Texas Governor Greg Abbott just lit a fire under the political class — and the activist class — by officially designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations. And if that wasn’t enough to spark headlines, he also labeled both groups transnational criminal organizations, effectively barring them from acquiring land in Texas and opening the door for enhanced state enforcement against their operations.
In other words, the Lone Star State isn’t playing around.
Abbott dropped the hammer Tuesday in a move that is sure to trigger debates on cable news, a flurry of legal challenges, and some serious side-eye from certain corners of D.C. According to the governor’s office, this designation is about protecting Texans from radical influence — foreign or otherwise — and keeping organizations tied to terrorism and violence out of the state.
Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
This bans them from buying or acquiring land in Texas and authorizes the Attorney General to sue to shut them down. pic.twitter.com/lSYvpkTmh3
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 18, 2025
Let’s be clear: CAIR has long branded itself as a civil rights group focused on defending Muslims in the U.S. But it’s no stranger to controversy. While it claims to promote justice, understanding, and religious freedom, federal authorities have allegedly linked CAIR to Hamas in past investigations. That’s not speculation — that’s from actual Justice Department material. And now, with a growing number of Republicans — including Rep. Elise Stefanik and Sen. Tom Cotton — calling for a federal probe into CAIR’s funding sources and potential foreign influence, Texas may just be the tip of the spear.
In his statement, Abbott didn’t hold back. He said both CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood “have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world.’” According to Abbott, these groups are allegedly involved in “supporting terrorism across the globe” and “subverting our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment.”
“This is unacceptable,” he said. “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state.”
CAIR, not surprisingly, fired back hard. In a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, a spokesperson insisted the organization has spent the last 30 years protecting free speech and standing up against all forms of violence — even claiming ISIS once put a target on their national director. They dismissed Abbott’s declaration as a “publicity stunt” and accused him of pushing “debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes.”
CAIR also argued the governor was more interested in scoring political points than “serving the people of Texas.” They said the designation has “no basis in fact or law,” which might suggest a court fight is coming — and soon.
Now, this whole situation might sound dramatic, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. The Biden White House — yes, the same one that worked with CAIR in 2023 to roll out an anti-antisemitism strategy — quietly cut ties with the group later that year. Why? Because one of CAIR’s top execs allegedly said he was “happy” about Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel. That comment, unsurprisingly, was not a great look for a group claiming to oppose terrorism.
Even Biden’s antisemitism envoy, Deborah Lipstadt, told the Jerusalem Post in mid-2023 that she was trying to give CAIR “a chance to change.” Clearly, patience ran out.
And let’s not forget the other half of this proclamation: the Muslim Brotherhood. Founded in Egypt in 1928, the group is often described as the grandfather of modern Islamist movements. It has a long history of stirring unrest in the Middle East and is banned in several countries. Critics argue that its influence reaches into western institutions through various front organizations — allegations that many U.S. officials have raised over the years, even if few have done much about it.
Until now.
We have been consistent and courageous in raising alarms about the growing Islamist influence in U.S. institutions, particularly within the Democratic Party and under the Biden administration. When spoke —when few dared to speak out—that groups like @CAIRNational and @Emgage,… pic.twitter.com/ZI96k0OqWI
— Anila Ali (@anilaali) November 15, 2025
Abbott’s move — with President Trump in the White House and Vice President J.D. Vance supporting national security crackdowns — might just be a sign of where things are headed. The question is: will other states follow Texas’s lead? And if so, what happens when federal and state policies start clashing over what — or who — qualifies as a national security threat?
One thing’s for sure: the lines are being drawn. And the political fallout from this one? Just getting started.
