CAIR sues Texas guv over ‘terrorist’ slander

Houston — On November 18, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a foreign terrorist organization! The Muslim Brotherhood was included in this anti-Muslim attack. 

Abbott also called for an investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety into Sharia law. He wrote to the DPA: “Legal disputes in Texas must be decided based on American law rooted in the fundamental principles of American due process, not according to Sharia law dispensed in modern day star chambers.” (gov.texas.gov, Nov. 19)

The fact is that CAIR is this country’s largest Muslim civil rights organization and has a history of condemning terrorism. Neither it nor the Muslim Brotherhood is listed by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist group.

But the Texas governor is running for a fourth term and he is posturing to the right wing — to Trump supporters — as he begins his campaign.

CAIR filed a federal lawsuit against Abbott on Nov. 20 to block the enforcement of a proclamation he issued on Nov. 18 preventing CAIR and The Muslim Brotherhood from owning land in Texas and designating them as terrorist organizations.

Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of CAIR’s Dallas/Fort Worth chapter, told Workers World: “There’s nothing CAIR is doing that’s illegal. We raise all our money locally. Abbott should be taking care of all the people in Kerrville who have been flooded or addressing Black women’s high mortality rates or pardoning the innocent people facing the death penalty.”

He continued: “The lawsuit may take a long time. I expect them to retaliate by calling for intensive discovery. They will want to go through all our paperwork. But we have no trade secrets, no hidden money. They will waste a lot of time, and it’s going to be expensive. But we will win in the end. Abbott knows this is dead in the water!”

Carroll explained that Sharia is pretty much like the 10 commandments: “We have common values. Muslims are required by their religion to follow the law of the land. Muslims are obligated to act like a Christian would.”

CAIR fights back

On Nov. 20, CAIR, joined by other organizations, announced it is resisting what it calls an attack on civil rights. Attorney Charlie Swift said: “The Muslim Legal Fund of America is proud to defend the constitutional rights of CAIR-Texas and the right of all Texans to engage in free speech and uphold civil rights without facing lawless and defamatory attacks by Greg Abbott. 

“Mr. Abbott’s unconstitutional proclamation undermines the very foundational notions of due process that our system depends upon, and it must not stand.” (cair.com/press_releases, Nov. 20)

CAIR stated on its website that it “welcomed statements from a diverse collection of civil rights groups, elected officials and community organizations,” including the Texas American Civil Liberties Union, 27 Texas state representatives and members of Congress. They rejected “Abbott’s unconstitutional and error-riddled proclamation targeting both CAIR-Texas and the Constitution’s guarantees of free speech and due process.” 

CAIR quoted numerous groups and prominent individuals. This reporter’s state representative Jolanda Jones said: “CAIR has spent decades protecting civil rights, combatting discrimination and defending Texans from religious hostility. Your proclamation is not about safety. It is about targeting Muslims to score political points.”

“The normalization of anti-Muslim hate speech is vile. This bigot [Abbott] should have no place in elected office,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) stated.

The Palestinian Youth Movement, an activist organization, issued a statement saying, “This is an Islamophobic and inflammatory act of political theatre designed to malign a well-known civil rights organization, which has taken up critical work in defense of our communities for over 30 years.”

Continuing a reactionary political program, Abbott’s attacks in recent years have included dismissing concerns of Black Lives Matter activists; using tax dollars to fund private schools attended by children of the wealthy while taking away money from public schools all over the state; attempting to ban bathrooms used by transgender people; and attacking the LGBTQIA2S+ community and drag queen story hours. Abbott has presided over 78 executions since being elected.

Trump has a loyal follower in Abbott. All working-class and oppressed people around Texas must unite to organize and overturn his racist, anti-worker, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, anti-prisoner policies now!