The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, challenging Abbott’s designation of the group as a “foreign terrorist organization”, The Hill reports.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday by CAIR’s Legal Defense Fund and the Muslim Legal Fund of America, seeks to block enforcement of the proclamation, which also targets the Muslim Brotherhood.
The designation, signed by Abbott on Tuesday, labels both groups as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, the proclamation bars CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood from “purchasing or acquiring land in Texas.”
CAIR, which describes itself as the largest Muslim civil rights advocacy organization in the US, argues that the designation poses “an imminent risk of harm.”
Lena Masri, CAIR’s litigation director and general counsel, said in a statement quoted by The Hill, “CAIR Legal Defense Fund has successfully sued and defeated Texas Governor Greg Abbott the last three times he tried to violate the First Amendment by punishing critics of the Israeli government.”
“The lawsuit we have filed today is our first step towards defeating Governor Abbott again so that our nation protects free speech and due process for all Americans,” added Masri.
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.