Governor Greg Abbott is formally designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations” by the state of Texas.
According to the Governor’s office, the move will allow for increased enforcement against the organizations and their affiliates, and ban them from purchasing land in the state.
The Governor shared in a statement Tuesday morning:
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world. The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable. Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
CAIR Texas lists its mission online as, “to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.”
The Governor’s proclamation lists several CAIR members and leaders across the country with alleged ties to terrorism activities.
Texas State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City) condemned the move on Tuesday as “state-sanctioned discrimination”.
“This feels and looks like Jim Crow all over again,” Reynolds wrote in a statement. “When the government uses its powers to isolate a religious community, to restrict property rights, and to sow fear among innocent people, we are repeating one of the darkest chapters in American history.”
The national CAIR organization pledged legal action against Abbott in a statement Tuesday morning.
“Greg Abbott is an Israel First politician who has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria to smear American Muslims critical of the Israeli government. Although we are flattered by his obsession with our civil rights group, his defamatory proclamation has no basis in fact or law,” the organization wrote on X.
CBS
