New court records show that the mother of Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed worked for an American-based Islamic charity later designated by the federal government as a terrorism supporter, after the organization was accused of financially supporting Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and Hamas.
Fatten Fathy Elkomy, El-Sayed’s birth mother, worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), also known as the Islamic African Relief Agency, from 1999 through at least 2004, according to records first reported by the <a href="https://www.themidwesterner.news/2026/08/docs-abdul-el-sayeds-mother-worked-for-designated-terror-group-iara-that-provided-direct-financial-support-to-osama-bin-laden-taliban-hamas">Midwesterner</a>. The Treasury Department designated IARA a global terrorist organization in October 2004.
The Treasury Department <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/js2026">accused</a> IARA’s international offices of providing “direct financial support” to bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations. 
The Treasury designation said IARA had been affiliated with Maktab al-Khidamat, an organization co-founded and financed by bin Laden that was a precursor to al-Qaeda. According to the department, IARA and bin Laden’s network had commingled funds and cooperated in fundraising and spending. An IARA program also worked with an institute controlled by bin Laden that provided assistance to Taliban fighters, Treasury said.
The department further said that information available to the U.S. government showed that overseas IARA branches provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to bin Laden in 1999. 
IARA&#8217;s American operation was later separately prosecuted by the Justice Department over illegal transfers to Iraq. In 2016, IARA-USA <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/iara-pleads-guilty-transferring-nearly-14-million-iraq-violation-sanctions?">pleaded guilty</a> to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions and other offenses after secretly transferring $1.375 million to Iraq. 
Federal prosecutors said the organization had used its tax-exempt status to solicit donations while concealing prohibited transfers. The organization was subsequently dissolved. 
Several IARA officials and employees were also prosecuted. Executive Director Mubarak Hamed received nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally transfer more than $1 million to Iraq, obstructing tax laws, and lying to federal agents. Another top IARA fundraiser pleaded guilty to conspiring to lobby for the organization’s removal from a government list of charities suspected of terrorist ties. 
Elkomy was not charged in the federal case or named as a co-conspirator, and the court records cited here do not establish that she knowingly supported terrorism.
In a 2004 interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Elkomy defended her work for IARA, saying she was helping orphans and children who had lost a parent. 
“I’ve been working there serving orphans and children with at least one deceased parent, and it breaks my heart they’re not going to get any help,” Elkomy said at the time.
Court records from the subsequent IARA prosecution nevertheless reference Elkomy multiple times. According to the Midwesterner’s review of the government&#8217;s proposed exhibit list, her name appears in 14 exhibits, including records involving eight wire transfers and five recorded telephone calls between 1999 and 2002. 
One document concerned an IARA-USA request to transfer $24,607.34 to its Iraq office.
The revelation comes as El-Sayed, who narrowly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abdul-el-sayed-secures-far-lefts-biggest-victory-yet-over-dem-establishment">won the Democratic nomination</a> for Michigan’s open Senate seat earlier this month, campaigns to become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. He will face Republican Mike Rogers in November.
The newly uncovered records add to previously reported connections between El-Sayed’s family and organizations with documented ties to Islamist networks. His father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayeds-father-in-law-a-top-donor-to-an-el-sayed-super-pac-is-among-top-leaders-of-muslim-brotherhood-organization-linked-to-terror-funding/">has served</a> on the founding committee of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) since at least 2007 and previously served as president of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Jukaku has also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Fighting for Michigan PAC, a super PAC supporting El-Sayed. 
Both ISNA and CAIR were identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the federal Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case. Federal prosecutors claimed that the Holy Land Foundation funneled more than $12 million to Hamas, while a federal judge later found that the government had presented ample evidence connecting ISNA and CAIR to Hamas. 
The family connections come as El-Sayed has faced scrutiny over his own <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abdul-el-sayed-dedicated-his-life-to-sharia-law">past statements </a>concerning Islam and Sharia law. As a 24-year-old medical student in 2009, El-Sayed told The New York Times that he had chosen a Sharia-compliant mortgage because he did not want to reach the end of his life having failed to follow Islamic law.
“Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Sharia-compliant way,” El-Sayed said at the time.
The Daily Wire reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

Abdul El-Sayed/Dearborn

Abdul El-Sayed’s Mother Worked For Terror Group That Funded Bin Laden And Taliban

2026 Midterms

Abdul El-Sayed

CAIR

Democrat

Democratic Party

Democrats

Department of Justice

Department of the Treasury

Hamas

Islamic Extremism

Islamists

Michigan

Osama bin Laden

Politics

Radical Islam

Radical Islamic Terror

Senate Democrats

Taliban

Terror Funding

Terrorism

Treasury

Treasury Department

U.S.

