Amid rising political tensions in Texas over the presence and activities of religious extremist groups, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations. The announcement, released this week, aligns with the governor’s broader effort to restrict certain groups from purchasing land in the state and to expand the enforcement powers of the Texas Attorney General.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and [Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)] have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’" Abbott said in a press release announcing the designation. "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.” He continued, “Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
According to the proclamation, the action draws on powers granted by several sections of state law, including the Texas Penal Code, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and Texas Property Code. Under these provisions, the governor asserts that the two organizations will be barred from acquiring any land in Texas. The order also authorizes the Texas Office of the Attorney General to pursue legal penalties if either group attempts to purchase, lease, or otherwise obtain property in the state.
Abbott cited both recent state legislation and the organizations’ historical activities to justify the move. The proclamation references designations of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated entities by the U.S. Department of State, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s decision in 2008 to suspend formal contacts with CAIR after evidence emerged of links between some of its leaders and Hamas. While neither organization is designated as a foreign terrorist organization at the federal level, the governor argued that the state is empowered to impose its own restrictions under Texas law.
Founded in Egypt in the 1920s, the Muslim Brotherhood grew into a broad Sunni Islamist movement that spread across the Middle East. The group reached a political milestone in 2012 when its candidate, Mohamed Morsi, won Egypt’s first democratic presidential election following the Arab Spring uprising. Morsi was removed from power in 2013 by the Egyptian military, which subsequently outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood and declared it a terrorist organization. The Palestinian group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, is widely considered to have emerged from Brotherhood-aligned networks following the 1967 Six-Day War.
Abbott’s proclamation also highlights Senate Bill 17, passed during the state’s 89th Legislative Session, which bars individuals and entities from countries labeled adversarial by the U.S. government from purchasing land in Texas. Abbott stated on social media that the new designations extend similar restrictions to the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR, adding that the directive “bans them from buying or acquiring land in Texas and authorizes the Attorney General to sue to shut them down.”
The announcement comes amid ongoing disputes between state officials and Muslim organizations in Texas. Over the past year, Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have targeted the East Plano Islamic Center’s (EPIC) proposed residential development near Dallas–Fort Worth. Known as “EPIC City,” the planned community has been under scrutiny from both Paxton’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice. Abbott has directed state agencies to examine whether the project could be “potentially violating criminal law.”
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