Southern Methodist University in Dallas has canceled plans to host an upcoming event organized by the North Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations after Texas designated the group a “terrorist organization.”
CAIR-Texas had planned to hold its Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium on Sept. 19 at SMU as part of a two-city event, according to an online promotional flyer.
The program, titled “Unapologetically Muslim: Youth in Action,” was promoted as a “leadership experience” for high school and college students. Organizers said “community leaders and professionals” would participate, along with “Interactive workshops” and a visit to City Hall to “get a firsthand look at how local government works.”
It remains unclear whether SMU’s Muslim Student Association had any role in organizing or coordinating the event.
Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church South, SMU is also home to the Perkins School of Theology, one of 13 United Methodist Church seminaries supported by the denomination’s Ministerial Education Fund.
An SMU spokesperson told The Christian Post that the university “welcomes a wide range of organizations and perspectives to campus as part of our commitment to open inquiry and the free exchange of ideas,” but said the CAIR event would no longer be allowed to take place on campus.
“After reviewing plans for an upcoming unaffiliated youth leadership symposium advertised to take place at SMU, the University has determined that permitting the event to take place on campus, given the State of Texas’ current designation of the symposium’s organizer, is inconsistent with our mission and related University policies,” Megan Jacob, SMU's director of media relations, told CP on Thursday. “As a result, the event will not take place on campus.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as “terrorist organizations” last November, citing what he described as their stated goal to “forcibly impose sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world.’” The order also bars either organization from acquiring real property interests in Texas.