<div>
Federal records show that Turkey’s ruling party held <a href="https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7115-Supplemental-Statement-20260712-8.pdf">meetings</a> with high-profile American media voices, including far-Left political commentator <a href="https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7115-Supplemental-Statement-20261230-7.pdf">Mehdi Hasan</a> and Neil Patel, co-founder of The Daily Caller and CEO of the Tucker Carlson Network.
The Turkey AK Party&#8217;s Representation to the United States also met with former CIA officer John Kiriakou, the intelligence official who blew the whistle on the agency&#8217;s use of waterboarding and other forms of torture against detainees during the War on Terror.
On March 11, 2026, Turkey’s AK Party Representation to the United States LLC met face-to-face with Kiriakou, and the next day, it held a virtual meeting with Patel. Months earlier, the same office met with Hasan and attended a banquet hosted by the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR has faced scrutiny from Republicans over its historical connections to individuals and organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Those relationships have been examined in congressional hearings, including a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-hearing-pulls-back-curtain-on-muslim-brotherhoods-ties-to-hamas">Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing</a> earlier this month.
The AK Party Representation to the United States is registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and its filings are signed by Halil Mutlu, who has been publicly identified as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s cousin.
In the 12 months covered by its two most recent supplemental statements, the office reported receiving nearly $2.1 million in wire transfers from AK Party headquarters in Turkey. Its reported expenditures included construction, architecture, plumbing, electrical work, staff, and the costs of keeping a permanent political operation running in Washington.
</div>
<div>
The office&#8217;s activity logs repeatedly <a href="https://efile.fara.gov/docs/7115-Supplemental-Statement-20250630-6.pdf">describe</a> its meetings using broad phrases such as “Discussion regarding U.S.-Turkey Relations” and “Public Event,” often providing little to no additional information about what was discussed. The entries include the CAIR-NY banquet and an earlier meeting with Kiriakou on April 23, 2025.
The meetings garnered attention because Kiriakou later appeared on Tucker Carlson’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OHs57Om9mE">show</a>. In a July 2026 episode, the two discussed CIA culture, deception tactics, and how the agency treats whistleblowers. The Tucker Carlson Network has also sold Kiriakou’s book, &#8220;The Ultimate Guide to CIA Skills, Tactics, and Techniques.&#8221;
The FARA filings provide a paper trail of meetings between the Turkish party’s Washington operation and a number of politically influential American personalities. It is unclear what was discussed during any of those meetings. The filings record the names, the dates, and the money, but almost nothing about the substance of the conversations.
Patel has rejected suggestions of an improper relationship with Turkey. On Monday, he <a href="https://x.com/NeilPatelTDC/status/2089356754328920090">wrote</a> on X, “These boring and disingenuous smears don’t work anymore. I meet with all sorts of people every week to try to figure out what’s really going on in an increasingly complicated and dangerous world. Unlike so many others, we’ve never taken a dime from foreign interests.&#8221;
</div>

John Kiriakou

Major Media Figures Caught Meeting With Lobbyists From Islamist Country

AK Party

Muslim Brotherhood

Neil Patel

The Daily Caller

Tucker Carlson

Turkey

California imam <a href="https://www.memri.org/tv/california-imam-islam-save-america-columbus">Amir Abdel Malik Ali</a> told a congregation that Islam existed in the Americas before Christianity, claimed Christopher Columbus saw a mosque when he arrived, and declared that Islam is “what’s going to save America.”
Ali, the longtime CEO and imam of <a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/mosques/380/masjid-al-islam#_ftnref2">Masjid Al-Islam</a> in Oakland, made the remarks during a May 1 sermon at the Islamic Center of San Gabriel Valley.
&#8220;Islam was in the Americas before Christianity was,&#8221; Ali said, according to a video published by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Ali told the congregation that when Muslims are told to “go back home,” they should respond that Islam was already present in the Americas before Europeans arrived. He insisted Columbus&#8217;s diary proved it.
According to MEMRI, Ali claimed that on October 8, 1492, Columbus was sailing off the coast of Cuba when he “looked up on a mountain and saw a mosque.” He also claimed that Columbus encountered indigenous people whom he described as “dressed like Mohammedans.”
Ali&#8217;s account, however, does not match the historical record.
Columbus did not reach Cuba until October 28, 1492, weeks after the October 8 date Ali reportedly cited.
As researcher <a href="https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/did-columbus-find-an-ancient-mosque-in-cuba">Jason Colavito</a> has noted, in an October 29, 1492, diary entry, Columbus compared the shape of a Cuban mountain to &#8220;a graceful mosque,&#8221; according to an abstract of his journal preserved by Bartolomé de las Casas. The passage describes the appearance of the landscape, not the discovery of an actual mosque.
Ali used his account of history to argue that Islam will play an increasingly important role in the United States.
“There are major changes coming to this country,&#8221; he said. “Muslims or Islam will play a major role because they possess the solution. Allah has given the Quran and the Sunnah, and that is what will save America.”
The remarks are the latest in a long public record of radical rhetoric from the Oakland-based imam.
During a February 2005 speech at the University of California, Irvine, Ali appeared to justify Palestinian suicide bombers who targeted Israeli buses, arguing that Israeli soldiers traveled aboard the buses. He said the terrorists were &#8220;going after soldiers who are on those buses,&#8221; according to remarks documented by the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
He referred to the attackers as &#8220;freedom fighters.&#8221;
During another appearance at the University of California, Irvine, Ali declared: &#8220;We’re gonna fight [the United States and Israel] and we’re gonna win. And it’s gonna be either victory or martyrdom, that&#8217;s how it goes.” 
Ali also celebrated Hamas&#8217;s electoral victory during a 2006 Muslim Student Association conference in Sacramento and referred to two of the terrorist group&#8217;s former leaders, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, as having been &#8220;martyred.&#8221;
“Our beloved Sheikh Yassin was martyred and then Sheikh Rantisi was martyred after him.”

