America’s enemies never sleep. And no one is safe so long as they exist.
Now Greg Abbott will never be the same after a terror organization sent him this message.
CAIR Files Federal Lawsuit Against Texas Over Terrorist Designation
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) launched legal action Thursday against the state of Texas, challenging Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that branded the advocacy group a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal entity.
Filed in federal court, the suit accuses Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton of bypassing due process and trampling First Amendment protections. CAIR insists the designation is baseless and driven by anti-Muslim prejudice.
“CAIR has spent the last 31 years vocally speaking up against all forms of bigotry and unjust violence, hate crimes, and terrorism,” the organization wrote in its complaint. “Governor Abbott’s proclamation is defamatory and finds no basis in law or fact, and Plaintiffs therefore ask this Court to declare the Proclamation illegal, and enjoin its enforcement.”
Longstanding Allegations of Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood Ties
Though never criminally charged with terrorism in the U.S., CAIR was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, where defendants were convicted of funneling money to Hamas.
A federal judge in 2009 concluded there was “ample evidence to establish the association” between CAIR and the Palestinian terrorist group. The FBI formally severed ties with CAIR that same year.
The United Arab Emirates designated CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014 over alleged Muslim Brotherhood links—a charge CAIR has consistently denied. Critics have described the group as a Brotherhood offshoot with roots in networks tied to decades of global attacks.
Just weeks after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad publicly declared he was “happy to see people breaking the siege,” describing the slaughter as an “inspiration” worldwide.
Abbott Cites Sharia Compound and Global Agenda as Justification
Gov. Abbott defended the designation by pointing to CAIR’s alleged efforts to establish a Sharia-compliant community in North Texas and pressure Muslim-owned businesses to enforce Islamic law—actions he says violate the Texas Constitution’s ban on religious discrimination.
The governor framed the move as necessary to block foreign ideologies that conflict with American law.
“The only thing Texans should comply with is the ‘Texas Constitution,’ which ‘prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion — period,’” Abbott said. “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 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,” the governor added.
CAIR countered that Paxton and Abbott violated the Supremacy Clause by attempting to override federal authority on terrorism designations, and warned that a successful ruling could permanently bar Texas from applying such labels in the future.
