On 8th December, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared the radical outfits, Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as “foreign terrorist organisations.” Texas had taken a similar action last month.
De Santis took to social media to write about the “effective immediately” move and remarked, “Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organisations”.
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations.
Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these… pic.twitter.com/2s48yYfEg7
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 8, 2025
According to CAIR and its Florida chapter, they intend to file a lawsuit against DeSantis for allegedly “defamatory” and “unconstitutional” declaration.
The order initially established the definition of a terrorist organisation according to the state’s statutes and stated that the action was aimed to “Protecting Floridians from Radical Islamic Terrorist Organisations”
It then highlighted the origins of Muslims Brotherhood and conveyed that the group was “founded in Egypt in 1928 and has developed into a transnational network with a long history of engaging in or supporting violence, including political assassinations and terror attacks on civilians, for the purpose of establishing a world-wide Islamic caliphate and imposing its Islamist system of belief across the globe, including in the United States.”
The notification added that the group’s outlook is incompatible with the fundamental American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as laid out in the nation’s Constitution and Declaration of Independence, “especially including the right to religious freedom and the equal protection of the laws.”
The statement pointed to President Donald Trump’s 24th November executive order directing “a process by which certain chapters or other subdivisions of the Muslim Brotherhood shall be considered for designation as Foreign Terrorist Organisations.”
Muslim brotherhood and Hamas
According to the statement, the Muslim Brotherhood finances terrorist acts through a network of chapters, connected political entities and front organisations. It also charged the outfit with founding “Hamas in 1987” with the main motivation to destroy “the State of Israel and the eradication of Jews in their historic homeland of Judea and Samaria.” Hamas has been defined as “a foreign terrorist organisation on 8th October 1997” by the United States.
The order subsequently drew attention to the gruesome attack on Israel that occurred on 7th October 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 individuals, comprising men, women, and children, including 46 Americans, as well as 254 hostages, among whom were 12 Americans. “Muslim Brotherhood chapters in the Middle East joined attacks against Israel with, or otherwise provided material support to, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Palestinian groups,” it asserted.
The notification underscored how the outfit and its associates have been raising funds in the Western country to support Hamas’s terrorist activities in the Middle East.
Muslim brotherhood and CAIR
In 1994, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Palestine Committee created the “Council on American-Islamic Relations” (CAIR) in the US. The Palestine Committee specifically aimed to “increase the financial and moral support for Hamas” and managed front organisations intended to acquire money for the terror group.
The order by DeSantis mentions that the people with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood founded CAIR, which they describe as “an official US cover representing the Islamic community” in order to hide links with Islamic terrorist organisations. “CAIR was designated as an unindicted co-conspirator by the United States Government in the largest terrorism-financing case in American history, and the court found ample evidence to establish the association of CAIR with terrorist organisations,” it stated.
The official notification stated that CAIR members have been found guilty of giving material support to designated terrorist organisations and of conspiring to do so.
The Executive Order
The governor cited his constitutional obligation to ensure that the laws are faithfully imposed and public order is maintained. He informed, “The Muslim Brotherhood and any chapter or subdivision thereof; the Council on American-Islamic Relations; and any other organisation designated by the United States Government as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act are hereby designated as terrorist organisations for the purpose of this Executive Order.”
“The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol are directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities in Florida by the terrorist organisations,” DeSantis added. The order is going to remain in effect “unless prohibited by federal or state law.”
It further directed that “other Executive and Cabinet Agencies shall further undertake all lawful action to prevent any terrorist organisation (named in the order) or any person known to have provided material support or resources to such organisation from receiving any contract, employment, funds, or other benefit or privilege from such Executive or Cabinet Agency or any entity regulated by such Executive or Cabinet Agency or from any County or Municipality of the State.”
The statement mentioned that the Domestic Security Oversight Council is set to carry out a thorough examination of the laws, rules and guidelines already in place to deal with the dangers posed by terrorist groups. It would then recommend any further action to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor, and the President of the Senate, by 6th January of next year.
