Gov. Greg Abbott is escalating his actions against the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood, directing the Texas Department of Public Safety to launch criminal investigations into the organization and its affiliates.
In a letter sent Thursday to DPS Director Freeman Martin, Abbott said CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood “have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world.’”
The governor accused the groups of supporting terrorism, engaging in intimidation, and attempting to subvert state law through radical activity.
Abbott pointed to federal court findings linking CAIR to Hamas—including a 2009 Supreme Court ruling finding there was “ample evidence” of CAIR’s association with the foreign terrorist organization—and cited a report alleging that CAIR recently provided cash grants to college students disciplined for pro-Hamas disruptions.
“The goal is to identify, disrupt, and eradicate terrorist organizations engaged in criminal activities in Texas,” said Abbott. “We will target threats of violence, intimidation, and harassment of our citizens. We will also focus on individuals or groups who unlawfully impose Sharia law—which violates the Texas Constitution and state statutes.”
The directive follows Abbott’s earlier designation of CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations under Texas law, making them prohibited entities in the state and subject to heightened enforcement.
CAIR responded earlier this week with a sharp rebuke, accusing Abbott of defaming the organization and pushing “anti-Muslim hysteria.” The group said the governor’s proclamation “has no basis in law or fact,” disputed any ties to foreign terrorist organizations, and claimed Abbott is targeting CAIR because of its advocacy for Palestinian rights. CAIR labeled Abbott “an Israel First politician.”
The organization has since filed a federal lawsuit against Abbott for the designation.
In his latest directive to DPS, Abbott ordered the agency to coordinate with Joint Terrorism Task Forces, work with federal partners, investigate potential illicit financing and money laundering, and collaborate with the Texas Attorney General’s Office on nonprofit oversight.
He also instructed DPS to initiate criminal investigations into any individuals or entities seeking to enforce laws outside state or federal authority, and to deploy Texas’ Terrorist Offender Registration Program in appropriate cases.
Abbott said DPS must “proactively work to disrupt any group seeking to unlawfully establish or promote a breeding ground for radicalism in this State,” adding that Texas must confront attempts to “unlawfully proliferate radical Islamic ideology, including attempts to impose Sharia law.”
Earlier this week, Abbott directed DPS, as well as the attorney general and local district attorneys and sheriffs, to investigate alleged Sharia courts in North Texas.
