When one thinks of epic Texas cities, you likely think of Houston, the center for oil and space flight, or San Antonio, the "Remember the Alamo" city with its rich Spanish history. You likely don't think of an epic city called EPIC, an acronym for the East Plano Islamic Center which is planning a Muslim-centric 402-acre real estate development in the small town of Josephine, right outside of Dallas. The largest mosque in North Texas planned this community and advertised it in a now-deleted YouTube video in October 2024. 

The city plans have 1,000 homes, a K-12 religious school, a mosque and a retail center on the acreage it purchased. The concept actually began in 2018 as a self-governing city of the future. By 2020, public debates had intensified around the self-governed aspects of EPIC which is owned by a private company Epic Systems The city proposal had its own police and fire departments, in effect replacing traditional municipal functions. In 2021, state lawmakers voiced concerns and took up the fight. They initiated legal challenges to halt the project and introduced a bill in the Texas legislature to prevent such private companies from creating their own self-governing cities.

As a result, EPIC has had to fight continuing legal battles and has had to scale back or delay their projects. Activist groups soon joined in to protest the development. The creators of EPIC city say that it is a community open to anyone and that they welcome people of all backgrounds. How many of those non-Muslim people would want to live in a city run by Sharia law (especially women)?