The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called Texas Governor Greg Abbott “increasingly deranged” after he bizarrely demanded that state district attorneys investigate “sharia courts,” which is a longstanding anti-Muslim conspiracy theory.

CAIR-Texas said trying to ban “sharia” would be no different than banning Jewish halacha or Catholic canon law and the Islamophobic effort is a direct assault on religious freedom itself.

[NOTE: Last month, CAIR’s national office distributed a formal congressional briefing memo “Weaponized Islamophobia: The Return of the Anti-Sharia Hoax,” to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, along with a companion educational document titled “Sharia in American Life.”]

In a statement, CAIR-Texas said:

“Greg Abbott’s disregard for the First Amendment, his obsession with Texas Muslims and his dedication to protecting the Israeli government from criticism apparently knows no bounds. 

“First he tried – and failed – to fire a Texas special education teacher who refused to sign a loyalty pledge to the Israeli government. Then he tried and failed to ban state contracts with a Texas business that refused to sign the same pledge. Earlier this year, he tried and failed to expel Texas college students who criticized the Israeli government. 

“Now, the day after issuing an unconstitutional and error-riddled proclamation targeting the state’s largest Muslim civil rights group, he is ordering Texas distract attorneys to investigate imaginary ‘sharia courts.’ 

“Greg Abbott appears to understand the law as well as he understands Texas Muslims – not at all. If Abbott is referring to private arbitration that businesses, religious communities, and others sometimes choose to engage in, every American has the right to engage in voluntary arbitration, only official courts can enforce private arbitration decisions, and such decisions must not violate public policy or the law.

“CAIR-Texas plans to continue to vigorously defend the Texas Muslim community from this governor’s increasingly desperate and deranged attempts to shred the First Amendment for the benefit of a foreign nation.”

Yesterday, CAIRsent a formal response letter to Governor Abbott strongly condemning his recent proclamation smearing the organization as “defamatory” and that the proclamation “has no basis in law or fact.“

Click Here: Read CAIR’s Letter to Governor Abbott

In the letter, CAIR writes to Governor Abbott that his proclamation does not have “the authority to unilaterally declare any Americans or American institutions terrorist groups.” 

Also yesterday, CAIR National and CAIR-Texas issued an initial public response affirming that their civil rights work in Texas will continue undeterred.

CAIR noted that this is not the first time Greg Abbott has tried and failed to use state law to smear Muslim nonprofit organizations in the statement.

SEE: DOJ ends investigation into Muslim-centered EPIC City project in North Texas

Abbott has also shared dehumanizing content from anti-Muslim bigot Amy Mek’s social media account, deleted it, then shared content from another anti-Muslim bigot alleging Islam is a “militant ideology.” Mekelburg is best known for her Islamophobic content but has previously encouraged her readers to follow a white supremacist and antisemite.

SEE: Epic Hate in Texas (pgs. 11 and 12)  

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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com