CAIR sues Texas Gov Abbott after it was labeled a terrorist organization

A leading Muslim advocacy organization is taking Texas to court, arguing that Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to label Texas a “foreign terrorist organization” violates both the U.S. Constitution and state law.

The Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to overturn Abbott’s proclamation issued earlier in the week.

“This attempt to punish the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization for disagreeing with Governor Abbott’s views not only violates the United States Constitution but also finds no support in any Texas law,” the group said in its lawsuit.

Founded in 1994, CAIR operates 25 chapters nationwide, including a small staff of eight employees and two contractors in Texas, according to the filing.

TEXAS ADMINISTRATOR ABBOTT DECLARED CAIR AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS TERRORIST GROUPS AND BLOCKED THE PURCHASE OF LAND

“CAIR-Texas and the Texas Muslim community are defending our constitutional rights by directly opposing Greg Abbott’s unlawful assault on our civil rights,” CAIR-Texas said in a statement. he said. “We are not and will not be afraid of smear campaigns launched by Israel First politicians like Mr. Abbott. Mr. Abbott smears us and other American Muslims because we are effective advocates for justice here and abroad. We plan to continue to exercise our constitutional rights, defend civil rights, and speak truth to power, whether to defend free speech, religious freedom, and racial equality here in Texas or to defend human rights abroad.”

Abbott’s order expanded the “terrorist” label to include the Muslim Brotherhood, even though federal authorities do not classify either group as such.

The governor’s executive order also prohibits CAIR from purchasing land in the Lone Star State under a new law aimed at preventing purchases tied to “foreign adversaries.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s statement states that CAIR has been blocked from purchasing land in the Lone Star State. (Antranik Tavityan/Reuters)

The group’s filing alleges that Abbott relied on “inflammatory statements with no basis in fact,” selectively citing affiliates’ statements to portray CAIR as sympathetic to terrorism.

“The lawsuit we filed today is our first step toward defeating Governor Abbott again to ensure our nation protects free speech and due process for all Americans,” CAIR Litigation Director and General Counsel Lena Masri said in a statement. he said. “No civil rights organization is safe if a governor baselessly and unilaterally declares anyone a terrorist group, bans them from buying land, and threatens to shut down. We have defeated Greg Abbott’s attacks on the First Amendment before, and God willing, we will do so again now.”

The Muslim Legal Fund of America also said it was “proud to defend CAIR-Texas’ constitutional rights and the rights of all Texans to defend free speech and civil rights without facing Greg Abbott’s unlawful and defamatory attacks.”

“Mr. “For the sake of our nation’s fundamental freedoms, Greg Abbott’s latest assault on the American people must be defeated.”

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CAIR accused the governor of relying on “inflammatory statements that have no basis in fact.” (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Texas Republicans tried to stop a planned Muslim-centered community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas.

Abbott and other Republican state officials launched an investigation into developments linked to the Islamic Center of East Plano (EPIC), claiming the group was trying to create a Muslim-only community that would enforce Islamic law.

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EPIC City representatives described the alleged attacks on Islamic law as misleading, dangerous and unfounded.

The U.S. Department of Justice closed a federal civil rights investigation into the planned community without filing any charges or lawsuits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.