Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R.) on Monday designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations in his state, following Texas’s lead.
DeSantis’s executive order says the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Islamist ideology” is “irreconcilable with foundational American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.”
The order alleges that the Muslim Brotherhood created Hamas, explicitly intending to destroy Israel, and uses a network of organizations and chapters to support terrorism. And it says a brotherhood-affiliated organization formed CAIR as “‘an official U.S. cover representing the Islamic community’ to conceal ties to Islamic extremist groups.”
DeSantis’s move allows law enforcement to investigate both organizations’ activities in the state and “undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities in Florida by the terrorist organizations.” Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) made a similar designation last month, saying that the “Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia Law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world.'” It is unclear if DeSantis’s designation bans the Islamic groups from owning land in Florida, as Abbott’s does in Texas.
CAIR and its Florida chapter vowed to pursue legal action against the state, arguing that DeSantis’s order is “defamatory and unconstitutional.”
The order came on the same day as the Washington Free Beacon reported that an investigation determined CAIR’s political advocacy arm to have operated without the proper licenses and legal authority required in 22 states. That lack of legal authority means it could be guilty of “wire fraud,” “deceptive solicitation,” and “false statements to the IRS,” according to the report.
Lawmakers and activists have increased calls to investigate CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood for their ties to terrorism. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) in October asked the Trump administration to investigate CAIR’s ties to Hamas, arguing that the connection may constitute “material support for terrorism,” the Free Beacon reported.
CAIR sparked outrage after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, when Executive Director Nihad Awad said he was “happy to see” the massacre, in which Hamas murdered more than 1,200 civilians and took hundreds hostage.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) this summer unveiled a bill that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization at the federal level, following the lead of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates, the Free Beacon reported.
