Florida governor declares Muslim civil rights group a terrorist organization
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the United States as a “foreign terrorist organization.” Similar step from Texas last month.
The directive to the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order that DeSantis posted on social media site X. Muslim Brotherhood.
Neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood designated as A foreign terrorist organization by the US government.
The order instructs Florida agencies to block the two groups and those who fund them from receiving contracts, employment or funding from a state government or cabinet agency.
CAIR and its Florida chapter said in an emailed statement that it plans to sue DeSantis in response to the statement, which the organization called “unconstitutional” and “defamatory.”
Founded in 1994, CAIR has 25 branches nationwide.
Last month, CAIR asked a federal judge to strike down Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s declaration: I say in a case “not only is it contrary to the Constitution of the United States, but it finds no support in any Texas law.”
Muslim Brotherhood It was founded in Egypt nearly a century ago and has branches around the world. Its leaders say the group renounced violence decades ago and sought to establish Islamic rule through elections and other peaceful means. Critics, including autocratic governments in the Middle East region, see it as a threat.
