Florida declares Council for American-Islamic Relations a terrorist group

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of many largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy teams within the U.S. a "international terrorist group," following an identical step taken by Texas final month.

The directive in opposition to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is available in an government order DeSantis posted on X.

The order instructs Florida businesses to forestall CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood — which obtained the identical designation on Monday — from receiving contracts, employment and funds from any state government or cupboard company.

In an emailed assertion, CAIR and its Florida chapter mentioned the group plans to sue DeSantis in response to what it referred to as an "unconstitutional" and "defamatory" proclamation.

The group provided a defiant response on social media.

"[DeSantis] has been politically irrelevant ever since Donald Trump handed him a humiliating defeat on the marketing campaign path. We are going to do the identical to Mr. DeSantis in a courtroom of regulation, God prepared," CAIR mentioned.

The group additionally accused DeSantis, with out elaborating, for having "served the Israeli authorities as a substitute of the folks of Florida."

Final month, CAIR requested a federal choose to strike down Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's proclamation, saying in a lawsuit that it was "not solely opposite to the US Structure, however finds no assist in any Texas regulation."

Based in 1994, CAIR has 25 chapters across the nation.

It has been concerned in a number of lawsuits with the federal authorities since 9/11, advocating for folks it has mentioned have been unjustly placed on the federal government’s secret terrorism watchlist. The watchlist can also be utilized by a lot of authorities businesses, and a subset of the database is a listing that bans folks from U.S. flights.

The 2 Trump administrations have led to distinctive challenges for the group, and it has filed a lot of lawsuits in response to coverage directives. It started with difficult a journey ban regarding residents from a number of Muslim-majority international locations, which sowed chaos at U.S. airports in Trump's first week as president in 2017.

Extra just lately, the group has condemned Trump's verbal assaults on Somali Individuals largely concentrated in Minnesota.

Trump's second administration has pursued a sweeping crackdown on immigration, together with rising social media vetting and deporting scholar visa and inexperienced card holders who've voiced assist for Palestinians and criticized Israel's conduct within the Gaza struggle.

In September, CAIR introduced its Champions of Justice award to a type of college students, Mahmoud Khalil, who led anti-war protests at Columbia College.

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Controversial speaker just lately faraway from U.S. Extra just lately, CAIR criticized the federal authorities after pro-Palestinian commentator Sami Hamdi was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 26. The 35-year-old Briton had addressed the annual gala for the Sacramento, Calif., chapter of CAIR the day earlier than his arrest, and ultimately left the U.S. voluntarily.

"Sami's case exhibits how rapidly our authorities officers are prepared to sacrifice our First Modification and free press when a journalist makes use of his platform to dare put America first earlier than Israel," CAIR spokesperson Hussam Ayloush mentioned on the time.

The Division of Homeland Safety later accused Hamdi of supporting the Hamas-led assaults on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamdi had informed a London mosque in late 2023 to "have fun the victory" after years of persecution.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A dark haired and bearded man is shown speaking in an outdoor setting." srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f461880a-f1ea-4545-9346-af3f4c6c2d8b,1765286453546/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C8256%2C5504%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f461880a-f1ea-4545-9346-af3f4c6c2d8b,1765286453546/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C8256%2C5504%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f461880a-f1ea-4545-9346-af3f4c6c2d8b,1765286453546/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C8256%2C5504%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/f461880a-f1ea-4545-9346-af3f4c6c2d8b,1765286453546/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C8256%2C5504%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.5" data-cy="image-img"/> British political commentator Sami Hamdi speaks to the media in London on Nov. 13 on his return to the U.Okay. after he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after showing at a CAIR-sponsored speech. (Thomas Krych/The Related Press) Hamdi mentioned later that his intent wasn’t to reward the assaults however to counsel that the violence was "a pure consequence of the oppression that's being placed on the Palestinians." Some Canadian universities cancelled Hamdi speeches that had been scheduled in early 2024, although a minimum of one did find yourself happening.

The Muslim Brotherhood was established in Egypt almost a century in the past and has branches around the globe. Its leaders say it renounced violence a long time in the past and seeks to arrange Islamic rule via elections and different peaceable means.