Order directs sweeping state restrictions on CAIR and alleged associated individuals
\n florida
\nFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday issued an executive order that has stirred deep unease and controversy among Muslims, civil rights organisations, and legal experts across the United States.
\nIn that order, he designates the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country\u2019s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, as \u201cforeign terrorist organi[s]ations.\u201d
\nThe move comes exactly one month after Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a similar proclamation against CAIR in his state, a measure that CAIR is already challenging in federal court. With Florida now following suit, the legal and political battle around the organisation has widened significantly.
\nGovernor DeSantis, who typically rolls out major executive actions at high-profile public events, chose a markedly quieter route this time.
\nHe posted the order on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, announcing that it would take effect immediately. Within hours, the move had sent a chill through Muslim communities and civil rights circles nationwide, not least because this is the first time that two major US states have sought to label as \u201cterrorist\u201d an organisation that, for three decades, has been active in US courts and legislative halls defending the Constitution, civil liberties, and religious freedom.
\nIn a joint statement, CAIR\u2019s national office and its Florida chapter condemned the order as unconstitutional, malicious, baseless, and politically motivated, and declared that they will also challenge Florida\u2019s action in federal court.
\nThe statement argued that Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is a legitimate American civil rights organisation that for years has worked to defend free speech, religious liberty, civil rights, and justice for the Palestinian people, and that it is precisely for this reason that his administration has chosen to target it.
\nThe Florida order asserts that some of CAIR\u2019s founders had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, an organisation that has come under intensified scrutiny in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attack and the broader security discourse that followed.
\nBy highlighting alleged ideological links between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, the order attempts to pull CAIR into the same orbit. CAIR, however, has consistently and emphatically rejected these accusations, stressing that it has no connection to Hamas or to any other such group.
\nUnlike Texas, Florida\u2019s order does not bar CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood from purchasing property in the state, but it does issue sweeping instructions to state agencies.
\nThey are directed not to award contracts, grants, funding, employment, or any form of state benefit to these organisations or to any individual, entity, or supporter deemed to be associated with them.
\nThe order further assigns responsibility to Florida\u2019s Domestic Security Oversight Council to review existing state laws and regulations and to recommend additional measures or restrictions against the two organisations. Those recommendations are to be submitted to state leaders by January 6, 2026.
\nViewed in a broader political context, the order fits into a longer pattern of criticism directed at Governor DeSantis for his hard line against American Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups.
\nAccording to CAIR, DeSantis held his first official cabinet meeting in Israel, funneled millions of Florida taxpayers\u2019 dollars into Israeli bonds, and sought to shut down Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters on state university campuses \u2014 an effort that CAIR challenged in court and successfully forced him to retreat from.
\nCAIR argues that these steps are part of a systematic attempt to silence American Muslims and marginalise voices critical of US policy toward Israel.
\nIn their press release, CAIR\u2019s national office and its Florida chapter described DeSantis as an \u201cIsrael First\u201d politician who prioritises the interests of a foreign state over the US Constitution, civil rights, and the peaceful civic engagement of American Muslims.
\nThey noted that whenever CAIR has taken its unconstitutional actions to court, the governor has been compelled to step back. Now, they contend, he is seeking instead to smear the organisation and attach false labels to it. The statement pledged that CAIR will defeat this latest political stunt in court, \u201cwhere decisions are based on evidence, not conspiracy theories,\u201d and called on all Americans to speak out against the order.
\nLast month, the Muslim Legal Fund of America, the CAIR Legal Defense Fund, and a team of prominent attorneys filed suit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, arguing that branding an American civil rights organisation as a \u201cforeign terrorist organi[s]ation\u201d without trial, evidence or due process violates the federal Constitution and the fundamental rights of US citizens. That case remains ongoing, and Florida\u2019s new order has only deepened the legal and constitutional questions now before the courts.
\nTaken together, these developments have created a new moment of crisis for American Muslims. On one side is the post-October 7 climate of heightened surveillance and suspicion, exacerbated by isolated incidents such as a fraud scandal involving members of the Somali community in Minnesota and a shooting by an Afghan immigrant.
\nOn the other are two powerful states now attempting to designate a nationwide Muslim civil rights group as a terrorist entity.
\nCAIR describes this as a grave assault on civil liberties in US history, a direct attack on the identity and legitimacy of American Muslims and a clear violation of constitutional principles.
\nGovernor DeSantis\u2019s decision has opened the door to a far-reaching legal and political confrontation, and the coming months are likely to be critical for the future of both constitutional rights and minority protections in the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Order directs sweeping state restrictions on CAIR and alleged associated individuals florida Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday issued an executive order that has stirred deep unease and controversy among Muslims, civil rights organisations, and legal experts across the United States. In that order, he designates the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country\u2019s largest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-519142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n