On 29th September (Tuesday), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Brotherhood and Antifa have been named domestic terrorist groups by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state cabinet. The decision expanded Florida’s state framework to include over 90 entities that the federal government of the United States has previously classified as foreign terrorist organisations. The new designations are expected to go into force on 5th November.
“You look at some of these, you know, CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terror financing trial in American history. And so there’s a lot of financial arteries that go into these movements, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can in Florida to be able to put the kibosh on that. And so that has been official,” DeSantis mentioned, highlighting the motivation behind the action.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) invoked CAIR’s inclusion in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation trial in Texas as one of the US-Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee’s (PALCOM) “organisational structures designed around PALCOM’s goals,” in the documents delivered to the governor and the three cabinet members.
CAIR and over 200 other organisations were named as “unindicted co-conspirators” in the 2007 case of US v. Holy Land Foundation (HLF) for Relief & Development.
Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, who is regarded as a co-founder of Hamas, is among the founding members of CAIR who “have connections with Hamas leadership,” based on documents submitted to the governor and cabinet. They informed that Ghassan Elashi, a co-founder of CAIR-Texas who was found guilty of working with and providing material support to terrorists with special designations, “also has ties to Hamas.”
The submission conveyed that “current CAIR members have connections with an alleged member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” They further pointed out that CAIR’s connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and fears about encouraging extremism led to the same action against it in 2014 where United Arab Emirates designated the group as a terrorist organsiation in 2014.
According to the paperwork, the UAE maintained that designation when it was contested because CAIR honoured Sami Al-Arian, a former lecturer at the University of South Florida who was convicted in a US court in 2005. He conspired to donate money, products, or services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an organisation that has been classified as a terrorist group.
The implications
The legislature voted 80-25 in the House and 25-11 in the Senate to adopt the proposal. It is going to prohibit courts from upholding provisions of foreign or religious law that infringe upon rights protected by the Florida or US constitutions.
The statute has provisions pertaining to specific educational benefits. Students are unlikely to be eligible for some public institutional subsidies if they support recognised domestic or foreign terrorist organisations. It mandates the Florida College System to expel those who promote terrorist groups.
The law has also established criminal offences under certain conditions, such as receiving military training from a domestic terrorist organisation, deliberately becoming a member and operating under its direction or control with the necessary intent, or intentionally supplying material support or resources to it.
This includes acts that can be fairly construed as a real threat of violence, interfering with the educational process or violating the rights of others. It is likewise forbidden for public universities and colleges to use state or federal funding to fund initiatives or on-campus events that support a recognised terrorist organisation.
“Supporting these groups is a felony. Your tax dollars will not fund them. No contracts, no foothold on our campuses. Students who promote them are expelled. The Free State of Florida will not launder terrorism through our schools. We will name these groups, cut off the money, and hold those who bankroll them accountable,” affirmed Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
The framework would also limit government contracts and financing for these organisations. According to Florida officials, the framework’s goal is to stop terrorist groups from using state institutions and public resources. CAIR has dismissed the charges and filed a lawsuit challenging the decision alongside alleged civil rights organisations.
The background
The development took place months after the governor’s attempt to introduce a new law was contested in court due to a lack of implementation of the laws necessary to make such a move. In December, DeSantis issued an executive order classifying the group as a terrorist organisation. The FDLE was directed to “undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities” by these organisations, including the Muslim Brotherhood.
Executive agencies were required by the order to prohibit “any person known to have provided material support or resources to such organisation” from obtaining “any contract, employment, funds or other benefit or privilege” from “any state executive agency, any state entity regulated by such agency, or any county or municipality in the state.”
CAIR Florida promptly rushed to federal court and convinced a judge to grant a temporary injunction preventing the designation, claiming First Amendment concerns.
