Texas Governor Labels Major Muslim Civil Rights Group as “Foreign Terrorist Organization”

In a controversial move that has sparked immediate backlash, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a “foreign terrorist organization” on Tuesday. The Republican governor’s proclamation also designated CAIR as a “transnational criminal organization” and included the Muslim Brotherhood under the same classifications.

The executive action, according to Abbott, will allow the state to attempt to shut down CAIR’s operations in Texas and prevent the organization from purchasing land within state boundaries. This marks an unprecedented step by a state governor to unilaterally designate domestic advocacy groups as terrorist organizations.

Notably, neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. federal government, which typically holds jurisdiction over such classifications through the State Department.

CAIR, which serves as one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the United States, responded swiftly to the governor’s proclamation. In a letter addressed to Abbott, the organization’s government affairs director Robert S. McCaw challenged the legal basis of the action.

“You do not have the authority to unilaterally declare any Americans or American institutions terrorist groups, nor is there any basis to level this smear against our organization,” McCaw wrote. The organization accused Abbott’s office of deliberately inflaming “anti-Muslim hysteria.”

The governor’s proclamation cites a recently enacted Texas law that he claims prohibits “foreign adversaries” from purchasing or acquiring land in the state. Republican state Representative Cole Hefner, who authored the bill, publicly supported Abbott’s declaration, writing on social media platform X: “Today proves exactly why that law was needed.”

This move comes against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Texas Republican leadership and Muslim communities in the state. In recent months, Abbott and other GOP officials have targeted a planned residential development connected to the East Plano Islamic Center near Dallas.

State officials launched investigations into what has been dubbed “EPIC City,” claiming the development was attempting to create a Muslim-exclusive community that would impose Islamic law. Representatives for the East Plano Islamic Center have forcefully rejected these characterizations, calling them misleading, dangerous, and without merit.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice closed a federal civil rights investigation into the planned community without filing any charges or lawsuits, finding insufficient evidence to support the allegations made by state officials.

The Muslim Brotherhood, also named in Abbott’s proclamation, was established in Egypt nearly a century ago and has affiliated branches worldwide. While its leadership maintains they renounced violence decades ago and seek to establish Islamic governance through democratic processes, the organization remains controversial. Several autocratic Middle Eastern governments consider the group a threat and have banned its operations.

Legal experts anticipate challenges to Abbott’s proclamation, as states traditionally lack the authority to designate terrorist organizations—a power reserved for federal agencies. Civil liberties advocates have expressed concern that the governor’s action could further marginalize Muslim communities in Texas and potentially incite discrimination or harassment.

The move represents an escalation in tensions between conservative state governments and Muslim civil society organizations at a time of heightened political polarization nationally, particularly as the 2024 election cycle approaches.