Columbus/Imam

California Imam Makes Wild Claims About Christopher Columbus, Islam

Amir Abdel Malik Ali

Anti-Semitism

Islamic Jihad

Islamic terrorists

Masjid Al-Islam

A Senate hearing on Wednesday presented evidence that a Muslim Brotherhood-connected network in the United States is built to support Hamas and expand influence through American institutions. 
The “Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America” <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hidden-in-plain-sight-confronting-the-muslim-brotherhood-network-in-america-08-05-2026?_cb=1785962582513">hearing</a>, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), focused on how the network was constructed and the threats it poses to the United States. The network continues to operate with overlapping leadership, shared ideology, and sustained reach into education, politics, and nonprofit advocacy.
At the center of the hearing was the 2008 Holy Land Foundation case, which remains the largest terrorism financing prosecution in American history. In 2008, the Holy Land Foundation, then the largest Muslim charity in the United States, and five of its leaders were convicted on 108 counts of providing material support to Hamas, money laundering, and tax fraud. Sentences reached 65 years.
At the time, prosecutors said the trial exposed a broader network of organizations operating inside the country. That structure included the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
A 1991 document known as the Explanatory Memorandum, recovered by the FBI in 2004 in Annandale, Virginia, described the Brotherhood’s work in North America as “a grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and &#8216;sabotaging&#8217; its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers.” The document instructed adherents to master coalition building and to work with existing Islamic organizations.
CAIR was founded in 1994 by individuals who participated in a 1993 Philadelphia meeting of Palestine Committee leaders that the FBI recorded. At that meeting, participants discussed supporting Hamas while infiltrating American universities, media, and politics. 
They spoke of shaping school curricula so that children would not “grow up surrendering to the idea of peace with Jews.” Nihad Awad, who took part in the meeting, remains CAIR’s executive director. Witnesses said CAIR was created in significant part to defend and protect other elements of the Hamas support network.
Lara Burns, the retired FBI special agent who led the Holy Land Foundation investigation, told the subcommittee that CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2008 case and has never formally disavowed the Holy Land Foundation. Asked whether evidence from that prosecution would still place CAIR on a list of organizations warranting further investigation, she answered, “It would.” She added that the underlying conspiracy still exists and the threat is growing.
After the Islamic Association for Palestine was driven into bankruptcy through civil liability for supporting terrorism, its leadership reappeared in other groups. Osama Abu Irshaid, who had worked for both the Islamic Association for Palestine and the United Association for Studies and Research, later became a leader of American Muslims for Palestine.
During the hearing, Cruz mentioned that Abdul El-Sayed, who won Michigan’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, has family ties to this network. El-Sayed&#8217;s father-in-law previously served as president of CAIR Michigan and sat on the founders committee of the Islamic Society of North America.
Kyle Shideler, a counterterrorism analyst, told lawmakers that CAIR’s creation and bylaws received explicit approval from Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt. Documents from the Holy Land Foundation case showed that, at one time, one in every four American mosques was under the influence of the Hamas-linked North American Islamic Trust. 
Arielle Klepach, a former federal prosecutor, said that CAIR New Jersey distributed a curriculum on 9/11 to nearly 30 public school districts that framed the attacks as a predictable consequence of U.S. foreign policy. 
Cruz then referenced troubling statements made by CAIR officials after the October 7, 2023, attacks. Awad declared he was “happy to see people breaking the siege,” and on the day of the massacre, the executive director of CAIR’s San Francisco chapter posted, “We are witnessing decolonization” and later referred to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a martyr.
CAIR California’s CEO Hussam Ayloush said, “Israel should be attacked.” He also noted that CAIR and related groups assisted the broader network as it coordinated legal support and strategic guidance for the campus encampments and riots that spread to more than 100 campuses across the country.
Witnesses described the campus activity as the product of an organized network that has spent decades building influence inside American universities.
Burns confirmed that CAIR personnel appeared during the 2004 FBI search of a senior operative’s home in Virginia and attempted to obstruct the seizure of documents that formed a major archive of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support network.
Cruz closed by stating that the network’s institutional presence through nonprofits, taxpayer funded grants, campus organizing, and legal advocacy requires accountability “no matter how many tax exemptions, charitable registrations, or civil rights letterheads they hide behind.”
He called on the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, and the FBI to act on the evidence presented.
Written questions for the record are due by August 12, with answers to written inquiries expected by August 26.

