HOUSTON – Governor Greg Abbott is demanding Cypress-Fairbanks ISD terminate any negotiations or agreements connected to the 2026 Houston Islamic Games, citing concerns about alleged ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New Jersey chapter (CAIR), which he has designated as a foreign terrorist organization under state law.
In a letter dated January 21 to Cy-Fair ISD Board President Julie Hinaman and Superintendent Douglas Killian, Abbott warned that allowing public school facilities to be used for events sponsored by CAIR NJ would violate state law and endanger students. The governor directed the district to preserve all records related to the event and to confirm within seven days that any negotiations had been terminated, or face investigation by the Texas Education Agency and potential legal action by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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Abbott’s proclamation from November 2025 designates the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations, alleging CAIR is a front group for Hamas, a claim CAIR has repeatedly denied.
“Radical Islamic extremism is not welcome in Texas and certainly not in our schools,” Abbott wrote, adding that taxpayer-funded facilities cannot be used to host events sponsored by designated terrorist organizations.
Cy-Fair ISD officials responded with a statement to KPRC 2 News disputing the governor’s characterization of the district’s involvement and criticizing the way the issue was raised.
According to the district, CFISD has not received the governor’s letter directly and only became aware of it through an online press release. District officials said CFISD is not “hosting” the 2026 Houston Islamic Games and currently has no facility use agreements in place for the 2026–27 school year.
CFISD noted that under district policy GKD (LOCAL), community groups are permitted to rent school facilities for non-school use, provided the use does not conflict with district operations. The district reported nearly 13,000 hours of community facility use during the 2024–25 school year, including by youth sports leagues and churches of multiple denominations.
“GKD (LOCAL) does not distinguish between religions in our facility use guidelines, nor does the district distinguish between religious and non-religious viewpoints,” the statement said.
CFISD said it previously entered into a facility use agreement with the Islamic Games of North America for an event in September 2025, but stated it had never contracted with CAIR NJ and was not aware of any CAIR NJ affiliation during the prior rental.
“CFISD is aware of the state prohibition against governmental entities entering into contracts with companies identified as foreign terrorist organizations and has fully complied with this statute,” the district said, adding it would continue to follow both state law and anti-discrimination laws.
Despite the district’s statement that no agreements exist for the 2026–27 school year, the Islamic Games of North America website lists events scheduled for September or October 2026 in Cypress. The site also includes an events map that identifies Sprague Middle School as a location associated with the Houston-area games.
It remains unclear whether those listings reflect finalized facility agreements or tentative planning by event organizers.
CFISD officials say no facility reservations for the 2026 Houston Islamic Games can be made until Aug. 1, when the district opens reservations for the following school year.
Earlier this week Grapevine-Colleyville ISD canceled plans to host the Islamic Games after learning of CAIR’s alleged sponsorship, citing the governor’s designation and state law.
Organizers of the Islamic Games said CAIR “has never been, and is not presently, a sponsor, partner, affiliate or supporter” of the sports festival.
“We are deeply concerned that a sporting event for children is being targeted,” Salaudeen Nausrudeen, president of Islamic Games, said in an email to the Report. “It is our hope that better minds prevail.”