Roy’s letter to DFW CEO Chris McLaughlin, which Breitbart News first obtained, references a post on X by Tom Ascol, who is pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida. Ascol posted pictures of the Meadows Interfaith Chapel in DFW, showing an ongoing Muslim prayer service and said he was “denied access” after the airport announcement about the interfaith chapel said, “All are welcome.”
“As I await my flight home from seeing Voddie’s family an announcement in @DFWAirport says ‘all are welcome’ to a ‘prayer service’ in the chapel. With broken heart I went hoping maybe Scripture would at least be read. Instead I found this & was denied access. Imam-led Salah,” Ascol alleged in a post to X on Sept. 26, noting the recent passing of renowned pastor and theologian Voddie Baucham.
Roy said in his letter the incident “raises serious questions about the management of DFW’s chapels, which are designed as interfaith spaces open 24/7 to all travelers.”
“To deny Christians’ entry into a public chapel in one of America’s largest airports undermines the stated mission of the chaplaincy. As a public institution, DFW International Airport is supported by Texas taxpayers and sustained by millions in federal grants, infrastructure funding, and aviation program allocations,” he wrote. “That support comes with a clear obligation: ensure facilities pursue neutrality. DFW Airport has a duty to ensure that no chapel is co-opted for religious advocacy, ideological conformity, or exclusion, and that all operations comply with such principles.”
Rep. Roy Letter to DFW by Breitbart News
Roy asked McLaughlin to answer several inquiries related to the incident, including:
- Please provide a list of all scheduled services currently offered in DFW’s interfaith chapels, including frequency, duration, and faith affiliations for each.
- Please explain the rationale and decision-making process by which chapel access policies were approved, including who authorized them and what justification was provided for limiting entry during services.
- Will DFW International Airport commit to ensuring practices that guarantee chapel access to individuals of all faiths during scheduled services under the guise of interfaith accommodation, consistent with their intended purpose? Taxpayers deserve complete transparency regarding the policies related to the chapels at DFW International Airport and whether their dollars are subsidizing exclusion. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
“I look forward to your timely response,” he concluded.
Ascol posted a thread to X on Wednesday further explaining the alleged encounter after receiving many media requests about his original post.
“The announcement on the public address system in Terminal D of DFW was repeated more than once. A woman’s voice said that a prayer service would be held in the chapel near gate D40 at 2:30 and that ‘all are welcome.’ I had a heavy heart, and hours before my flight back to Cape Coral was scheduled to depart,” he explained. “Though I had very low expectations, thinking that this might be some weak ecumenical offering, I thought that perhaps someone might read Scripture during the service.”
“My departure gate was near there, so I walked over & saw the entry lined with Muslim prayer mats. Beyond the entry were two stalls with water faucets for ablution. They had signs saying that the stalls were not to be used for showers,” he continued. “The main room had several men kneeling on mats with a Muslim Imam in the far corner and a man praying aloud a Muslim prayer near the door. I looked through the door, bags in hand, processing the fact that what the travelers in DFW were invited to was, in fact, Muslim prayers.”
“When the man finished his audible prayer, I tried to enter the room to observe. He quickly came and blocked my entrance as the Imam started speaking about the prophet Mohammed. He said there was a chair in the back for me, but that I must take off my shoes. When I made a move to step further toward the door, he shifted his position to stand directly in front of me, making it clear that this prayer service was only for certain kinds of people, namely Muslims,” he said.
“A Kafir like me was not welcome except to a chair in the back and only if I removed my shoes. I had no energy to press the issue of the dishonesty of the announcement. So, I walked away, took out my phone, and snapped a picture. When I left the premises, I stopped to take another picture from the hallway,” he added. “I posted about it on X because it grieved & angered me that this type of false worship is not only taking place in a public facility but also is being promoted in deceitful ways by DFW authorities.”
“It grieves me as a native Texan. It grieves me as an American. It grieves me most as a Christian who is jealous for the glory and honor of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ,” he concluded. “It has also provoked me to pray more diligently that the Lord would revive His people, convert His enemies, and restore the truth of His law and His gospel to its place of prominence in our communities. I encourage all believers to join me in these prayers.”
Breitbart News reached out to DFW for comment on the letter and Ascol’s posts. A spokesperson for the airport told Breitbart the Chaplaincy at DFW “is an independent, nonprofit organization that operates independent from the airport.” The spokesperson referred Breitbart to a letter the Chaplaincy posted in response to Ascol’s account.
Executive Director Rev. Greg McBrayer said in a statement the DFW Interfaith Chaplaincy was “made aware of a disheartening claim posted on social media that a traveler was allegedly denied entry, or felt unwelcome, during a Muslim prayer service held in one of our airport chapels.”
“We take that claim seriously, as we have upheld a tradition for 50 years of serving all who need a shared, respectful space for prayer or quiet reflection. We never refuse others from observing any service, or place requirements or restrictions on entering the space during any services,” McBrayer said.
“We immediately investigated these claims with our Muslim cleric, who is our longest standing chaplain and a person who upholds our shared values of inclusive, shared spaces. Our cleric was shocked and saddened at this claim. He was not aware of the incident, and it was not brought to his attention until after the post was made online,” he continued. “Had he been made aware of the alleged encounter, he would have made clear that the space is open and available to all people with no restrictions on entry. Our chapels are used by a variety of faith groups, often respectfully sharing the space simultaneously to pray and reflect. This is exactly how our chapels are designed to be used and have been used for five decades of service.”
“We offer weekly Protestant services, Chapel Mass and Juma prayer services for anyone working at or traveling through DFW. These services are always led by our Chaplains, are brief, and all inclusive,” he added. “We want our airport community to know that we are shaken by this incident, which would run counter to our core mission, values and beliefs that all are welcome in our spaces. We thank the many tens of thousands of passengers and airport workers who have used our space respectfully for many years, and we look forward to continuing that legacy of service.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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