaith chapel included two ablution stations adjacent to the chapel for ritual purification.
The facilities have drawn scrutiny before. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Pastor Tom Ascol said a man blocked him from entering an Islamic prayer service at the Terminal D chapel in September 2025. The independent chaplaincy said it investigated the claim and maintained that its spaces were open to everyone without restrictions on entry.
Fox News reported that it contacted DFW Airport, TDLR and Gov. Greg Abbott’s office for comment Thursday.
