Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, designated the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terror organizations and transnational criminal organizations on Tuesday.
Under the new designation, the two and their affiliates are subject to “heightened enforcement” and are barred from buying or acquiring land in the state, according to Abbott’s office.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’” the governor stated. “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.”
“These radical extremists are not welcome in our state,” he said.
Abbott’s proclamation quoted Hassan al-Banna, who founded the Brotherhood, saying that he aims to “dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam, including beating them.” He added that Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terror group, was formed as a branch of the Brotherhood.
The governor cited federal findings stating that CAIR was founded as a “front group” for “Hamas and its support network.”
The proclamation mentioned Ghassan Elashi, of CAIR Texas, who was sentenced to 65 years for financing terrorism, and Abdurahman Alamoudi, a self-described Hamas “supporter” who was “convicted as a terrorist for funding Al-Qaeda.” It also cited pro-terror praise from CAIR executive director, Nihad Awad, who “publicly praised and supported Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack against Israel, saying he ‘was happy to see’ the assault.”
Abbot added that the designation “authorizes the attorney general to sue to shut them down.”
“Excellent and important decision. The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization,” stated Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “I’m committed to designating the Muslim Brotherhood at a federal level as well, and we have many paths to do so.”
Cruz said that he has introduced legislation that “implements a new and modernized strategy, and I am pushing my colleagues to pass it expeditiously.”
“The same thing could also be done by President Trump as an executive order,” he said. “Getting this done is critical to the safety and security of Americans.”
Gilad Erdan, the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, stated that the governor “took a bold step against the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates, who act as an enemy from within.”
“They work to reshape the United States, weaken its values and radicalize the young generation,” he said. “Their networks helped fuel the riots that supported Hamas murderers after Oct. 7. President Donald Trump, it is time to make this decision on a national level to protect America and the free world.”
