Florida declares US Muslim civil rights group a foreign terrorist organization | Florida
Florida has designated the American civil rights and liberties group the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) a foreign terrorist organization, Republican governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday.
The move comes on the heels of a similar order issued in November by DeSantis’ fellow Republican, Texas governor Greg Abbott; but only the federal government can designate terrorist organizations.
Cair and his supporters are among those who dismiss DeSantis and Abbott’s orders as Islamophobia.
In a statementThe National and Florida Cair chapters described DeSantis’ order as a “stunt” and accused him of signing a defamatory and unconstitutional order that “baselessly defames” them. The groups vowed to sue Florida as they did Texas; Here, Abbott directed law enforcement officials to investigate whether a group in Dallas was operating courts under sharia law.
“Governor DeSantis knows full well that Cair-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious liberty, and justice for all, including the Palestinian people,” the groups said in a statement.
DeSantis said the executive order, named after Cair, one of the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy groups, “is effective immediately.” His order also targets the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist group founded in 1928.
Neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor Cair are on the US government’s agenda list designated FTO groups
However, “Florida organizations are directed to take all lawful measures to prevent the illegal activities of these organizations, including the denial of privileges or resources to any person who provides material support.” DeSantis said the following in his statement about X.
The order said Cair was “established by individuals affiliated with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood,” which it linked to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Cairo denial It has relations with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Cair’s Florida and national affiliates said it prioritized “serving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida” and “diverting millions of Florida taxpayer dollars into Israeli government bonds” at DeSantis’ orders.
He added that DeSantis and Abbott want to “smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims,” who criticize U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
In a separate statement regarding X, DeSantis said members of the Florida legislature “have introduced legislation to stop the spread of sharia law, and I hope they will include those protections for Floridians against Cair and the Muslim Brotherhood in their legislation.”
Abbott’s order in Texas prohibited Cair and the Muslim Brotherhood from owning property in the state and allowed legal action to shut down affiliates.
Cair was sent A letter to Abbott in November “He has spent 30 years speaking out against all forms of bigotry, including anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and anti-Semitism, as well as all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and terrorism.”
