Abbott calls Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR foreign terrorist groups
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Gov. Greg Abbott in Houston. Photo: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Muslim civil rights group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as "foreign terrorist" and "transnational criminal" organizations.
Why it matters: The designation authorizes "heightened enforcement" against both organizations and their affiliates and bans them from buying or acquiring land in Texas, according to Abbott's office.
- It also authorizes Attorney General Ken Paxton to sue the organizations to shut them down, Abbott said on X.
Driving the news: In a proclamation, Abbott accused the Muslim Brotherhood of "engaging in terrorism or attempting to destabilize countries" and calls CAIR its "successor organization."
- The order invokes the Texas Penal Code and Property Code, which allow the governor to classify organizations that "threaten the security of this state."
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, is a transnational Islamist group with offshoots including Hamas.
Zoom in: CAIR, founded in 1994, is the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. It denies having any relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and states it has never been "an affiliate, offshoot, chapter, or agent of any foreign movement, organization, political party or government."
- CAIR says its mission is to defend civil liberties, promote understanding of Islam and empower American Muslims.
- The group has often been targeted by conservative politicians who accuse it of having ties to Hamas — claims CAIR denies. The organization has been outspoken against U.S. support for Israel during the war in Gaza, calling for an end to U.S. arms sales to Israel and labeling the Israeli campaign a genocide.
The other side: "Although we are flattered by his obsession with our civil rights group, his defamatory proclamation has no basis in fact or law," CAIR posted on X. "See you in court again, Greg...if you dare."
- "Our civil rights organization is an independent voice that answers to the American people, relies on support from the American people, and opposes all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism," CAIR wrote on X.
Between the lines: Neither group is designated a terrorist organization by the federal government.
- Earlier this year, Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn co-sponsored a bill that would require President Trump to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. The bill claimed the organization was trying to undermine American allies in the Middle East but didn't elaborate on the organization's activities within the U.S.
- The bill hasn't advanced in the Senate.
The big picture: The announcement comes months after Abbott signed bills banning so-called Sharia compounds — targeting a development in North Texas — and tightening restrictions on land ownership by foreign or criminally affiliated entities.
Flashback: In 2024, Abbott designated the Venezuelan group Tren De Aragua as a terrorist organization.