Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced late Monday that the state has officially designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” escalating a wave of Islamophobic state actions targeting Muslim communities under the pretext of counterterrorism.
“Florida is directing all agencies to take every possible legal measure to disrupt the activities of these organizations,” DeSantis wrote on X. “Anyone providing them with material support will be stripped of access to state resources or privileges.”
The directive mirrors earlier steps by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who in November issued a similar order labeling the same groups as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
Abbott's directive also barred the organizations from engaging in land transactions in Texas and empowered the attorney general to seek their dissolution through civil lawsuits.
Abbott claimed CAIR was attempting to “advance Islamic law in the US” and accused the group of “promoting and funding terrorism” by infiltrating public institutions.
In response, CAIR issued a statement condemning Abbott’s move as driven by Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee/AIPAC, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying organization.
The Texas designation was followed by a nationwide executive order, signed by US President Trump, ordering the Department of State and Treasury to conduct a thorough review of Muslim Brotherhood branches, specifically in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan.
CAIR, established in 1994 by three Muslim Americans of Palestinian and Canadian descent, has repeatedly denied any ties to terrorism. The group operates 32 chapters across the United States and serves as a prominent civil rights watchdog for Muslim Americans. According to Al Jazeera, CAIR is actively involved in combating Islamophobia and advocating for peaceful coexistence.
The Florida order does not specify whether it includes land ownership bans like the Texas directive. However, it directs all state agencies to deny contracts, employment, or public funding to the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, or any individuals or entities deemed to have materially supported them.
The order also grants broad powers to the Florida State Domestic Security Council—a body made up of agency heads—to audit state regulations and propose escalated measures against what it labels as threats from the two groups.
This announcement arrives amid heightened political targeting of Muslim organizations in the US, especially in the wake of Israel’s genocide in Gaza following the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.
CAIR has faced growing political scrutiny, though it has unequivocally denied any affiliation with Hamas, according to New York Times reporting. Meanwhile, a recent shooting involving an Afghan immigrant and National Guard officers has further fueled anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Texas is home to an estimated 400,000 Muslims in a population of nearly 30 million. CAIR's Texas chapter has challenged Abbott’s order in court, arguing that the move violates constitutional protections and federal due process.
