The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has triggered a wave of anger among Houston’s Muslim community after designating the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a terrorist organisation, alleging its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
CAIR, headquartered in Washington, rejected the accusations, while its branches in other states urged judicial authorities to confront Abbott’s decision. But the strongest outrage came from Muslims in Texas, who view CAIR as a civil political body that defends their rights.
The Washington Post reported that Amina Ishaq, a social worker at her local mosque in the Sugar Land suburb, relied on CAIR to protect her rights and those of Muslims in her community whether during her participation in local government meetings, while protesting the war in Gaza, or when confronting Islamophobia within schools. Ishaq said, “They would join our protests to make sure we were alright.”
Earlier in November, Governor Greg Abbott issued an order classifying CAIR, one of the most prominent Muslim civil rights organisations in the United States, as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, placing it in the same category as the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic organisation.
He directed his attack against CAIR, accusing it of attempting “to undermine the law through violence, intimidation and harassment”.
Abbott stated that designating CAIR as a “foreign terrorist organisation” would prevent it from purchasing land within Texas, under a law passed by the state legislature this year. It also allows the attorney general to file lawsuits seeking to shut it down. “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state”, Abbott said in his statement.
For Amina Ishaq, the governor’s rhetoric targets CAIR as if it were targeting historic civil rights organisations like the Anti Defamation League or the NAACP, stressing that the council “protects civil liberties”.
Abbott accused CAIR, a nonprofit organisation, of having ties to Hamas, which is designated in the United States as a terrorist group, despite the organisation’s leadership denying any link. He cited cases and reports from the FBI and the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, claiming that CAIR leaders had sought to impose Islamic law on Americans.
CAIR officials reject these claims and have filed a lawsuit against Abbott and the state’s Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton.
CAIR’s branches in Dallas Fort Worth and Austin asked a federal judge to overturn the declaration that described the council as a “transnational criminal organisation”. The lawsuit stated that “this attempt to punish the largest Muslim civil rights organisation in the country because the governor disagrees with its views violates the constitution and is unsupported by any Texas law”.
The suit also noted that CAIR, founded in 1994, has 25 chapters nationwide, while its leaders accused the governor of threatening all civil rights groups, not only Islamic ones.
In a statement, CAIR’s litigation director Lena Masri said, “No civil rights organisation is safe if a governor can, without any basis, label it a terrorist group, block it from purchasing land and threaten it with closure.”
A spokesperson for Abbott declined to reply to the newspaper’s questions, referring only to the governor’s declaration and statements.
Abbott escalated his attack again on Monday, using President Donald Trump’s executive order designating branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.
In a radio interview, he said his designation was a response to concerns inside the Texas Republican Party about the growing Muslim population and the rise of Muslim officials such as New York’s mayor elect, Zohran Mamdani.
He added, “The concern is great, especially when you see someone like Mamdani elected and the problems that could bring. We have religious freedom, but religion cannot become a threat to our freedom”. Despite his alarmist rhetoric, he did not provide examples of how Muslims threaten others’ freedoms.
Approximately 420,000 Muslims live in Texas, most in Houston, Dallas and their suburbs, where mosques and Muslim owned businesses are widespread. Fort Bend County in Sugar Land is among the most diverse counties in the United States, with the foreign born population rising by 71 percent in the last two census cycles.
The Republican Party faces difficulty maintaining influence in these diverse and fast growing suburbs. Muslim voters share some party values such as religious freedom, markets and development, but do not agree with its conservative Christian orientation.
Earlier this year, Abbott and Paxton opposed a 400 acre housing development project called “Epic City”, being developed by members of a northeast Dallas mosque. Abbott called it unlawful and asked state agencies to investigate it.
During the summer, the Department of Justice announced that the developers pledged to comply with federal fair housing laws. Abbott and Paxton, however, said investigations were still ongoing. The project was later renamed “The Meadow” without construction starting.
Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, noted that a segment within the Republican Party sees Islam as an existential threat to Christianity. He said some Republicans point to the spread of Islam in Europe as a warning of what could happen in the United States, and even refer to cities like Minneapolis where the call to prayer is broadcast over loudspeakers.
Jones pointed out that Abbott is running for re election, while Paxton is in a primary contest for the Senate against Republican John Cornyn. Although Muslims are a minority in Texas, evangelical Christians wield significant influence in the Republican primaries, and “a large share of them considers Islam a threat to the state”.
Some believe the United States is a “Judeo Christian nation”, Jones said, citing a Texas law, blocked mostly by the courts, that requires posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Several Muslim Republicans in Texas condemned Abbott’s attack on CAIR.
Mo Nehad, a police officer who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Fort Bend after joining the Republican Party with his daughter’s encouragement, said Abbott’s declaration is “absurd” and baseless. He rejected the governor’s claim that Muslims seek to impose Islamic law, calling it “biased and unsupported by any fact”.
He said, “We have bigger concerns: veterans, poor families, children who cannot afford lunch and illegal immigration”.
Democratic Representative Suleman Lalani, one of the first two Muslims elected to the state legislature, said the governor’s announcement has alarmed his constituents. “There is a lot of fear and sadness, and people are being bullied and avoiding public spaces”, he said, referring to an incident in which Muslim students praying outside a Yemeni café in North Dallas were harassed by a man who told them, “I mock your religion”. CAIR has requested an investigation.
The newspaper described the surroundings of the Maryam Islamic Center mosque in Sugar Land, where girls wearing abayas played basketball as families arrived for evening prayers. Zain, one of the worshippers who preferred using only his first name for family safety, said, “We are law abiding citizens who pay taxes. We are teachers, lawyers and nurses”.
He refuted the governor’s claims, saying concerns about imposing Islamic law “have no basis”. He added, “I have never heard anyone call for that”. He condemned Abbott’s attacks on CAIR, saying they sow division. His wife Sarah said the council “fights for civil rights for everyone”.
Amina Ishaq, the same social worker and activist in Sugar Land, said she was disturbed to see the Ten Commandments posted in her daughter’s high school this year, combined with the governor’s attacks and rising anti Muslim rhetoric. She affirmed her plan to continue protesting, saying, “We will keep raising our voices”.
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