DeSantis then proceeded on a different route, and in February the Legislature passed a bill (HB 1471) which was signed into law by him. It gave the state’s head of domestic security, who is defined as the head of the FDLE, the authority to recommend groups deemed to be either domestic or foreign terrorist organisations to the governor and cabinet, which would be approved or rejected by a majority vote.
The statute took effect on 1st July. The governor and then-FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass declared that he had proposed labelling CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood and Antifa as domestic terrorist organisations during a press conference. A few hours later, CAIR and CAIR-Florida brought a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida against DeSantis and other authorities. They demanded a ruling to mark the action as unconstitutional.
Promotion of jihad, rampant Hinduphobia, links to terror groups: CAIR’s disturbing history
CAIR, along with similar organisations including Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), has been at the forefront of disseminating Hinduphobia and anti-India propaganda both in India and the West. They were an active part of the campaign against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its leader Mohan Bhagwat to prevent his entry into the US.
CAIR previously backed the problematic “Dismantling Global Hindutva” conference, demonstrating its profound animosity toward the Hindu community. Furthermore, the organisation did not even spare Hindu kids and conspired to implicate two innocent high school students in a fabricated Quran burning incident in 2023, which severely endangered the safety and well-being of these young men and their families.
CAIR also extended its support to another anti-Hindu personality and alleged journalist, Rana Ayyub, based on her dubious report. It attacked Rohit Shetty’s “Sooryavanshi” in 2022, directing theatres to refrain from screening it, asserting that the movie peddles “disgusting and dangerous” anti-Muslim propaganda rooted in the “fascist Hindutva movement.”
Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR also tried to wrongly accuse “Hindutva” and “Islamophobia” in India following the assault of a Muslim couple by a mob of the same religion, exemplifying their persistent agenda against the religion and the nation.
On the other hand, the organisation advocated for the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national currently incarcerated for 86 years following her assault on US Army and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel in Afghanistan.
However, it took offence at the display of the names of the Pakistan-sponsored Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists and scenes from the deadly 26/11 terror attack that were on a mobile billboard truck in New Jersey. CAIR protested that the airing of 26/11 footage was “messages of hate” and added that the vehicle’s movement was “deliberate and well-coordinated.”
Meanwhile, officials associated with CAIR have publicly demonstrated antisemitism and promoted dreaded outfits such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Last year, Noora Shalash, its Kentucky-based official, assaulted Jewish individuals within a Midtown Manhattan facility, declaring, “I demand jihad, I want ISIS to kill all of you.”
Afterwards, CAIR International asserted that her affiliation with the organisation had ceased more than five years ago but shared a post identifying her as its official. The upload was made less than 5 years ago.
In another such episode, one of CAIR’s board of directors, Ibrahim R. Mossallam, declared Hamas terrorists as “brave people” after the October 2023 attack on Israel and added that the media was “heavily politicised and skewed to show a non-occupying narrative of Palestine.” He was “removed from service” as a United Airlines pilot after the comment was flagged by a group called “StopAntisemitism.”
Moreover, Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago, conceptualised a “MyJihad” drive in 2012 to sanitise and whitewash jihad, after which New York City’s Department of Education (DOE) was discovered promoting the same under the guise of combating anti-Muslim prejudice. The 2024 campaign termed jihad exclusively as “struggle” and “effort,” rather than as a reference to Islamic holy war.
IAMC, George Soros, and more: CAIR’s ties to the global ecosystem hostile to India and Hindus
CAIR has maintained a close relationship with IAMC and Hindus for Human Rights, alongside similar groups with documented ties to terrorist and radical groups and ties to George Soros, the prominent anti-India regime-change advocate.
These entities have consistently engaged in a coordinated, intensive effort to damage India’s international reputation, target Hindus and undermine the democratically elected Modi government. They have orchestrated initiatives to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, mirroring their coordinated plan against Bhagwat. They even pushed former President Joe Biden to cancel the state dinner with him.
