Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday that he had designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist groups.
Both of these organizations have had longstanding ties to radical Islamic terrorism.
In a post on X, the governor noted that his proclamation “bans them from buying or acquiring land in Texas and authorizes the Attorney General to sue to shut them down.”
From The Houston Chronicle:
Gov. Greg Abbott is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations.
The designation authorizes “heightened enforcement” against both organizations and their affiliates and prohibits them from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas, according to Abbott’s office.
The U.S. has designated branches or affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as Hamas, as terrorist organizations, while CAIR is a Muslim advocacy organization that has faced accusations that it has ties to terrorist groups.
Several bills have been proposed in Congress to take a similar action against the groups, but none have passed. President Donald Trump has also expressed interest in making the designation on a federal level but so far has not. Defense experts at the time told the Associated Press that was likely because the group is too diffuse to characterize as a whole, operating violently in some places and politically in others.
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The proclamation provides details about the organizations’ ties to terrorism. It notes how Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna’s doctrine involves “the fighting of the unbelievers, and involves all possible efforts that are necessary to dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam includding beating them, plunderingtheir wealth, destroying their places of worship and smashing their idols.”
The document also notes that Palestinian terrorist group Hamas was “formed in 1987 as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The governor further notes that the FBI characterizes CAIR as a “front group” for “Hamas and its support network.” Its executive director Nihad Awad “publicly praised and supported Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack against Israel, saying he ‘was happy to see’ the assault which involved the kidnapping and murder of American citizens.”
The proclamation also allows for potential civil injunctions against the organizations and criminal penalties for violations.
The Muslim Brotherhood has also been tied to al-Qaeda and ISIS. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who led al-Qaeda after Osama Bin Laden’s death, was a member of the organization before founding Egyptian Islamic Jihad. This group orchestrated the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
In April, Jordanian authorities discovered a terrorist plot to attack “sensitive sites.” The objective was “targeting national security, sowing chaos, and sabotage.” The 16 culprits were members of the Muslim Brotherhood who were manufacturing rockets and recruiting operatives.
Both groups have denied their ties to terrorism. However, their history suggests that they are more involved in violent extremism than they would care to admit.
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