Gaza protest in Jordan

The Link Between Hamas And The Muslim Brotherhood In America? Here’s The Evidence

Muslims

October 7

Ted Cruz

Activist school counselors are being trained to serve as ideological Trojan horses. Using specialized &#8220;code-switching&#8221; language, they are implementing Sharia-aligned frameworks and fundamentalist concepts under the guise of &#8220;anti-bias&#8221; education and &#8220;religious inclusion&#8221; while deliberately keeping parents completely in the dark.
The public education system is no longer merely hiding a radical curriculum in your child’s textbook; it has weaponized the school counselor&#8217;s office to smuggle it directly into children’s minds. It’s a form of discipleship. Under the soothing guise of &#8220;mental health,&#8221; &#8220;wellness,&#8221; and &#8220;welcoming schools,&#8221; a highly coordinated, radical Islamic political agenda is being actively pumped into government K-12 schools. While parents are forced to watch the front door, activist bureaucrats have unlocked the back door, using the pretense of emotional support to bypass parental authority entirely and condition American children.
What we are seeing is institutional infiltration. At the center of this pipeline is the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), the premier national body that sets standards, ethics, and training for K-12 school counselors. ASCA has officially abandoned neutral student guidance and become an aggressive political vehicle. Courage Is A Habit exposed that ASCA has actively partnered with and promoted <a href="https://courageisahabit.org/tools/asca-supports-islamic-terrorists/">materials</a> from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The danger of mainstreaming CAIR within our public institutions cannot be overstated. For years now, investigative journalists and broadcasters like Glenn Beck sounded the alarm on CAIR, exposing its deeply troubled history, including its designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, and its operational ties to foreign extremist elements. Yet, despite these long-standing warnings, public school infrastructure is actively rolling out the red carpet for this organization, granting it unhindered access to the psychological framework of American children.
This coordinated push to bypass parental oversight and reshape school policies is happening across the country right now. We see the real-world consequences of this agenda playing out in real-time, where outside activist groups are brought into police communities and silence dissenting voices.
Take Minnesota, for example, where investigative reporting by journalist <a href="https://x.com/lizcollin/status/2046237545843814784?s=20">Liz Collin has highlighted</a> how deeply embedded these radical pressure groups have become in local school ecosystems. When parental groups or local citizens raise standard, common-sense questions about transparency, curriculum, or the separation of mosque and state in public schools, they aren’t met with an open dialogue by school administrators. Instead, the institutional apparatus immediately deploys weaponized accusations of &#8220;bias&#8221; or &#8220;Islamophobia,&#8221; frequently backed by CAIR-orchestrated media campaigns and legal threats. The goal is simple: total submission through intimidation, forcing school boards to capitulate and parents to shut up.
The standard playbook relies on isolating the child from the family, convincing students that the school counselor, not the parent, is their true ally and confidant. Once that wedge is driven between parent and child, the ideological conditioning begins.
We saw a stark example of how this subversion operates in video footage exposed by <a href="https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/1999141966697927153?s=20">social media accounts like Wall Street Apes</a>. In a viral clip that shocked parents nationwide, a radical activist openly admitted on camera to an orchestrated strategy within the public school system, boasting, &#8220;We don’t tell the parents anything. We bypass them completely.&#8221; This admission lays bare the entire philosophy of the modern public education monopoly. They believe your children belong to the state. They view parents not as partners, but as obstacles to be managed, avoided, and systematically cut out of the equation.
By using ASCA as a rubber stamp, CAIR and its allies are successfully embedding their materials into mandatory counselor training modules, school board guidance documents, and student &#8220;affinity spaces.&#8221; Under the banner of &#8220;restorative justice&#8221; and &#8220;cultural competency,&#8221; school counselors are instructed to affirm radical political frameworks while keeping the details of these counselor-student sessions hidden behind a wall of administrative secrecy.
This psychological manipulation begins at the earliest stages of development, targeting vulnerable elementary school students who lack the critical thinking skills to detect ideological grooming. Activists weaponize universal virtues like &#8220;anti-bullying,&#8221; &#8220;be kind,&#8221; &#8220;empathy,&#8221; and &#8220;accepting people different than you&#8221; to disarm both students and parents. No parent opposes kindness or empathy. But in the hands of radicalized counselors, these concepts are redefined as psychological compliance mechanisms. &#8220;Empathy&#8221; is twisted to demand validation of fundamentalist religious demands over American constitutional norms, while &#8220;anti-bullying&#8221; campaigns are used as an administrative cudgel to silence anyone, including elementary students, who do not actively affirm the preferred political orthodoxy.
For too long, the conservative movement and parental rights organizations have played defense, reacting to bad policies after they have already been codified. If we want to save our children from this institutional rot, we must go on an unyielding offense. Parents must demand total, uncompromising transparency. We must aggressively utilize public records requests to uncover every contract, training module, and piece of literature that ASCA and CAIR have smuggled into local school districts. We must show up to school board meetings, name the administrators responsible, and demand that local districts sever all ties with radical national organizations.
The window for polite compromise has closed. The safety, privacy, and foundational values of our children are on the line. It is time to strip these activist networks of their access to our kids, reclaim our schools, and re-establish the absolute authority of the American family.
***
Alvin Lui is president of Courage Is A Habit, a parental rights organization exposing ideological indoctrination in America’s schools.

