Left: DFW EID | Right: Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark / Facebook

A taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark is receiving pushback after advertising a “Muslims only” event next month. Epic Waters in Grand Prairie, Texas released fliers for an event on June 1 with the posters saying the event is for “Muslims only.” The posters require attendees to wear a “modest dress code.” A website for the event includes a “what to wear” section, as well as links for modest swimsuits. While men and women won’t be separated into different spaces during the event, event organizers “ask all attendees to uphold Islamic etiquette just as they do in other mixed gender spaces” and to lower their gaze around members of the opposite sex. Tickets purchased for the event are $55 or $65, which includes halal-certified food.

Epic Waters is an 80,000 sq. ft. indoor waterpark that cost $88 million after being built in 2017. Funds to build the park were provided by a 0.25% local sales tax to that was approved by a 2014 referendum, causing critics to accuse the event of violating the Establishment and Equal Protection Clauses. Conservative commentator Dana Loesch called out the event on social media. “How is a taxpayer-funded, city-owned entity allowed to discriminate against non-Muslims at a public water park?” she wrote. “There would be literal riots if Muslims were similarly excluded and we all know that’s 100% accurate.” Some asked when there would be a “Christians only” day.

The pushback caused event organizer, Aminah Knight from the East Plano Islamic Center, to change the advertising of the event “to make it clearer that this is a modest dress-only event centered around celebrating Eid,” she told The New York Post. New posters for the event have removed the “Muslims only” verbiage, replacing it with “modest dress only” and adding that “all are welcome” to celebrate Eid. Knight defended renting out the waterpark as it is often rented out for private events but stated it was not her intention to exclude non-Muslims. “The core intention behind this event is to create a space where individuals and families who value modest dress and a modest environment can come together and feel comfortable enjoying a recreational space that often doesn’t naturally accommodate those preferences,” she said. “While the event is rooted in celebrating Eid within the Muslim community, the guiding principle for attendance is the modest dress code.” A spokesperson for the waterpark also clarified that the event was not being hosted by the waterpark and that “the hosting entity, not the waterpark, determines the event’s programming.”

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