DeSantis Joins Texas In Designating CAIR And Muslim Brotherhood As Terrorist Organizations

 On Monday, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”

DeSantis’s move comes after Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declared the groups terrorist organizations last month, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order paving the way for his administration to designate chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. 

The Florida order says the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology is “irreconcilable with foundational American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and notes the group has a history of supporting violence and terrorist attacks, including political assassinations and attacks on civilians, in pursuit of a global Islamic caliphate. It further notes that members of the Muslim Brotherhood created Hamas in 1987, a United States-designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for killing 46 American citizens in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The order then links the Muslim Brotherhood to groups in the United States, stating that the Palestine Committee — a group created to raise financial and moral support for Hamas — founded CAIR in 1994. It adds that CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terror-financing case in American history and has been associated with individuals convicted of providing, or conspiring to provide, material support to designated terrorist organizations.

“CAIR was founded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and was created, in the words of persons affiliated with CAIR, as ‘an official U.S. cover representing the Islamic community’ to conceal ties to Islamic extremist groups,” the order says.

The order directs the Florida Highway Patrol to take all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by the designated groups and requires all executive and cabinet agencies to block any terrorist organization listed, or any person known to have provided material support or resources to such an organization, from receiving state contracts, employment, funding, or any other government benefits or privileges.

CAIR, which calls itself “the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization,” fired back, calling the order “defamatory and unconstitutional” and accusing DeSantis of being “Israel First.” 

“Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes,” CAIR National and CAIR-Florida said in a statement. “Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people.”

The group added that they plan to defeat “Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt” in court. 

Last week, Abbott called on the Trump Administration to strip CAIR of its tax-exempt status for its alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations. He argued that federal investigators and court filings have identified CAIR as “a direct subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood” and as a “front group” for Hamas in the United States. He also cited a recent report that claims CAIR awarded $1,000 cash grants to college students who disrupted classes and intimidated or harassed fellow students “while celebrating Hamas’s October 7th attack.” 

“Americans have generous hearts, and federal law wisely creates incentives to donate to nonprofit organizations that promote the public good,” Abbott wrote. “But charity must not become a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy.”

According to Trump, the “final documents are being drawn” for the Muslim Brotherhood to receive a foreign terrorist organization designation, which will be “done in the strongest and most powerful terms.”