RICHMOND, VA – JUNE 2: Social worker Whitney Wilson’s office at

The Islamist Trojan Horse Weaponizing Your Kids’ Counselor’s Office

DW Opinion

K-12

Parental Rights

The Texas State Board of Education faces pressure from leftist activists and conservative lawmakers as it meets Friday to consider a push to place more positive references to Islam in the state’s history curriculum. 
Officials in the Lone Star State are reviewing social studies standards amid a push from Muslim advocacy groups, which claim current proposals are “exclusionary and Islamophobic.” At the same time, congressional Republicans are urging the board not to give Islam a more prominent role, particularly in response to lobbying from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group that has been designated as a terrorist organization by Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott. 
“It has come to our attention that an extensive lobbying effort is underway to have the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) alter curriculum standards in a way that would diminish American and Texas history,” Rep. Brandon Gill and other Texas Republicans wrote in a Friday <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/1024602690/Rep-Gill-Letter-to-Texas-SBOE?_gl=1*1gq3kdd*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjgyMzMyMjg3LjE3NzU4MzYzNTA.*_ga_Z4ZC50DED6*czE3NzU4MzYzNDkkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzU4MzYzNTMkajU2JGwwJGgw*_ga_8KZ8BV0P5W*czE3NzU4MzYzNDkkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzU4MzYzNTMkajU2JGwwJGgw">letter</a> first obtained by The Daily Wire. The letter went on to describe CAIR as a &#8220;transnational criminal organization.”
CAIR has denied any connection to terrorism and has sued the state over the designation. Members of CAIR-Texas have <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/texas-education-officials-pushed-delay-175944847.html?guccounter=1">attended</a> recent board meetings to voice their opposition to how Muslims are currently represented in state curriculum. 
Republicans also pushed back on claims they say are being introduced into the standards.
“The petitioners’ efforts claim that Islam influenced our founding, culture, and way of life,&#8221; the letter states. &#8220;For instance, the (board) recently responded to public testimony asserting that the Alamo is an Islamic building.” 
&#8220;Such claims are intended to introduce sensationalized or false history into our curriculum, and it is not the (board&#8217;s) responsibility to accommodate flagrant lies or cultivate spurious claims of their belonging.”
The fight over the standards has been raging for weeks, with local Muslim groups organizing in support of changes. In March, an Islamic center in Houston <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DWRUs5Bjk-U/">hosted</a> a discussion on “challenging Islamophobia in Texas schools.” 
Gill said that Islam played no major role in the founding or development of Texas and warned against what he described as &#8220;revisionist history.&#8221;
“Students should be taught age-appropriate facts and hard-truths, even when it is uncomfortable. Islam did not play a role in the founding or development of Texas, and to say so would be an outright lie,” he wrote.
The other lawmakers who signed onto the letter include Reps. Chip Roy, Wesley Hunt, Michael Cloud, Nathaniel Moran, Ronny Jackson, Lance Gooden, Brian Babin, Keith Self, and Pat Fallon.

