Florida tightens its grip on terrorism: Muslim Brotherhood added to the blacklist
Governor Ron DeSantis has added the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, to the list of subversive domestic organisations. The decision prohibits CAIR and other similar organisations from receiving funding. State-funded scholarships will be withdrawn
by 24Ore NextMed
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On 29 September, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, added the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to the list of domestic terrorist organisations. According to the Florida Phoenix, CAIR describes itself as the leading civil rights organisation serving the US Muslim community, founded in 1994 and now operating from over 25 branches across the country, including those in Tampa and Sunrise, in Broward County. However, several reports have linked the organisation to the Muslim Brotherhood.
This decision prohibits CAIR and other designated organisations from receiving funding from state and local governments. Furthermore, state-funded grants to these groups will be revoked, affiliated individuals will face sanctions, and the organisations’ operations in Florida will be shut down.
The documents implicating CAIR
The article in the Florida Phoenix reports that, according to documents submitted to the governor, the Florida State Police Department had cited the identification of CAIR in the 2008 trial against the Holy Land Foundation in Texas as ‘one of the organisational structures created around the objectives of the US Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee’.
‘As has been widely documented,’ the article continues, ‘in 2007, CAIR was included on the list of “unindicted co-conspirators” in the case of United States v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief & Development (along with over 200 other groups). This inclusion caused the organisation to lose credibility and support in certain circles. Almost twenty years later, it remains the main talking point when critics such as DeSantis and the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, attack CAIR”. Texas, moreover, had designated the Council as a terrorist group as early as 2025. The documents reveal that the founding members of CAIR ‘have links to the leadership of Hamas, including Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, considered one of the co-founders of Hamas’ and that ‘current members of CAIR have links to an alleged member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’.
The report also notes that in 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated CAIR as a terrorist organisation due to alleged links with the Muslim Brotherhood and concerns regarding the promotion of extremism. According to the report, the United Arab Emirates upheld this designation even after facing criticism following CAIR’s tribute to the former professor at the University of South Florida, Sami Al-Arian, who was convicted in 2005 by a US court of conspiracy to provide or receive contributions in the form of funds, goods or services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an organisation designated as terrorist.
