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Texas just became the first state to brand a major U.S. Muslim civil‑rights group as a terrorist organization and strip its members of the right to buy land, raising serious questions about security, constitutional limits, and where this fight goes next.
Story Snapshot
- Gov. Greg Abbott used new Texas powers to label the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist and criminal organizations under state law.
- The proclamation ties that label directly to land ownership, barring the groups, their members, and affiliates from buying or acquiring property in Texas.
- Supporters applaud a hard line against Islamist influence; critics warn of government overreach, religious discrimination, and federal–state conflict.
- Legal challenges are already underway and could decide how far states can go in policing ideology and property rights.
Abbott Uses New State Powers To Target Two Muslim Groups
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a November 17, 2025 proclamation declaring the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American‑Islamic Relations to be “foreign terrorist” and “transnational criminal” organizations under Texas law, invoking new authority added to the state’s Penal and Property Codes earlier in the year.
The order asserts that these designations allow Texas to block the groups, their members, and affiliates from purchasing or acquiring land anywhere in the state, and it directs agencies to treat them as security threats rather than routine nonprofits.
Abbott’s proclamation builds on a broader Texas push to restrict land ownership by foreign‑linked entities, originally aimed at countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, then widened to organizations deemed to “endanger the security of the state.”
Earlier in 2025, lawmakers expanded gubernatorial power over land deals, and by mid‑year Abbott had signed legislation targeting what officials called “sharia law compounds,” signaling that Muslim‑associated properties were already under heightened scrutiny before this latest escalation.
Who These Groups Are And Why They Were Targeted
The Muslim Brotherhood began in Egypt in 1928 as a Sunni Islamist movement combining religious activism with political organizing and later inspired branches across the Middle East, including Hamas, which the United States does list as a terrorist group, even though the Brotherhood itself has never received that federal designation.
CAIR, in contrast, is a U.S.‑based civil‑rights and advocacy organization founded in 1994 to challenge anti‑Muslim discrimination and defend civil liberties, with local chapters and a long record of litigation and policy work inside the American system.
Abbott’s proclamation treats CAIR as tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and accuses both of supporting terrorism and seeking to impose sharia law, claims that resonate with security‑first conservatives but that CAIR categorically denies, describing itself as independent, nonviolent, and focused on constitutional rights.
The move is unprecedented precisely because it targets a domestically established civil‑rights group that Washington has not labeled terrorist, raising questions about whether individual Texans, mosques, schools, or charities could be tagged as “affiliates” and swept into land‑ownership bans based on disputed ideological links rather than proven criminal conduct.
Property Rights, State Power, And Conservative Concerns
For readers who value property rights and limited government, the most striking feature of Abbott’s action is the direct connection between a terrorism label and the ability to own land, something normally treated as a core constitutional liberty rather than a tool of political punishment.
The proclamation bars designated groups, and anyone Texas deems members or affiliates, from buying or acquiring real property, which could affect mosques, community centers, schools, or even individual homebuyers if enforcement agencies interpret the language aggressively, potentially chilling lawful religious and civic participation.
Supporters argue that Texas is finally using state power to choke off potential funding streams and physical footholds for Islamist movements that openly oppose Western values, especially after years of federal inaction on designating the Muslim Brotherhood.
Critics—including CAIR, some Democratic legislators, and civil‑rights advocates—counter that terrorism and foreign‑affairs designations are primarily federal responsibilities and warn that allowing governors to unilaterally blacklist domestic groups on ideological grounds sets a dangerous precedent that could be turned against churches, gun organizations, or pro‑life ministries under a different administration.
Legal Battles, National Context, And What Comes Next
Within days of Abbott’s proclamation, CAIR and allied legal organizations began preparing lawsuits arguing that Texas overstepped its authority, violated the First Amendment, and intruded on federal supremacy in national security, echoing expert concerns that courts will have to decide whether a state can create its own “foreign terrorist organization” framework for property and enforcement purposes.
Legal analysts also note that a related Florida law restricting certain foreign nationals’ land ownership has already survived an early federal challenge, suggesting that security‑based property rules are becoming a frontline test of how far governments can go when they invoke national‑security language.
Beyond the courtroom, Texas Muslims now face uncertainty about property transactions, banking relationships, and community projects, as the stigma of a terrorism label can scare off landlords, lenders, and donors long before any case is resolved, while conservative voters see Abbott’s stand as part of a larger post‑Biden course correction on border security, foreign influence, and Islamist ideology.
The outcome of these fights will signal whether states may keep stretching “security” powers into areas like land ownership and nonprofit activity or whether courts will draw a firmer line to protect religious freedom and civil society from politicized designations.
Sources:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designates two Muslim groups and moves to bar them from buying land
Texas governor labels Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR as terrorist organizations under state law
Muslim civil-rights group sues over Texas governor’s terrorist-group designation