MixCollage-10-Apr-2026-09-46-AM-265

One Of America’s Most Iconic Symbols — Now ‘Islamic’? The New History Fight

Brandon Gill

History

Islam

Texas

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton <a href="https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/2019442960312496339/photo/1">filed a lawsuit</a> Thursday against the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to ban the groups from operating in Texas, where they were recently designated as terror organizations.
“Sharia law and the jihadists who follow sharia law have no business being in Texas,” Paxton said in a statement. “Radical Islamic terrorists are antithetical to law and order, endanger the people of Texas, and are an existential threat to our values.”
The lawsuit builds on earlier action by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-joins-texas-in-designating-cair-and-muslim-brotherhood-as-terrorist-organizations">who labeled</a> the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR foreign terrorist organizations and urged the federal government to revoke CAIR’s tax-exempt status. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-joins-texas-in-designating-cair-and-muslim-brotherhood-as-terrorist-organizations">a similar designation</a> in late 2025. CAIR sued both states, denied supporting terrorism, and accused DeSantis of being “Israel first.”
The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood chapters, which included <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-designates-three-muslim-brotherhood-branches-as-terrorist-organizations">designating three</a> foreign branches of the organization as terrorist groups last month.
Paxton’s lawsuit targets the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, and CAIR’s chapters in Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. It seeks to prohibit the groups and their affiliates from owning property in Texas or soliciting or recruiting members.
Paxton argues that the Muslim Brotherhood is covertly operating under CAIR, which he identifies as the group’s “American chapter.”
“The Muslim Brotherhood is a radical terror organization that exists to usurp governmental power and establish dominion through sharia law,” Paxton said. “The terrorist ties are unquestionable.”
Paxton claimed that a CAIR-Texas founding board member was convicted in 2008 of funneling $12.4 million to Hamas through the Holy Land Foundation, with CAIR named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.
“As the lawsuit notes, CAIR is undeniably the American face of an international terrorist organization,” Paxton added.
When designating the Muslim Brotherhood, Abbott emphasized the group’s suspected ties to Hamas, which has been a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 1997 and is the Muslim Brotherhood’s Gaza-based branch, which kidnapped and murdered American citizens during the October 7 attack in Israel.
Abbott also cited a recent report that claims CAIR awarded $1,000 cash grants to university students who disrupted classes and intimidated or harassed fellow students “while celebrating Hamas’ October 7th attack.”
“Americans have generous hearts, and federal law wisely creates incentives to donate to nonprofit organizations that promote the public good,” Abbott wrote. “But charity must not become a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy.”
CAIR dismissed the lawsuit in a statement to The Daily Wire, calling it &#8220;defamatory and unconstitutional.&#8221;
&#8220;Ken Paxton is late. CAIR has already filed a federal lawsuit to block enforcement of Governor Abbott&#8217;s defamatory and unconstitutional proclamation. We have also defeated Greg Abbott&#8217;s attacks on the Constitution three different times in a row. We look forward to doing so again. Just as Mr. Paxton&#8217;s attempt to shut down a Latino voting rights group failed last week, his latest anti-Muslim publicity stunt also appears doomed to fail. The people of Texas elected Mr. Paxton to serve them, not to silence them for daring to oppose Israel&#8217;s genocide in Gaza. CAIR-Texas will be serving and protecting the people of Texas long after Ken Paxton leaves office, God willing,&#8221; the statement said.

The Council On American-Islamic Relations Holds News Conference On Trump’s New Travel Ban Executive Order

Texas Sues Muslim Brotherhood And CAIR To Block Operations In Texas

Courts

Greg Abbott

Ken Paxton

With just days to go before the launch of one of the largest school choice programs in the country, Texas officials are fighting to ensure that no taxpayer funds go to institutions tied to the Chinese Communist Party or radical Islam.
On Saturday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2026/kp-0509_2.pdf">legal opinion</a> confirming the ability of acting state Comptroller Kelly Hancock to deny participation to schools tied to America’s adversaries in the Texas Education Freedom Account program. Hancock, who is overseeing the school choice program, told The Daily Wire that his office has identified “more than a handful” of schools with problematic ties.
“There were several schools in Texas that are connected to the Chinese Communist Party, and those that hosted events [with] or are potentially connected to [the Council on American Islamic Relations],” Hancock said.
CAIR, a self-described civil rights organization with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-welcome-in-our-state-texas-governor-designates-radical-muslim-groups-as-foreign-terrorists?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘Not+Welcome+In+Our+State’%3A+Texas+Governor+Designates+‘Radical’+Muslim+Groups+As+Foreign+Terrorists">designated</a> as a terrorist organization in November by Governor Greg Abbott.
Hancock said that his office’s “priority was protecting taxpayer dollars to make sure that they didn&#8217;t end up in the hands of groups that support terrorist activity” or were “hostile” to the United States.
The Republican official is overseeing the rollout of Texas’ school choice program, which will allocate $1 billion in funding for parents to use for approved education expenses, including tuition at private schools. His office is responsible for approving schools that participate in the program and has greenlit 1,457 schools across the state.
As part of this approval process, Hancock said his office wanted to make sure that no schools with ties to CAIR or the CCP would benefit from state dollars.
“We saw some stories breaking in other states that have school choice,” Hancock told The Daily Wire. “I never lost sleep because we were ahead of the game and protecting those taxpayer dollars.”
Many of the schools flagged with problematic ties were accredited through Cognia, an accreditation nonprofit that vets many charter and private schools across the country. Hancock initially paused all approvals for schools accredited by Cognia, including some private Christian schools. But, with the legal opinion from Paxton, many Cognia-accredited schools are now being registered with the state, assuming they have no ties to foreign adversaries.
“We do want to make sure that we run it like a business, and try to protect taxpayer dollars on both sides of it,” Hancock said, asking people to be patient while his office vetted participants.
Hancock told The Daily Wire that the vetting and investigation of schools was still ongoing.
Some examples flagged by his office included the accrediting of potential providers by an agency that had hosted events alongside CAIR and another school that appeared to be owned by a group with an adviser linked to the CCP.
CAIR Texas suggested that it might sue Hancock if he scrutinizes schools that “once hosted an educational lecture from a civil rights organization that Greg Abbott happens to dislike.”
&#8220;Comptroller Hancock cannot bar private schools from this program because of their real or imagined interactions with CAIR-Texas, especially since Attorney General Paxton has sworn to a federal court that the governor&#8217;s unconstitutional proclamation targeting CAIR does not apply to any of its CAIR-Texas chapters,” the organization said. &#8220;Comptroller Hancock must permit private Muslim schools to participate in the program without facing any discrimination, heightened scrutiny or further delays in the application process.”
Abbott <a href="https://x.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/2015479262355079329">praised</a> Paxton’s opinion, saying it would ensure that taxpayer “dollars will not be used for schools connected to groups like CAIR or countries like China that I have designated as foreign terrorist organizations.”
Parents can start applying for education scholarships on February 4, and the application period runs until March 17.

