In a major move announced via his account on X on Monday, December 8, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he was directing the responsible governmental parties in Florida to immediately designate both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations.
In so doing, Governor DeSantis is mirroring a very similar action taken by Texas Governor Greg Abbot, who also designated both the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations, helping pave the way toward rooting their influence out of America.
In his order announcing the move, Gov. DeSantis justified the drastic action by alleging that the Muslim Brotherhood has long both engaged in and supported violence, such as assassinations of political figures and terror attacks on civilians, with the ultimate goal of establishing a global Islamic caliphate.
Connecting that to America, the governor alleged that the group has active arms in the United States, particularly those involved in fundraising. Further, his order alleged that CAIR has long been associated with various individuals who have been convicted of providing and attempting to provide material aid and support to foreign terrorist organizations, thus raising questions about what CAIR is up to.
Posting on X about what his state is doing to combat that pernicious influence, the governor announced, “EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations.”
Continuing, he briefly explained what that actually means for the state in terms of actions that will be seen on the ground, noting, “Florida 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.” Further, he attached screenshots of his order, which explain the situation and moves that Florida will be making in more detail.
As could be predicted, CAIR went ballistic. Issuing a communique regarding the situation, it began by saying, as Fox News Digital reports, “He diverted millions in Florida taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government’s bonds. He threatened to shut down every Florida college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, only to back off when CAIR sued him in federal court.”
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Continuing, the statement framed the move as being much more about Israel than about what CAIR and those associated with it have been up to, saying, “Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes.”
And, attempting to frame itself as positively as possible, CAIR said, “Governor 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, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation.”
Concluding, the group declared, “We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight. In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government.”
In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization was a work already underway at the time. “Obviously, there are different branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, so you’d have to designate each one of them,” he said. He then explained that the State Department was in the middle of a long preparatory process in order to make the designation a reality.