4 months ago
The lawman head of nan US’s biggest Muslim civilian authorities and defense group warns that Republican governors’ steps to state his statement a “terrorist organization” won’t extremity pinch nan Muslim community.
“No politician should person nan powerfulness to unilaterally state a civilian authorities aliases defense group he disagrees pinch a violent organization, return punitive action against them, each successful usurpation of owed process and free speech,” Edward Ahmed Mitchell, nan lawman head of nan Council connected American-Islamic Relations, told nan Guardian this month. “If immoderate politician tin get distant pinch abusing that benignant of power, past nary statement is safe.”
In November, nan Texas politician Greg Abbott designated Cair and nan Muslim Brotherhood, nan century-old activity founded successful Egypt and progressive done chapters overseas, “foreign violent and transnational criminal organizations”. The Florida politician Ron DeSantis issued a akin bid successful early December.
Mitchell cautioned conservatives who attraction astir free reside to return nan threat seriously.
“A Democratic politician could state nan Republican statement a violent group and prohibition it from authorities contracts aliases prohibition it from owning land,” Mitchell said. “Anyone could beryllium connected nan chopping artifact if a politician is capable to triumph this powerfulness to simply state American organizations to beryllium banned violent groups without ever moreover charging them pinch wrongdoing.”
Texas’s designation bars nan groups from acquiring spot successful nan authorities and authorizes nan lawyer general, Ken Paxton, to “sue to unopen them down”, while Florida’s order prohibits nan groups, and “any personification known to person provided worldly support aliases resources” to them, from receiving immoderate authorities contracts, employment aliases funding.
While nan orders are constricted to nan 2 states, nationalist conservatives person agelong agitated against some groups, and Marco Rubio, nan US caput of state, has said that akin orders astatine nan national level are “in nan works”.
The Washington-based non-profit organization, which was founded successful 1994, has called nan orders “unconstitutional and defamatory” adding that they person “no ground successful rule aliases fact”. Cair has sued successful some states successful consequence to nan orders.
The Texas directive accuses Cair of having ties to Hamas, which has been designated arsenic a violent group by nan US government, while nan Florida bid claims that Cair was founded by “persons connected to nan Muslim Brotherhood” and connects nan Muslim Brotherhood to Hamas. Cair has many times denied ties to Hamas and nan Muslim Brotherhood.
Mitchell believes that Cair’s “advocacy for nan Palestinian people” is what has “driven Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott and different Israel-first politicians perfectly crazy”.
“Let’s beryllium very clear: nan facts are clear, Cair is an independent organization,” he said. “It has ne'er been an offshoot aliases subsidiary aliases partner of nan Muslim Brotherhood aliases immoderate different overseas entity, overmuch little a overseas violent group.”
Mitchell noted that “we condemn coercion truthful often that Isis rather virtually called for nan assassination of our nationalist executive director. We still person nan publication they issued pinch a bull’s-eye connected his head. And truthful that’s what existent terrorists deliberation of us.” (In 2016, Isis included a photograph of Cair’s director, Nihad Awad, connected a deed database of American Muslims.)
So far, he said, nan designations person not disrupted Cair’s regular operations. “Cair Texas is unfastened for business and continues to protect nan organization and truthful is Cair Florida,” Mitchell said.
He dismissed nan proclamations arsenic “publicity stunts” that he says are “meant to smear our statement and fulfill nan anti-Muslim, pro-Israel crowd successful their base”.
Still, Mitchell said, nan designations and orders transportation consequences, specified arsenic nan restrictions connected onshore purchases and authorities contracts, which, he argues, are “obviously unconstitutional”.
To Mitchell, nan actions against Cair echo nan attacks against nan National Association for nan Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) successful nan 1950s and 60s.
“Alabama unopen down nan NAACP successful their authorities for 8 years, until nan ultimate tribunal intervened and allowed nan NAACP to resume its work,” he said. “Texas tried to unopen down nan NAACP chapters successful Houston and different cities.”
“To me, I spot a very clear humanities parallel betwixt nan targeting of our statement coming and nan target of Black civilian authorities groups successful nan 1960s moreover down to nan crazy accusation that Black authorities leaders and organizations were portion of a communist crippled to return complete America,” he said.
He believes that nan erosion of support for Israel successful nan US is motivating its supporters to substance anti-Muslim hatred.
“It is very evident to america that pro Israel lobby groups and anti-Muslim dislike groups are deliberately stirring up anti-Muslim hysteria to effort to distract nan American nationalist from their Israel-first agenda,” he said.
Mitchell noted that successful nan US, anti-Muslim bigotry and dislike incidents soared aft 9/11, past declined, earlier rising again “dramatically” amid conspiracy theories astir Barack Obama during his presidency, Donald Trump’s telephone during his first statesmanlike run for a prohibition connected each Muslims entering nan US and high-profile attacks linked to Isis.
Around 2021, reports of anti-Muslim dislike yet started to spell down, he said. But since nan fallout from nan Hamas attacks of October 2023 and Israel’s ensuing warfare successful Gaza, Mitchell said, “anti Muslim bigotry” has “spiked up to a level that it had not been ever, arsenic acold arsenic our records”.
The incidents of dislike that Cair has documented have ranged from discrimination successful acquisition and employment, to verbal harassment, vandalism and convulsive attacks.
And while Cair’s information for 2025 is not yet available, Mitchell said that, anecdotally, nan anti-Muslim rhetoric this twelvemonth “is dramatically worse this twelvemonth than it was past year”.
