article
AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 15: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday officially designated the Muslim Brotherhood and its successor organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) under state law.
What does this mean?
The proclamation, filed with the Secretary of State on Nov. 18, 2025, subjects both organizations and their affiliates to state penalties, including the prohibition from purchasing or acquiring land within Texas.
The designation uses authority under the Texas Penal Code and Texas Property Code.
As Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), the groups and anyone who promotes or aids their criminal activities are subject to heightened penalties authorized by the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
As Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), the organizations and their affiliates are prohibited from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas under Chapter 5 of the Texas Property Code. The Proclamation states that violating this law would require divestiture of the real property and could lead to criminal and civil penalties.
Governor’s Rationale
What they’re saying:
The proclamation cites several reasons for the designations, alleging the groups pose a threat to the security and residents of Texas.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’” said Governor Abbott. “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.”
Why did Abbott issue this proclamation for the Muslim Brotherhood?
Big picture view:
Abbott’s proclamation characterizes the Muslim Brotherhood as a transnational Islamist organization whose founder, Hassan al-Banna, professed that “Jihad is an obligation from Allah on every Muslim” involving “the fighting of the unbelievers.”
The proclamation asserts that a previous MB leader stated the organization’s primary goal is to establish Islam’s “mastership of the world” and forcibly impose Sharia law worldwide.
The MB is accused of supporting groups that conduct terrorism internationally.
Hamas, designated by the U.S. government as an FTO, is identified as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Why did Abbott issue this proclamation for CAIR?
Dig deeper:
The proclamation refers to CAIR as an Islamist organization and cites the FBI as stating it was founded as a “front group” for “Hamas and its support network” in the United States.
CAIR was named an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a federal terrorism financing prosecution, where a federal court found “ample evidence to establish” that CAIR was associated “with Hamas.”
The document lists several former CAIR staff, board members, or affiliates who were later convicted of terrorism or terrorism-related financing crimes.
Ghassan Elashi, a founding board member of the Texas branch for CAIR and Treasurer of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, who was sentenced to a total of 65 years in prison for financing terrorism in 2009;Abdurahman Alamoudi, a speaker at a CAIR-sponsored anti-Israel rally in Washington, D.C., in October 2000, who proudly proclaimed himself to be a “supporter[] of Hamas” and “a supporter of Hizballah” and who was later convicted as a terrorist for funding Al-Qaeda;Randall Todd Royer, a communications specialist and civil rights coordinator for CAIR, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on April 9, 2004, for conspiring to aid Al-Qaeda and the Taliban;Bassem Khafagi, a community relations director for CAIR, who pleaded guilty to federal bank and visa fraud in 2003 after funneling money to terrorist causes and publishing material advocating suicide attacks against the United States;Rabih Haddad, a CAIR fundraiser, who was arrested and deported for his work as Executive Director of the Global Relief Foundation, which was closed by the United States Department of Treasury in October 2002 for financing Al-Qaeda;Muthanna al-Hanooti, a Director for CAIR in Michigan, who was convicted and sentenced to prison in 2011 for violating United States sanctions against Iraq by accepting “two million barrels of Iraqi oil” in exchange for helping Saddam Hussein’s government;Sami Al-Arian, a convicted terrorist and Palestinian Islamic Jihad financier, whom CAIR publicly honored with its “Promoting Justice Award” in 2014 and whom it featured in a 2020 lecture in which he stressed his desire “to promote” CAIR and “support [it] financially” as “the first defense” in America; andNihad Awad, CAIR’s current Executive Director, who on November 24, 2023, publicly praised and supported Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack against Israel, saying he “was happy to see” the assault which involved the kidnapping and murder of American citizens.
The FBI suspended formal contacts with CAIR in 2008 and the Biden Administration “removed CAIR’s name” from certain online documents in 2023 “to make clear it was distancing itself from the organization.”
Context of State Legislation
The proclamation references several laws Abbott signed strengthening the state’s powers against foreign entities:
The Source: Information in this article is from the Proclamation by the Governor of the State of Texas.