Texas Governor Abbott Signs ERCOT Reforms Legislation Into Law

Texas Bans Schools Tied To ‘America’s Adversaries’ From Education Freedom Program

Chinese Communist Party

Education

School Choice

The Trump administration designated three branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations on Tuesday and imposed new sanctions in an effort to curb the Islamic extremist group.
The administration singled out the Lebanese branch for the harshest designation, labeling it a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a classification that criminalizes any material support under federal law. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches were designated as global terrorist entities for their support for Hamas, which the United States also classifies as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
In November, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-executive-order-targeting-the-muslim-brotherhood">signed an executive order</a> paving the way for his administration to classify certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organizations. He said that “final documents are being drawn” for the designation to be “done in the strongest and most powerful terms.”
Trump’s executive order states that the Lebanese chapter joined Hamas and Hezbollah and other Palestinian factions to launch rockets at both civilians and military targets in Israel. It listed the Egyptian chapter as calling for “violent attacks against United States partners and interests” and the Jordanian chapter’s leaders as providing “material support to the militant wing of Hamas.”
“Such activities threaten the security of American civilians in the Levant and other parts of the Middle East, as well as the safety and stability of our regional partners,” the order said.
The move comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued state-level orders in late 2025 labeling both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations. CAIR, which describes itself as the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, responded by suing both state governments and declaring that it does not support terrorism. Following DeSantis’s declaration, the group accused the Florida governor of being “Israel first.”
Abbott called on the Trump administration to strip CAIR of its tax-exempt status for its alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations. He argued that federal investigators and court filings have identified CAIR as “a direct subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood” and as a “front group” for Hamas in the United States. He also cited a recent report that claims CAIR awarded $1,000 cash grants to college students who disrupted classes and intimidated or harassed fellow students “while celebrating Hamas’s October 7th attack.” 
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928. Its founder, Hassan al-Banna, spoke openly about fighting non-Muslims through jihad and wrote that “Jihad is an obligation from Allah and every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded.”
Egypt banned the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, and Jordan followed in April 2025.

Hamas/Trump

Trump Designates Three Muslim Brotherhood Branches As Terrorist Organizations

Trump Administration Designates Three Muslim Brotherhood Branches As Terrorist Organizations

Trump Administration

On Monday, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”
DeSantis’s move comes after Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declared the groups terrorist organizations last month, and President Donald Trump signed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-executive-order-targeting-the-muslim-brotherhood">an executive order</a> paving the way for his administration to designate chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. 
The Florida order says the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology is “irreconcilable with foundational American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and notes the group has a history of supporting violence and terrorist attacks, including political assassinations and attacks on civilians, in pursuit of a global Islamic caliphate. It further notes that members of the Muslim Brotherhood created Hamas in 1987, a United States-designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for killing 46 American citizens in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The order then links the Muslim Brotherhood to groups in the United States, stating that the Palestine Committee — a group created to raise financial and moral support for Hamas — founded CAIR in 1994. It adds that CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terror-financing case in American history and has been associated with individuals convicted of providing, or conspiring to provide, material support to designated terrorist organizations.
“CAIR was founded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and was created, in the words of persons affiliated with CAIR, as ‘an official U.S. cover representing the Islamic community’ to conceal ties to Islamic extremist groups,” the order says.
The order directs the Florida Highway Patrol to take all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by the designated groups and requires all executive and cabinet agencies to block any terrorist organization listed, or any person known to have provided material support or resources to such an organization, from receiving state contracts, employment, funding, or any other government benefits or privileges.
CAIR, which calls itself “the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization,” fired back, calling the order &#8220;defamatory and unconstitutional&#8221; and accusing DeSantis of being “Israel First.” 
“Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel&#8217;s war crimes,” CAIR National and CAIR-Florida said in a statement. “Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people.”
The group added that they plan to defeat “Governor DeSantis&#8217; latest Israel First stunt” in court. 
Last week, Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-governor-urges-trump-admin-to-strip-major-muslim-civil-rights-group-of-tax-exempt-status?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Texas+Governor+Urges+Trump+Admin+To+Strip+Major+Muslim+Civil+Rights+Group+of+Tax-Exempt+Status">called on the Trump Administration</a> to strip CAIR of its tax-exempt status for its alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations. He argued that federal investigators and court filings have identified CAIR as “a direct subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood” and as a “front group” for Hamas in the United States. He also cited a recent report that claims CAIR awarded $1,000 cash grants to college students who disrupted classes and intimidated or harassed fellow students “while celebrating Hamas’s October 7th attack.” 
“Americans have generous hearts, and federal law wisely creates incentives to donate to nonprofit organizations that promote the public good,” Abbott wrote. “But charity must not become a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy.”
According to Trump, the “final documents are being drawn” for the Muslim Brotherhood to receive a foreign terrorist organization designation, which will be “done in the strongest and most powerful terms.”

