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U.S.|Texas Governor Declares Muslim Civil Rights Group a ‘Terrorist Organization’
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/us/texas-abbott-cair-terrorist-group-muslim.html
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Gov. Greg Abbott said the state could now take steps to shut down the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The group said the declaration had no basis in fact or law.
Nov. 18, 2025, 1:33 p.m. ET
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas formally declared on Tuesday that one of the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy and civil rights groups is a foreign terrorist organization, saying the move will prohibit the organization from acquiring land in Texas and authorize the state attorney general “to sue to shut them down” in Texas.
In his declaration, Mr. Abbott said that the group, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, had direct ties to Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. government. The nonprofit, known by its initials, CAIR, has denied having any such ties.
The governor also suggested, without offering evidence, that CAIR’s leadership sought to impose Islamic law, known as Shariah, on Americans.
Mr. Abbott appeared to be the first state leader to make such a declaration about the organization, which has been a presence in American political debates for more than 30 years. CAIR has attracted intensifying scrutiny and criticism since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Mr. Abbott’s move went further than the Trump administration has so far been willing to go. His declaration also included the Muslim Brotherhood, a group founded in Egypt almost a century ago that has a range of overseas offshoots.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that similar actions by the federal government against both groups were “in the works,” But the administration has yet to follow through.
