gilmermirror.com: https://www.gilmermirror.com/2026/05/19/texas-american-muslim-university-sued-by-paxton-accused-of-misleading-would-be-students/

Speaker: —
Subject: C001056
Source: GDELT news · original
Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Texas American Muslim University sued by Paxton, accused of misleading would-be students – The Gilmer Mirror Skip to content Breaking News JIM "PAPPY" MOORE: A Savings State of Mind Video: Gilmer High School Graduation - 2026 East Texans for Liberty holds Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner Historic Upshur Museum presents Sam Houston: Texas Icon Texas Weekly Gas Price Update Contact Us E-Edition Subscribe Archives Twitter Email Menu Home News Sports Obituaries E-Edition Subscribe Photos Events Crossword Regional News Texas News Gilmer Buckeyes News Gilmer News Church Directory Classifieds Public Notices | logout Texas American Muslim University sued by Paxton, accused of misleading would-be students By Editor | May 19, 2026 | 0 By Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune May 18, 2026

Full text

3,000 chars

Texas American Muslim University sued by Paxton, accused of misleading would-be students &#8211; The Gilmer Mirror Skip to content Breaking News JIM "PAPPY" MOORE: A Savings State of Mind Video: Gilmer High School Graduation - 2026 East Texans for Liberty holds Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner Historic Upshur Museum presents Sam Houston: Texas Icon Texas Weekly Gas Price Update Contact Us E-Edition Subscribe Archives Twitter Email Menu Home News Sports Obituaries E-Edition Subscribe Photos Events Crossword Regional News Texas News Gilmer Buckeyes News Gilmer News Church Directory Classifieds Public Notices | logout Texas American Muslim University sued by Paxton, accused of misleading would-be students By Editor | May 19, 2026 | 0 By Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune May 18, 2026 Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday sued a group calling itself Texas American Muslim University, accusing it of operating without state approval, misleading prospective students and using a name too similar to Texas A&#038;M. The lawsuit asks a Collin County judge to stop the group that promoted itself as TexAM from operating as a private university in the state without approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. It also seeks to bar TexAM from using names, logos or branding that could confuse people into thinking it is connected to Texas A&#038;M University or the Texas A&#038;M University System. TexAM advertised bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, promoted a student campus in Richardson, and solicited students online and overseas, according to the attorney general’s office. Paxton is seeking more than $1 million in civil penalties for alleged violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Texas Education Code. “My office will not allow illegal, unaccredited degree mills to operate in Texas,” Paxton said in a news release. The lawsuit names TexAM and three people associated with it as defendants: Shahid A. Bajwa, Bilal Piracha and Arsalan Shahzad. Bajwa, TexAM’s founder and chairman, told The Texas Tribune Monday that the group had already complied with the coordinating board’s cease-and-desist letter, stopped using the university name and stopped offering graduate classes. TexAM is no longer operating as a university but will continue operating as an institute, he said. Piracha and Shahzad could not be immediately reached for comment. Bobbi Kessler, a coordinating board spokesperson, said Monday TexAM had complied with the letter. Officials from the attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to questions about why it sued if TexAM had complied. The coordinating board sent TexAM a cease-and-desist letter May 6 notifying the school leaders that they never received state approval to offer degrees. Board officials publicly announced the action the next day, saying they acted at Gov. Greg Abbott’s direction. The Texas A&#038;M University System issued its own cease-and-desist letter on May 8, saying TexAM’s name and

More on this subject

pac.dog is a free, independent, non-partisan research tool. Every candidate, committee, bill, vote, member, and nonprofit on this site is mirrored from primary U.S. government sources (FEC, congress.gov, govinfo.gov, IRS) and each state's Secretary of State / election commission — no third-party data vendors, no paywall, no editorial intermediation. Citations to the originating source are on every detail page.