Greg Abbott designates Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR as foreign terrorist orgs, blocks them from buying land in Texas

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations, blocking the groups from buying land in the state.

The proclamation, filed with the Office of the Secretary of the State on Tuesday morning, said that the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood stated that "Jihad is an obligation from Allah on every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded," and that the Eighth Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, who is serving a life sentence for plotting an armed insurrection in Egypt, has stated that the group’s goal is to establish Islam’s "mastership of the world."

The proclamation also noted that some branches of the Muslim Brotherhood have been designated by the Department of State as Specifically Designated Global Terrorist Entities, and the organization "provides support to localized branches in countries and territories throughout the world, including groups that conduct terrorism internationally."

In regards to the Council on American-Islamic Relations ('CAIR'), the proclamation stated that the organization, "according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations ('FBI'), was founded as a 'front group' for 'Hamas and its support network' in the United States."

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad has said that American Muslims are "ready to move to the next phase," the proclamation stated, adding that "within the next 15 years the Muslim community 'will have 50,000—an army—of these people' who 'will design [Islam’s] image, protect the truth and the news, … many of these people will run for public office, and they will become lawmakers' to advance Sharia law in America."

The proclamation also noted that CAIR was named as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in "one of the largest successful prosecutions of terrorism financing in United States history," a case in which CAIR was identified as a subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood and a federal court found "ample evidence to establish" that CAIR was associated with Hamas.

The proclamation designates CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, "and thereby subject those organizations, and any persons promoting or aiding their criminal activities, to the heightened penalties authorized by Chapter 125 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code," which, among many things, authorizes lawsuits to block the organizations from engaging in "future gang activities," monetary fines and imprisonment, and other actions.

The two organizations were also designated as Transnational Criminal Organizations, "and thereby subject those organizations, and their affiliates and members, to chapter 5 of the Texas Property Code, which prohibits them from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas."