Religion at the Rodeo: The Fort Worth Stock Show “Blessing” Conundrum
Photo Credit: Brittany Bevis
By: Brittany Bevis
Giving a blessing or performing an invocation during the opening ceremonies of a rodeo or horse show is a time-honored tradition in many parts of the country, especially Texas. Most often, it includes a prayer for the safety of all participants and animals about to take part in the event. Examples of various rodeo blessings can be found at the links below.
That part doesn’t sound too terribly controversial. However, it was the choice of the religious figure (a Muslim Imam) selected to give the blessing at a January 22nd performance of the Fort Worth Stock Show that has created a veritable firestorm on social media and in local news.
There was such a reaction that Imam Moujahed Bakhach of the Islamic Association of Tarrant County decided to cancel his repeat blessing on February 2nd.
A brief analysis of some of the negative and positive comments spreading like wildfire on social media gives the impression that it doesn’t seem to be what was said during the blessing as much as who said it. Many of the comments aren’t fit for print due to the inappropriate language being used, however, there are a few listed below for reference.
Comments posted on the Fort Worth Stock Show Facebook page.
- “Thanks for the memories, FWSSR. We have enjoyed being there for the last 17 years, but we’ve bought our last tickets because of this decision.”
- “I applaud the decision to include an Imam to deliver a blessing. On the other hand, I am ashamed that people are so narrow minded and hateful about it.”
- “I was there… it did have a strange vibe. In fact, I thought the crowd may boo, but us Texans are respectful and did not react negatively. I’m also a 20 year retired military member, and I suppose that’s why it felt weird. His words were true and kind; I just think it’s bad timing given the current world climate… just my opinion.”
- “This really disappoints me in the FWSSR! Sad to see such a Texas & American institution fall in the gutter of political correctness.”
On January 28th, the Fort Worth Stock Show released a statement via their official Facebook page in response.
“We would like to take this opportunity to separate fact from fiction: There was never a Muslim prayer – or a prayer of any specific religion at the Stock Show this year.
Because the Stock Show is an annual community event that attracts many visitors from around the world, country and state each year, last spring, we established a faith-based committee consisting of a wide range of local clergy. We based our decision on and selected our participants from the Mayor’s Faith Cabinet Directory. We invited each participant to provide a one-minute prayer to include the safety of the contestants, animals and participants, the military men and women and world peace. Committee members include: a Cowboy Church pastor, a Catholic priest, TCU Brite Divinity School students, a member of the Clergy and Police Alliance, Christ Chapel Bible Church clergy, a Baptist minister, a Rabbi and an Imam. Last Sunday evening, the Imam provided a very appropriate blessing as outlined above.
In addition to the daily pre-rodeo prayers, we hold Cowboy Church each Sunday as we have for decades.”
However, the Stock Show’s insistence this was simply a blessing given by an Imam and not a Muslim blessing still isn’t sitting well with many conservative rodeo fans who don’t agree there is a distinction between the two.
The next logical question, especially for those who didn’t attend the performance is… Is there a video of the blessing or actual text that can be viewed? The answer to that question is no.
The Stock Show also stated on their social media account, “Out of respect and concern for the Imam’s privacy – we will not be posting any videos of his address.”
In order to gain a bit more insight into this situation, we reached out to the Fort Worth Stock Show yesterday requesting an interview. We received this response this morning via email.
“We appreciate you reaching out regarding the below topic and thank you for your interest in covering the Show. At this time, we are not accepting interviews regarding this subject nor do we have any further comment. The facts are as stated in our response.”
In addition, it was indicated that the actual text of the blessing would not be provided.
