On Tuesday, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a proclamation designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as \u201cforeign terrorist organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. [AP Photo\/Eric Gay]<\/p>\n
The action, which is politically and legally dubious, fits directly within the far-right and xenophobic drive that has defined Abbott\u2019s administration and the trajectory of the Republican Party nationally during the second term of Donald Trump as US President.<\/p>\n
Abbott\u2019s official statement describes the Muslim Brotherhood as a \u201cgroup that supports organizations, including Hamas, that conduct terrorism in various countries,\u201d noting that \u201ca series of countries have already imposed restrictions on their local Muslim Brotherhood branches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding CAIR, Abbott\u2019s proclamation calls it a \u201csuccessor organization\u201d to the Muslim Brotherhood and \u201can effective front group for Hamas in the United States,\u201d further accusing CAIR of seeking \u201cto spread Sharia law in the country by infiltrating public office and other areas of public life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abbott maintains in his statement, \u201cToday, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations,\u201d adding that the move will \u201cban both groups from buying or acquiring land in the state and allow the state\u2019s attorney general to sue to shut down the two groups and potentially impose fines on those involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The provocative language and tone of Abbott\u2019s proclamation notwithstanding, it must be noted that US states do not have the legal authority to designate organizations as foreign terrorist entities. According to federal law, such authority rests solely with the US Secretary of State, following consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury.<\/p>\n
Abbott\u2019s announcement is more about generating an atmosphere of hysteria and inciting anti-Muslim sentiment than about any legitimate action. As CAIR\u2019s response states plainly, \u201cGreg Abbott is an Israel-First politician who has spent months stoking anti-Muslim hysteria to smear American Muslims critical of the Israeli government … By defaming a prominent American Muslim institution with debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes, Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the legality of giving the Texas Attorney General the authority to prohibit these organizations from purchasing land and moving to shut them down is dubious under federal law, the threat is clear: Texas will seek to curtail the ability of these and similar organizations to function by threatening their operations, finances and physical presence in the state.<\/p>\n
CAIR is the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, with a stated mission to \u201cenhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties and empower American Muslims.\u201d It was founded in 1994 and works both in the courts and broader society to push back against anti-Muslim discrimination, defend free speech, and represent the interests of Muslim Americans facing state harassment, media defamation, or discrimination in employment, education and housing.<\/p>\n
CAIR responded forcefully, reiterating its mission as \u201can independent American civil rights organization that has spent 30 years protecting free speech, advancing religious freedom, and promoting justice for people here and abroad. We have consistently condemned all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and terrorism. In fact, we condemn terrorism so often that ISIS once put a target on our national executive director.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group further stated, \u201cAlthough we are flattered by Greg Abbott\u2019s obsession with our civil rights organization, his publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation has no basis in fact or law.\u201d CAIR promised vigorous legal resistance by threatening to sue the Governor as it has done successfully on three previous occasions.<\/p>\n
The Muslim Brotherhood is a global Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928 as a religious, social and political movement. While some governments, including Egypt\u2019s military regime, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have designated it a terrorist group, the Muslim Brotherhood\u2019s activities in the US are limited and primarily revolve around cultural and religious engagement, student groups and overseas political advocacy. US intelligence and legal authorities have long found no evidence of terrorism links within Brotherhood-related entities in the US.<\/p>\n
The Muslim Brotherhood has not issued a distinct public response as of this writing, but global Muslim organizations and their US supporters have condemned the move as part of an intensifying crackdown on Muslim civil society organizations.<\/p>\n
Civil rights groups and advocacy organizations have denounced Abbott\u2019s declaration as an \u201cescalation of anti-Muslim bigotry.\u201d The groups have emphasized that the move threatens basic rights to association and religious freedom, and puts a legal bullseye on Texas\u2019s Muslim community.<\/p>\n