Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called upon the state's Office of the Attorney General to use its regulatory powers over nonprofits against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), urging the office to revoke the organization's nonprofit status and quell its Texas operations; this action stems from Abbott's allegations against CAIR, which he accuses of sponsoring terror and promoting radical Islamist agendas under the pretext of charity work, as reported on the governor's official website.
"Voluminous documents detail the dangers posed to Texans by the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, and their affiliates," Governor Abbott stated, alleging that CAIR is allied with the Muslim Brotherhood and that both entities cloak nefarious activities under the guise of nonprofit operations, according to his press release. The Texas Attorney General's office holds unique regulatory authority over nonprofits which it can exercise to investigate and potentially dismantle organizations in violation of state laws including revocation of their corporate charters, aforementioned from the Governor's press release.
In a continuation of his efforts to confront what he perceives as threats from entities such as CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, Abbott has not only called for the severance of ties between Texas’s CFISD and CAIR-related programs but also prompted the Department of Public Safety to initiate criminal investigations into these organizations; moreover, he has sought the designation of these groups as foreign terrorist organizations and pursued investigations into Sharia Courts within Texas, as outlined in the announcement from the governor's office.
The governor’s demands come amidst a wider campaign, one that has led to him seeking federal intervention from U.S. Secretary Bessent to suspend CAIR’s tax-exempt status and advocating for increased scrutiny and legal action at the state level. The Office of the Attorney General has yet to issue a public response to Governor Abbott's latest call to action, and while the governor cites "voluminous documents," specifics regarding the evidence and the methodology of investigation, remain to be seen in the broader context of the governor's ongoing initiatives addressing these organizations.
