Texas moves to shut down CAIR, setting up a high-stakes legal and political fight

The State of Texas has taken a dramatic step in an ongoing political and legal battle involving Islam, terrorism designations, and nonprofit regulation. At the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit seeking to shut down the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), arguing that the organization is covertly operating as part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Paxton filed the lawsuit on Thursday, naming the Muslim Brotherhood — which the state alleges has been operating in the United States through CAIR — and asking the courts to prohibit both from operating in Texas. The suit follows a letter Abbott sent to the Office of the Attorney General roughly a week earlier, demanding that Paxton use the same regulatory tools he has “used before” against nonprofits, particularly by targeting their nonprofit status.

CAIR, founded in 1994, describes itself as the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. The group operates nationally and engages in conferences, publications, and advocacy focused on what it describes as defending the constitutional rights of Muslim Americans. Its work includes outreach at local, state, and federal levels of government.

The Muslim Brotherhood, by contrast, is a Sunni Islamist fundamentalist organization founded in Egypt in the 1920s. Over the following decades, it spread throughout much of the Arab world. Hamas, the Palestinian nationalist and Sunni Islamist group, has roots in the Muslim Brotherhood dating back to the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War involving Israel and several Arab states, including Egypt.

Abbott formally designated both the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) in mid-November. That move came shortly before President Donald Trump issued an executive order designating certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as FTOs and “specially designated” global terrorists. Trump’s executive order also requested a report from federal agencies detailing specific Muslim Brotherhood chapters and whether they were eligible for FTO designation.

According to Abbott, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of the Treasury later designated the Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations on January 13. Abbott cited those designations in his letter to Paxton, arguing they justified state action against CAIR.

The lawsuit itself makes sweeping claims. Court documents describe CAIR as “a radical terrorist organization that exists to usurp governmental power and establish dominion through Sharia law. The group is not peaceful. It is not tolerant.”

“The organization is quietly building an underground network across the State with a singular objective: establish Sharia law, punish infidels, and overtake Texan institutions of power,” the filing states.

The Office of the Attorney General further asserted that CAIR is “not what it claims to be,” describing it as “the American face of an international terrorist organization.”

Texas is seeking injunctive relief that would prohibit CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood from operating in the state. The lawsuit notes that because CAIR is considered an “unincorporated nonprofit association,” it must comply with proclamations issued by the governor as well as existing state law.

The legal push comes amid rising political attention to Islam-related issues in Texas and nationally. Topics such as Sharia law, Islamic law tribunals, and a proposed Muslim-centric housing development have become flashpoints in recent months, fueling broader debates over religious freedom, national security, and the limits of state power.

CAIR responded forcefully to the lawsuit. In a press release issued Thursday afternoon, the organization called Paxton’s action “another frivolous, politically motivated anti-Muslim publicity stunt.”

The group also pointed to its previously filed lawsuit challenging Abbott’s FTO proclamation, writing, “We have also defeated Mr. Abbott’s attacks on Texas Muslims and the Constitution three different times in a row. We look forward to doing so again, God willing.”

The issue has also spilled into Republican intra-party politics. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is preparing to face Paxton in the March Republican primary for U.S. Senate, used the lawsuit as an opportunity to criticize the attorney general’s timing.

“Just wondering what took you so long? It took Gov. Greg Abbott to demand you do so,” Cornyn said in response to the filing.

Meanwhile, Congressman Keith Self (R-TX-03) praised Paxton’s move. Self recently helped form the Sharia-Free America Caucus alongside Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21), who is running to succeed Paxton as attorney general. In an X post, Self argued that Congress should take further action, stating that “Now, Congress needs to designate both the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations.”

“Sharia has no place in America,” he concluded.

What happens next will likely hinge on the courts. The lawsuit raises major constitutional questions involving freedom of religion, freedom of association, and the authority of a state to designate organizations as terrorist groups and shut them down. Regardless of the outcome, the case is poised to become a flashpoint in Texas politics — and a test of how far state governments can go when national security concerns collide with civil rights claims.