Florida is declaring the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) a US civil rights and liberties group a foreign terrorist organization, the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, announced on Monday. The move closely follows a similar order issued in November by Texas's governor, Greg Abbott, DeSantis's fellow Republican, even though only the federal government can designate terrorist organizations. Cair and its supporters are among those who have dismissed the orders from DeSantis and Abbott as Islamophobia.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has launched a campaign against the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. He has declared that the Muslim civil rights group is a foreign terrorist organization. Syed al-Ferdous attends services at the Maryam Islamic Center in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, every evening. Al-Ferdous says Governor Abbott's calling CAIR a terrorist organization shows a lack of education about Islam. SYED AL-FERDOUS: I think it's very juvenile, to say the least. It's very immature, and it just doesn't hold any water.
