<\/p>\n
Florida<\/a> is declaring the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) \u2013 a US civil rights and liberties group \u2013 a foreign terrorist organization, the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis<\/a>, announced on Monday.<\/p>\n The move closely follows a similar order issued in November by Texas\u2019s governor, Greg Abbott<\/a>, DeSantis\u2019s fellow Republican, even though only the federal government can designate terrorist organizations.<\/p>\n Cair and its supporters are among those who have dismissed the orders from DeSantis and Abbott as Islamophobia<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a>, the national and Florida Cair chapters described DeSantis\u2019s order as a \u201cstunt\u201d and accused him of signing a \u201cdefamatory and unconstitutional order baselessly smearing\u201d them. The groups vowed to sue Florida as it has Texas, where Abbott has directed law enforcement officials to investigate whether a group in Dallas is operating courts under sharia law.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor DeSantis knows full well that Cair-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom and justice for all,\u201d including for the people of Palestine, the groups said in a statement.<\/p>\n DeSantis said the executive order naming Cair, one of the nation\u2019s largest Muslim advocacy groups, was \u201ceffective immediately\u201d. His order also targets the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist group founded in 1928.<\/p>\n Neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor Cair are on the US government\u2019s list <\/a>of designated FTO groups.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, \u201cFlorida 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,\u201d DeSantis said in a statement on X.<\/a><\/p>\n The order said Cair was \u201cfounded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood,\u201d which it connects to Hamas and the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. Cair denies<\/a> ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.<\/p>\n Cair\u2019s Florida and national chapters said DeSantis through his order had prioritized \u201cserving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida\u201d \u2013 and of diverting \u201cmillions in Florida taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government\u2019s bonds\u201d.<\/p>\n DeSantis and Abbott, it added, want \u201cto smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims\u201d, who criticize the US\u2019s support for Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.<\/p>\n