These organisations have actively supported and funded Islamist leaders. CAIR presented $100,000 to New Yorkers for Lower Costs, the largest Parliamentary Action Committee (PAC) endorsing current New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani during his election campaign.
Notably, he has characterised PM Modi as a “fascist,” lied about the 2002 Gujarat riots and made inflammatory anti-Hindu and antisemitic statements, including defending the divisive slogan “Globalise the Intifada.”
IMAC, a Jamaat-e-Islami front masquerading as an advocacy group, similarly gave a platform to another rabid anti-India voice, Ilhan Omar, to promote her sinister agenda and argue that a genocide is occurring in the country against minorities, particularly Muslims. Omar, an openly pro-Pakistan politician who lauds Islamic regimes and trivialised the 9/11 attack, has repeatedly made such baseless accusations targeting India and the Modi government.
IMAC is known to be a part of a large jihadi network that includes extremist and terrorist organisations. The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a Western branch of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami, was led by its founder, Shaik Ubaid and member Abdul Malik Mujahid. According to reports, ICNA is allied with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
IAMC’s executive director Rasheed Ahmed earlier held the same position at the Jamaat-affiliated Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), which has Zahid Mahmood, a former member of the Pakistani Navy, as its head of operations.
IMANA was charged with embezzling funds from a Covid-19 fundraising campaign it sponsored in the name of assisting India. It also has relationships with former Pakistani Navy and Army officers, alongside ties with terrorist groups such as LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen.
In a blatant display of Hinduphobia, Rasheed had stated that Hindu leaders in India were intoxicated by “cow urine” to recover from the coronavirus. IAMC Advocacy Director Ajit Sahi made a similar derogatory remark on social media and wrote, “Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger.”
This ecosystem has also tried to demonise the Indian American Hindus and their religion. The Religious Nationalisms Project (TRNP) of the New York State Council of Churches (NYCOC) announced a series of interfaith seminars scheduled for November 20–23 in the Bay Area of North Carolina. IAMC co-organised the events, headlined “The Weaponisation of Hinduism in Northern Carolina and India and the Relationships to Global Religious Nationalisms,” for this vile purpose.
A Ram Mandir Janmabhoomi Temple float that was scheduled to be included in the India Day Parade to commemorate India’s 78th Independence Day was also opposed by IAMC, HfHR, and other anti-Hindu groups in 2024.
Predictably, this coterie was aggressively blaming the Hindu community following the violence in Leicester, which was unleashed by Islamists. A report titled “Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester” was published by the George Soros-funded School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) to first conveniently absolve the Muslims of any wrongdoing before focusing on Hindus, Hindutva, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and charging them with the unrest.
CAIR and Congress
It’s interesting to note that when Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a veteran of the Indian National Congress, visited the US in June 2023, he was spotted in a meeting with Sunita Vishwanath at the Hudson Institute. She is the co-founder of George Soros-backed HfHR, which hosts events for organisations like the ICNA and CAIR.
Just wow!! Sunita Vishwanath, a Soros proxy, who works for one of the most anti-India orgs in the US that co-hosts events with radical orgs like ICNA and CAIR is part of @RahulGandhi’s inner circle. Is he just ignorant or is the future of India this bleak that the leader of the Opposition has been compromised to this degree? @sampitroda
— HinduACTion (@HinduACT) June 1, 2023
HfHR was founded in 2019 by IAMC and the Organisation for Minorities of India (OFMI), after which the three formed another outfit, called the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA), which led agitation against the 2019 visit of PM Modi to Houston.
HfHR is recognised for perpetuating the false narrative of “Hindu Vs Hindutva” and supporting the “Dismantling Global Hindutva” event. It also objected to a resolution passed by the US House of Representatives denouncing anti-Hindu prejudice following the attack on a temple, branding it an act of “Hindu supremacy.”
It is noteworthy that CAIR has been an integral part of this cabal, which has ties to jihadi and terrorist groups and has pursued a sustained agenda of vilifying India and targeting the Hindu community.
