Fifty Mosques, $14 Million, and One Very Quiet Texas Governor

  • What Happened: As 50 mosques have opened across Dallas Fort Worth in the last 24 months, a woman has uncovered that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's largest individual donor is Pakistani-born Muslim oil tycoon Syed Javaid Anwar.
  • Why It Matters: Abbott has publicly labeled CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organizations, pledged to stop Sharia law in Texas, and ordered investigations into Islamic influence in the state, all while his biggest donor funds private jet flights, food, and drinks for the governor.
  • Bottom Line: Texas conservatives deserve a straight answer from Abbott about whether $14 million buys influence in a state where the governor is simultaneously declaring war on Islamic organizations.

Greg Abbott has spent the last year talking tough on Islam. He labeled CAIR a terrorist organization. He ordered investigations into Sharia law. He vowed to stop what he called efforts to "forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam's mastership of the world."

Then the receipts surfaced.

A woman digging through Texas campaign finance records has uncovered that Abbott's single largest individual donor is Syed Javaid Anwar, a Muslim oil executive born in Karachi, Pakistan. According to reports citing campaign finance data, Anwar has given Abbott more than $14 million over multiple election cycles, including over $2 million in 2025 alone.

In just the second half of 2025, Anwar donated over $1.6 million in cash and $122,000 in in-kind gifts including private jets, food, and drinks. One flight alone to an Ohio football game and political event cost $100,000. 

It does not stop at the checkbook. Abbott appointed Anwar to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in 2015, and Anwar remains a member with his term running until 2027, a position that sets policy for every public college and university in the state. 

Anwar is not quiet about his faith or his community ties. He serves on the Honorary Council of the Muslim American Heritage Celebration, is the main supporter of Houston's annual Ramadan Iftar dinner, and donated $50,000 to the Islamic Society of Greater Houston after Hurricane Harvey. 

All of this is happening as Texas's Muslim population surpasses 300,000, 50 mosques have opened across the Dallas Fort Worth area in the last 24 months, and the proposed 400-acre EPIC City Islamic development project continues moving forward outside of Plano.

Abbott's anti-Sharia rhetoric has made him a hero to Texas conservatives. His donor list tells a different story. The question Texas voters deserve answered is simple: does $14 million buy a blind eye in the Lone Star State?