Muslim leaders demand Texas Gov. Abbott to reverse CAIR terrorist label

A group of Muslim and faith leaders urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, to rescind his declaration calling the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a “foreign terrorist organization.”

Texas statewide designation only. It does not carry the legal force of the Federal List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), which only the US State Department can issue. Thus, Abbott’s announcement does not trigger federal terrorism-related sanctions or authorities.

Leaders of several Muslim groups held a news conference on Tuesday to denounce the announcement by the governor, who also described CAIR as a “transnational criminal organization.”

The groups called on the governor to retract his description of the civil rights group, calling it defamatory, damaging and dangerous, according to Fox 4.

Muslim civil rights group files lawsuit against Texas over Abbott’s designation as a ‘terrorist’

This comes after the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas over the governor’s proclamation, arguing that it violates the US Constitution and state law.

CAIR says the order violates First Amendment rights and due process protections, and that Texas exceeded its authority because terrorism designations fall under federal jurisdiction, not state jurisdiction.

“The governor is trying to punish the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization simply because he disagrees with his protected First Amendment rights to criticize a foreign nation that engages in genocide,” Mustafa Carroll, executive director of CAIR Dallas-Fort Worth, said at Tuesday’s news conference. “This is not only inconsistent with the United States Constitution, it finds no support in any Texas law.”

“You know that the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the Hamas attacks. You know that the Council on American-Islamic Relations has spent 31 years fighting terrorism and intolerance. And you know that the bogeyman of terrorism you invoke is nothing more than a tired book formulated to incite fear of Muslims,” ​​Maryam Oden of the Islamic Legal Defense Fund said Tuesday.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas over the governor’s proclamation, arguing that it violates the U.S. Constitution and state law. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Leaders from other faiths, including Jewish voices, also spoke out against Abbott’s naming.

“We stand firm in solidarity with our comrades at the Council on American-Islamic Relations and offer unwavering support in their lawsuit against Abbott’s false and unconstitutional declaration,” said Deborah Armentor of Jewish Voice for Peace.

State Rep. Terry Meza, a Democrat, added that the governor’s words “are not only wrong, they are dangerous. Making comments like this is dangerous to our Muslim community.”

Texas Governor Abbott declares CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist groups and bans land purchases

Islamic groups called on the governor to retract his description of CAIR, describing it as defamatory, destructive and dangerous. (Antranik Tavityan/Reuters)

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The lawsuit is ongoing, and it remains unclear whether the court will uphold Abbott’s order or strike it down as exceeding state authority.

Governor’s decree prohibits CAIR from Buying the land In the Lone Star State under a new law aimed at limiting purchases linked to “foreign adversaries.”

Abbott’s order also expanded the “terrorist” designation to include the Muslim Brotherhood, although the federal government has never designated either group that way.