Between 2022 and 2025, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding’s Islamophobia Index increased by 8 points. The Center for the Study of Organized Hate found that online Islamophobia was widespread throughout Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral race in New York City. From June to October 2025, the study found that online Islamophobic narratives frequently labeled Mamdani as a “terrorist”, “jihadist”, and a “radical Muslim”. Use of such terminology supports Islamophobic tropes across both online and offline spaces.
This example reflects only one dimension of Islamophobia in the U.S. Closer to home, students at the University of Houston’s Muslim Student Association recently were victims of an Islamophobic attack on October 30 at Lynn Eusan Park on campus, where a man approached their gathering, threw a Quran into a bonfire, and shouted anti-Muslim messages through a megaphone.
More examples of rising Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiments can be seen in Governor Abbott’s recent designation of a Muslim civil rights organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Muslim Brotherhood, as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations.” His claims that CAIR seeks to impose Sharia or Islamic law and establish “Islam’s mastership of the world” (whatever that means), are both unfounded and rooted in Islamophobic tropes. In moments like these, it becomes even more vital for the common good to invest in spaces like the new Ismaili Center in Texas’ largest city.
Despite growing anti-Muslim sentiments and discrimination, American Muslims continue to engage civically and thrive as a community. On November 6, the Ismaili Center Houston—the first Ismaili center in the country—celebrated its grand opening. There are more than 35,000 practicing Ismaili Muslims, a group of minority Muslims from the Shia sect, in Houston. Unlike Sunni Muslims, the dominant and mainstream interpretation of Islam, Ismaili Muslims believe in a central authority figure and spiritual leader—currently, Aga Khan V Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini.
Open to the public, the center serves as a space for Ismaili Muslims to gather, socialize, educate and pray, as well as for conferences, seminars, book launches, concerts, recitals, and many other gatherings. The opening of this center is a step toward recognizing religious minorities not only in Houston, but in Texas and across the U.S. There are only six other Ismaili centers in the world, located in Vancouver, Toronto, London, Lisbon, Dubai, and Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The Houston center’s architecture and landscaping purposely fuse contemporary imagery with Islamic-Persian elements. The building’s interior features three atriums, each designed as open, non-exclusive spaces that provide flexible circulation and interaction between rooms dedicated to specific events. Verandas supported by 49 slender columns reflect architectural elements from Persepolis and seventh-century palaces in Isfahan, Persia. Many of the design features will have hidden (batin) symbolic meanings, to signify spiritual dimensions of the Muslim faith. The center’s exterior includes landscaped gardens to reflect serenity and peace. It merges seamlessly into Houston’s cultural landscape.
Places like the Ismaili Center play an essential role in cosmopolitan cities like Houston. They provide venues for respect, public education, and peaceful coexistence. Policymakers should recognize the significance of these institutions, as their contributions to civic engagement and inclusive social participation are fundamental to a functional democracy. The opening of the center provides a meaningful opportunity to advance social cohesion, community formation, and interfaith engagement for Houstonians and can serve as a significant resource for residents to develop religious literacy and explore architectural space as sacred.
Just as the Ismaili Center in Toronto and other cities host civic and interfaith programs through lectures and exhibitions, the Houston center can offer similar opportunities for residents to engage with such social initiatives. Furthermore, public policy can be strengthened by supporting community engagement with interfaith understanding. For example, in June 2025 Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 10 requiring every classroom in Texas public schools to display the Ten Commandments and Senate Bill 11 allowing students and staff to participate in daily, voluntary prayer and reading of religious texts. Implementation of such bills does not take into consideration interfaith and non-religious perspectives that uphold the American principles of inclusivity and pluralism.
These principles can be advanced by supporting community spaces like the Ismaili Center that foster meaningful dialogue. The “southern hospitality” that is an essential part of the Texan community provides a perfect space for multiple faith and non-faith groups to thrive in. However, Governor Abbott’s disregard for pluralism and his Islamophobic remarks and actions highlight a different side. This contract underscores the importance and need of focusing on positive social and civic contributions of multiple American communities in Texas.
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