Florida designates Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR as terror groups, joining Texas

According to the executive order, the state alleges that both organizations have ties to anti-Israel groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Palestinian organizations.

Additionally, it authorizes the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol to take steps to prevent what it describes as unlawful activities connected to the groups. It also blocks individuals or entities that have provided material support to CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood from receiving state contracts, funding, or benefits.

"From the moment Ron DeSantis took office as Florida governor, he has prioritized serving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida," CAIR stated. "He hosted his very first official cabinet meeting in Israel. He diverted millions in Florida taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government's bonds. He threatened to shut down every Florida college's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, only to back off when CAIR sued him in federal court."

The statement criticized DeSantis for allegedly targeting CAIR-Florida due to its criticism of US support for Israel. It accused him of attempting to silence dissent, particularly from American Muslims, and described CAIR-Florida as a longstanding civil rights group advocating for free speech and justice.

"We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis' latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter, and conspiracy theories have no weight. In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government," the statement concluded.

On X, CAIR also added, "Unfortunately for Mr. DeSantis, none of his political stunts work out. He has been politically irrelevant ever since Donald Trump handed him a humiliating defeat on the campaign trail. We will do the same to Mr. DeSantis in a court of law, God willing. See you there soon, Ron. We hope you have better lawyers than Greg Abbott. By the looks of your provably false and clearly unconstitutional proclamation, you're going to need them."

In November, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations.

“The Muslim Brotherhood and 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. “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.”

Abbott argued in a proclamation that the Muslim Brotherhood was founded as a jihadist movement dedicated to establishing a caliphate and had already been banned or limited in Austria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates due to engaging in terrorism or destabilization.

He noted that branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as the Arms of Egypt Movement and Liwaa al-Thawra, had already been designated by the US as terrorist groups, as had Hamas, which was born from the movement’s Palestinian branch. The governor added that Hamas had kidnapped and murdered American citizens during the October 7, 2023, massacre.