The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced on Tuesday that it is preparing to file a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after he designated the civil rights organisation a “foreign terrorist” group.
At a press conference in Tampa, Hiba Rahim, the interim executive director of CAIR-Florida, said the governor’s order is “defamatory and unconstitutional,” warning that although the designation has no immediate legal effect, it risks fuelling Islamophobia in Florida and across the United States.
“To our governor: your designation has no basis in law or fact,” Rahim said. She added that the crackdown reflects the administration’s political priorities, “Israel First policies,” rather than the protection of Floridians, including Muslim and Palestinian American residents impacted by the order.
Founded in 1994, CAIR is the largest Muslim American civil liberties organisation in the country. Its work includes major legal battles over civil rights, some of which have reached the US Supreme Court, as well as challenges defending the free speech rights of Americans advocating for Palestine.
The organisation says it supports freedom of religion, expression, and free enterprise, and opposes all violence against civilians.
Florida’s order comes shortly after Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a similar designation, which CAIR has already challenged in federal court as an unconstitutional attempt to punish the organisation for its political views.
In his executive order, DeSantis, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination last year, also designated the Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist” group.
The order repeatedly references Israel, claiming without evidence that Hamas seeks “the eradication of Jews from their historic homeland of Judea and Samaria,” using a term favoured by Israeli settlers for the occupied West Bank.
CAIR has long been targeted by right-wing and pro-Israel groups, and the Israeli government has urged its Ministry of Defence to consider listing the US-based nonprofit as a terrorist group.
Rahim, in her remarks, criticised DeSantis for ignoring the concerns of his own constituents. She noted that in 2019, the governor held his first official cabinet meeting in Israel, highlighting his deep political alignment with the country.
She also condemned his silence after two recent incidents involving Florida residents in the occupied West Bank.
Sayfollah Musallet, a Florida ice-cream shop worker, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July.
Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old from Florida, was imprisoned without charge for more than eight months.
CAIR-Florida Policy Director Megan Amer also denounced the governor’s move.
“As a Christian, I am completely appalled by the governor’s action,” she said, adding that CAIR has spent years defending the rights of all Floridians.
She argued that the designation is an attempt to distract from “the genocide Israel is conducting in Gaza” and to create fear and division.
“The governor’s job should be making Florida better, not dividing people,” she said.
DeSantis, for his part, has said he would welcome a legal challenge, arguing that a lawsuit would allow the state to subpoena CAIR’s financial records through discovery.
Reacting to this, CAIR wrote on X, “Unlike you and other AIPAC servants, we do not take money from foreign interests nor serve any foreign powers. We rely on the American people for support, and we answer to the American people as we defend their rights from anti-Muslim bigots and Israel First politicians like you. We will soon, God willing, see you in court, where facts still matter and the law is on our side.”
The targeting of CAIR comes amid a surge in Islamophobia across the US, with several Republican lawmakers close to former President Donald Trump escalating anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Earlier this year, Congress members including Chip Roy and Tommy Tuberville introduced bills aimed at banning “Islamic law,” legislation widely dismissed by rights groups as a sham issue designed to portray Muslims as a threat to the US Constitution rather than addressing any real policy concern.
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