- Last week, Governor Greg Abbott took a series of actions to combat radical Islam in Texas
- Abbott has designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and directed the Department of Public Safety to conduct criminal investigations
- Abbott has also asked law enforcement officials in North Texas to investigate Sharia tribunals that may be attempting to enforce Sharia law
In a series of actions last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott reinforced his commitment to combating radical Islam within Texas.
On November 18, Abbott issued a formal proclamation declaring the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as Foreign Terrorist organizations. By issuing this proclamation, these organizations are now prohibited from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas. Additionally, those organizations and “any persons promoting or aiding their criminal activities” are subject to enhanced monetary penalties in an action brought to enjoin the activities of a foreign terrorist organization.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’” said Governor Abbott. “The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable. Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
Two days later, Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to launch criminal investigations into the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR.
In a letter to Department of Public Safety Director Colonel Freeman Martin, Abbott wrote, “The Texas Department of Public Safety should proactively work to disrupt any group seeking to unlawfully establish or promote a breeding ground for radicalism in this State. We must aggressively confront individuals or groups who seek to unlawfully proliferate radical Islamic ideology, including attempts to impose Sharia law, fully recognizing the threat it presents to the security and sovereignty of the State of Texas and its people.”
Abbott has also called for an investigation into Sharia tribunals that may be attempting to enforce Sharia law in North Texas.
In a November 19 letter to the Sheriffs and District Attorneys of Dallas and Collin Counties, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Colonel Freeman Martin, Abbott asked the officials to “investigate efforts by entities purporting to illegally enforce Sharia law in Texas.”
“It has come to my attention that certain entities in Texas—including in Collin and Dallas counties—may be masquerading as legal ‘courts’ staffed with ‘judges’ issuing orders that purportedly carry the authority to bind individuals to Islamic codes, thereby preempting state and federal laws,” reads the letter. “The U.S. Constitution’s religious protections provide no authority for religious courts to skirt state and federal laws simply by donning robes and pronouncing positions inconsistent with western civilization. I urge you, therefore, to investigate efforts by entities purporting to illegally enforce Sharia law in Texas. 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.”
