Florida has designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations, "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY," Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Monday evening — prompting CAIR to vow it'll sue his administration.
The big picture: CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the U.S., has already filed a lawsuit against Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last month designated the two groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
- Neither group features on the U.S. government's list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
State of play: "Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support," DeSantis said in a post that shared the order on the governor's social media accounts.
- Separately, DeSantis wrote on his personal X account that members of the Forida Legislature "are crafting legislation to stop the creep of sharia law, and I hope that they codify these protections for Floridians against CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood in their legislation."
Zoom in: DeSantis' order says CAIR was "founded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood," which the order connects to Hamas and the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
- CAIR denies ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, a loose-knit transnational Sunni Islamist movement with international chapters across multiple Arab nations that was founded in Egypt.
- The grassroots organization that was founded in 1994 has said that it "unequivocally" condemns all acts of terrorism, including by Hamas.
What they're saying: CAIR in a statement accused DeSantis of signing a "defamatory and unconstitutional order baselessly smearing" the group and prioritizing "serving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida."
