Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that the American Muslim University of Texas at Dallas, also known as TexasAM, operates without the required state authorization and that it goes by names that are deceptively similar to Texas A&M University.
MCKINNEY, Texas (CN) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Monday accusing an Islamic university of operating without state authorization.
In one complaint filed in Collin County District Court, Paxton says the Texas American Muslim University at Dallas, or TexAM, and several individuals associated with it violated the Texas Education Code and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by describing TexAM as a university and advertising that it offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The institution lacks the required certificate of authority from the Texas Coordinating Board of Higher Education to operate a private post-secondary educational institution, Paxton alleges.
“TexAM has repeatedly flouted Texas law, misrepresented its degree-granting authority, and risked misleading students about its legitimacy,” Paxton said in one. STATEMENT announcing the lawsuit. “My office will not allow illegal, unaccredited mills to graduate in Texas.”
TexAM was the target of one paper cease and desist earlier this month by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In one POST on social media platform X, Governor Greg Abbott called the school “an unauthorized Islamic educational institution operating illegally in Texas.”
Paxton’s lawsuit also accuses TexAM of using names and trademarks that are confusingly similar to Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M University System, in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. On May 8, the Texas A&M University System DESIGNATED it had issued a cease and desist letter to TexAM, claiming that the use of names such as “TexAM” and “Texas AM University” infringed on its trademarks.
“Texas A&M is a recognized school accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, offers more than 140 undergraduate degree programs and 270 associate and professional degree programs, and is ranked #51 in National Universities and #21 in Top Public Schools by US News & World Report,” Paxton wrote in his complaint.
“In contrast, TexAM is not accredited, offers fewer than ten degree plans, and is not nationally ranked by US News & World Report,” Paxton added. “By choosing to do business as “TexAM,” defendants chose to use a name that is substantially similar to the names under which the Texas A&M University System and Texas A&M University operate and to capitalize on their notoriety.
Paxton’s lawsuit seeks temporary and permanent injunctions against TexAM, as well as over $1 million in civil penalties.
TexAM did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. According to Paxton’s complaint, the school has a business headquarters in Fairview, Texas and a campus in Richardson, Texas, and also seeks out-of-state and online students.
Of school website currently not functional, but one archived version describes TexAM as “the first university in the United States to offer STEM degree programs integrated with required courses in Islamic Studies” and lists courses such as “Sufism in Islam,” “Islamic Economics,” and “Islamic Ethics in AI.”
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