RICK RAPER

🚨 PEARLAND, TEXAS: A NEW MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR ISLAMIC HUB IS RISING. Shadow Creek Muslim Community Center (SMCC) says its existing facility was built for roughly 300 people but now serves more than 1,000. Now it is expanding onto 3.3 acres on Kirby Commons Drive with plans for: Expanded prayer halls. Playgrounds. Sports fields. Community gathering spaces. Youth and educational programming. The price tag? $4.5 MILLION. More than $2.5 MILLION has already been raised from more than 10,000 donors. But now look at who leads it. SMCC President and Imam Dr. Basem Hamid sits on the Islamic Society of Greater Houston's Fatwa Council and, according to our research, has authored formal Islamic legal rulings for the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA). UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS. A fatwa is an Islamic legal opinion interpreting Sharia, guidance about how Muslims should live and act according to Islamic law. AMJA is not simply another mosque organization. It is an organization of Islamic jurists that issues fatwas, answers questions about Islamic law and trains American imams and religious leaders in Islamic jurisprudence. So the man leading this massive Pearland expansion isn't merely raising money and constructing a mosque. He participates in institutions devoted to interpreting and applying Islamic law in America. And the institution he leads is expanding its reach beyond prayer. SMCC has partnered with the Shadow Creek High School Muslim Students Association, including for World Hijab Day, and publicly celebrates people converting to Islam. Hamid has also participated in local civic and interfaith efforts. We have even seen him appear with county and city officials, including during Brazoria County's recognition of Ramadan and Eid and in a meeting with Pearland's mayor and police chief. PUT THE WHOLE PICTURE TOGETHER: 3.3 ACRES. $4.5 MILLION. $2.5+ MILLION ALREADY RAISED. 10,000+ DONORS. PRAYER. EDUCATION. YOUTH. RECREATION. COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE. AND A LEADER INVOLVED IN ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE. These large, multi-function Islamic campuses are appearing across Texas, creating permanent institutions designed to serve communities far beyond Friday prayer. And that makes the money a major unanswered question. WHO ARE THE BIGGEST DONORS? WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING FROM? IS ANY OF IT COMING FROM FOREIGN OR INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES? AND IS ANYONE IN TEXAS FOLLOWING IT? Pearland residents deserve to know exactly what is being built, who is financing it, who is leading it, and what institutions stand behind that leadership. THIS ISN'T JUST ANOTHER MOSQUE BUILDING. PEARLAND IS WATCHING A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR ISLAMIC INSTITUTIONAL HUB TAKE SHAPE IN REAL TIME. FULL REPORT: rairfoundation.com/islamizat…