Texas governor declares Muslim civil rights group a terrorist organization
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the United States a “foreign terrorist organization,” in a proclamation he said allowed the state to try to shut them down.
He also called the Council on American-Islamic Relations a “transnational criminal organization” and said it would not be allowed to buy land in the state. The following statements were also included in the declaration: Muslim Brotherhood.
Neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood designated as Foreign terrorist organizations by the US government.
In a letter to Abbott, CAIR said his announcement had no basis “legal or factual.” The group accused his office of fueling “anti-Muslim hysteria.”
“You have no authority to unilaterally designate any American or American institution as a terrorist group, nor is there any basis for directing this smear at our organization,” wrote Robert S. McCaw, CAIR’s director of government affairs.
Months ago, Texas Republicans moved aggressively to stop it. A Muslim-centered planned community It’s around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas. Abbott and other GOP state officials have launched an investigation into the development tied to the Islamic Center of East Plano, saying the group is trying to create a Muslim-only community that would enforce Islamic law.
EPIC City representatives called the attacks on Islamic law and other claims misleading, dangerous and unwarranted. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Justice closed federal civil rights investigation to be included in the planned community without filing any accusations or lawsuits.
In his statement, Abbott cited a law he signed this year that he said prohibits “foreign adversaries” from buying or acquiring land. The bill’s Republican author praised the governor’s statement.
“Today proves why this legislation is needed,” Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner said at X.
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.
