(The Center Square) – An Islamic group remains a focus of local and state actions, including school districts, a city council and state leaders.
On Saturday, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion stating that private schools connected to organizations with terrorist ties or foreign adversaries are prohibited from participating in Texas’ new school choice program. He issued it in response to the state comptroller seeking clarification about private schools that applied to participate that are potentially connected to foreign adversaries, including Islamic and Chinese groups, The Center Square reported.
This was after Gov. Greg Abbott took action against a Houston area school district for its plans to host an Islamic games event after it publicized it was partially sponsored by CAIR-NJ. Gov. Abbott last November designated the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal organization.
In his directive, he blasted CAIR, arguing it is a “‘front group’ for Hamas,” that CAIR NJ is “anti-American and antisemitic,” and “CAIR NJ does not hide that it views public schools as the battleground for promoting terrorism,” among other claims, The Center Square reported.
The next day, CAIR Legal Defense Fund and Muslim Legal Fund of America filed a motion in a lawsuit they’d filed against the governor asking the court to block his FTO designation.
“This case is about whether the rule of law still means something in Texas. If a governor can unilaterally brand Muslim civil-rights organizations as ‘terrorist’ and impose penalties without any process, then no organization, and no community, is safe from political retaliation. We are calling on this Court to put an immediate stop to this abuse of power, to protect communities from state overreach, and to reaffirm that constitutional limits exist precisely to restrain government when it targets those it seeks to silence,” MLFA attorney Jinan Chehade said.
On the same day, the Austin City Council issued a proclamation creating a new monthly holiday, designating January as “Muslim Heritage Month.” It reiterates the city’s commitment to “diversity, equity and inclusion,” despite the state legislature and governor arguing taxpayer-funded DEI programs are banned in Texas. The city “has demonstrated its commitment to equity, inclusion, and cultural recognition by acknowledging heritage and faith-based observances that reflect the diversity of its residents,” it says.
It also directs the city manager to identify opportunities to collaborate with Muslim community leaders including providing taxpayer-funded “supplemental assistance for free publicly accessible events and programming at City facilities, and sustainable methods of recognizing heritage and faith-based observances that align with the City’s equity and inclusion goals.”
The resolution was sponsored by Councilmember Zohraib Quadri, the first Muslim and South Asian city council member. Born to immigrant parents, he moved to Texas when he was 12. He later worked on the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Robert (Beto) O’Rourke, targeting Asian and Pacific Islander voters, according to his official bio.
Residents who spoke in favor of the resolution said some political leaders were “demonizing” Muslims and Austin is “a place where equity is valued.”
Shaimaa Zayan, with CAIR-Austin, said the city council’s proclamation “reaffirms its commitment to justice, inclusion and mutual respect.” It “carries particular significance given its timing,” in light of CAIR’s lawsuit against the governor. The proclamation also gives “the Austin Muslim community a voice and empower[s] them with constitutional tools to enable them to actively engage in their city and state,” she said.
The city council also declared Jan. 22 as “CAIR Austin Day.”
The city council’s action was seen as a direct rebuff to Abbott and state lawmakers who’ve taken several actions against CAIR, Sharia law and alleged Islamic threats, The Center Square reported.
State Rep. Cole Hefner, R–Mount Pleasant, blasted the city council, saying it “recklessly thumbed its nose at Texas law and the clear threat CAIR presents.”
Hefner cosponsored a Texas House resolution condemning CAIR, stating it was “unwelcome within the Texas State Capitol.” He and others have also expressed concerns about CAIR’s ties to Islamic terrorism, including former members who were convicted on terrorism charges. CAIR rejects the FTO designation and says it has no ties to terrorist organizations.
After Abbott’s FTO designation, the city council honoring CAIR represents “a blatant defiance of our state’s efforts to protect Texans from extremist influence,” he said. The Texas legislature “passed many strong measures this past session to block foreign adversaries and terrorist-linked groups from gaining ground in our state. Yet Austin’s City Manager and radical city leadership continue to side with dangerous activists instead of public safety. Let me be clear: organizations tied to terrorism and radical ideologies have no place in Texas.”
