Texas Governor Greg Abbott today (Tuesday) designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. This designation authorizes heightened enforcement against both organizations and their affiliates and prohibits them from purchasing or acquiring land in 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.”
The Middle East Forum (MEF) praised the designation.
“This is vindication,” said Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, speaking from Dallas. “For years, MEF has documented how CAIR-founded by convicted Hamas financier Ghassan Elashi, who is serving 65 years in federal prison-masquerades as a civil rights organization while maintaining its terror support infrastructure. Governor Abbott just shattered that facade with the force of law.”
CAIR has faced accusations of antisemitism and support for terrorism. In November, 2023, CAIR executive director and co-founder Nihad Awad stated that the Hamas massacre of over 1,200 people on October 7 made him "happy."
During a speech at the 16th Annual Convention for Palestine on October 7, Awad said: “The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege - the walls of the concentration camp - on Oct. 7. And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not free to walk in.”
“And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense - have the right to defend themselves. And yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense,” he added.
He went on to engage in antisemitic tropes about Jews controlling America. “AIPAC and its affiliates have been controlling the United States government and the United States Congress. And if someone says, ‘Oh, Nihad Awad said this about the Congress,’ I tell you, ‘Yes, I say it today, and I will say it tomorrow - unless we free Congress, we will not be able to free Palestine.’”
The White House severed ties with CAIR following Awad's speech.