CAIR Sues Texas Governor

As previously reported, earlier this week Texas governor Greg Abbott issued a Proclamation designating CAIR as a Foreign Terrorist and Transnational Criminal Organizations under Texas law. CAIR has now responded by filing suit against the governor and the Texas attorney general in a Texas federal district court. The complaint (full text) in Council on American-Islamic Relations Texas Dallas Fort Worth v. Abbott, (WD TX, filed 11/20/2025), alleges in part:

57. Wrongfully and unilaterally designating Plaintiffs as “foreign terrorist organizations,” and declaring them unable to purchase land in the state of Texas harms Plaintiffs’ advocacy work, fundraising initiatives, and reputation as organizations. 

58. Given that state law is preempted by federal law, Plaintiffs are entitled to injunctive relief prohibiting Defendant Paxton from enforcing the Proclamation against them....

65.  Governor Abbott’s Proclamation deprives Plaintiffs of their procedural due process rights by designating them as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” under Texas Penal Code 71.01, “Transnational Criminal Organizations” under Texas Property Code § 5.251, and proscribed entities via designation by the governor under Texas Property Code § 5.254 without providing Plaintiffs the right to respond to and challenge the designations....

77. Governor Abbott’s Proclamation identifies no criminal conduct by Plaintiffs. Instead, it relies almost entirely on political speech and advocacy – particularly remarks by CAIR’s Executive Director encouraging civic engagement, political participation, and representation by American Muslims. 

78. These statements are quintessential political and religious expressions. Yet Governor Abbott invoked them to claim Plaintiffs seek to “advance Sharia law in America,” a characterization rooted in stereotype and hostility rather than evidence.

79. A state official may not wield governmental power to punish an organization or silence its advocacy because of disagreement with its speech, its religious identity, or the communities it represents....

96. ... [T]he Proclamation substantially infringes Plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to expressive association by deterring individuals and organizations from joining, supporting, partnering with, or participating in Plaintiffs’ lawful advocacy....

CAIR issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Egyptian Court Dissolves Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

In Egypt yesterday, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered dissolution of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. Reuters and BBC News report that the decision, which excludes the party from running candidates in future elections, calls for seizure of the party's assets by the state. The government's Committee of Political Party Affairs had accused the FJP of irregularities. Among other things, police found that the party's headquarters had been used to store weapons. The court's decision may not be appealed. FJP's parent Muslim Brotherhood was banned and its assets were confiscated by court order last year. (See prior posting.)

Egyptian Cabinet Declares Muslim Brotherhood a "Terrorist" Group

Ahram Online reports that yesterday Egypt's Cabinet officially designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, making it subject to Article 86 of the Egyptian penal code. According to the Washington Post, this means that hundreds of charities and non-governmental organizations affiliated with the Brotherhood will be closed down, and anyone who belongs to the Brotherhood, promotes it or funds it, will be subject to prosecution. The move comes in the wake of Tuesday's bombing of the Daqahliya security directorate in the city of Mansoura which many blame on the Brotherhood despite claims of responsibility from the Islamist militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis. Some legal experts say that the terrorist designation may face legal problems on appeal, arguing that it is only the judiciary or the interim President who holds temporary legislative powers, not the Cabinet, that could make such a declaration.

The Washington Post calls yesterday's developments "a stunning turnaround for the decades-old Islamist organization, which rose to the height of political power in 2012 with the election of Mohamed Morsi — a former Brotherhood leader — as president in Egypt’s first open democratic election."

UPDATE: AP reports that on Thursday, the government arrested a number of Muslim Brotherhood members, froze the assets of 1,000 charities and NGO's linked to the Brotherhood, placed 100 Brotherhood schools under government supervision and warned that holding a leadership post in the Muslim Brotherhood could be grounds for the death penalty.

UPDATE 2: The New York Times (Dec. 26) reports:

After widespread confusion and concern about the funds cutoff, in particular, government officials partly reversed course on Thursday night, saying that the organizations whose funds had been frozen — more than a thousand of them — would be allowed access to money to continue operating.