Governor DeSantis And ICE Announce Largest Joint Immigration Enforcement Operation In Florida History

DeSantis Joins Texas In Designating CAIR And Muslim Brotherhood As Terrorist Organizations

Florida

Ron DeSantis

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling on the Trump administration to strip the largest self-described Muslim civil rights non-profit organization in the United States of its tax-exempt status for its alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations.
In a <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/Scott_Bessent.pdf">letter</a> sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Abbott requested an investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ tax-exempt status over alleged ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which President Donald Trump has made moves to designate as a terrorist organization.
Last week, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-executive-order-targeting-the-muslim-brotherhood">signed an executive order</a> paving the way for his administration to classify certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organizations. He said that “final documents are being drawn” for the designation to be “done in the strongest and most powerful terms.”
Abbott argued that CAIR has been identified by federal investigators and court filings as “a direct subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood” and as a “front group” for Hamas in the United States. Abbott emphasized that Hamas has been a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 1997 and is the Muslim Brotherhood’s Gaza-based branch, which kidnapped and murdered American citizens during the October 7 attack in Israel.
Abbott also cited a recent report that claims CAIR awarded $1,000 cash grants to university students who disrupted classes and intimidated or harassed fellow students “while celebrating Hamas’ October 7th attack.” 
“Americans have generous hearts, and federal law wisely creates incentives to donate to nonprofit organizations that promote the public good,” Abbott wrote. “But charity must not become a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy.”
Under federal law, tax-exempt status must be suspended when a group is listed as a foreign terrorist organization, according to Abbott.
“Domestic organizations created by known terrorist organizations—for the express purpose of supporting and advancing their destructive goals—should clearly be suspended from the benefit of tax-exempt status as 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the United States,” Abbott wrote. 
Last month, Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-welcome-in-our-state-texas-governor-designates-radical-muslim-groups-as-foreign-terrorists">issued a proclamation</a> designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist organizations in Texas, accusing them of seeking to “forcibly impose Sharia law.” Abbott’s order prohibits the groups from purchasing or acquiring property in Texas and subjects affiliates to enhanced state penalties.
“The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable,” Abbott said at the time. “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
CAIR responded by suing Abbott and denying the allegations, claiming it has “consistently condemned all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism.” 
“Although we are flattered by Greg Abbott’s obsession with our civil rights organization, his publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation has no basis in fact or law,” the group said. “By defaming a prominent American Muslim institution with debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes, Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas.”
CAIR did not respond to a request for comment.

Texas Governor Urges Trump Admin To Strip Major Muslim Civil Rights Group of Tax-Exempt Status

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations on Tuesday, citing each group&#8217;s ties to Islamic extremism and accusing them of seeking to &#8220;forcibly impose Sharia law.&#8221;
Abbott&#8217;s <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/PROC_declaring_Muslim_Brotherhood_and_CAIR_Transnational_Criminal_Organizations_IMAGE_11-18-2025.pdf">action</a> bans the Muslim groups from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas and subjects anyone affiliated with them to heightened state penalties.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’&#8221; Abbott <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-designates-muslim-brotherhood-cair-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations">said</a>. &#8220;The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable. Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
For years, the Muslim Brotherhood has advocated for extremism and been connected to Islamic terrorists. The Muslim Brotherhood, which started as a militant group in Egypt in 1928, has spread throughout the world and is tied to numerous jihadist groups, according to a 2018 Congressional <a href="https://www.congress.gov/event/115th-congress/house-event/108532/text">report</a>. The Muslim Brotherhood&#8217;s founder, Hassan al-Banna, was outspoken about fighting non-Muslims through jihad and wrote that &#8220;Jihad is an obligation from Allah and every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded.&#8221; In recent years, the Brotherhood condemned the United States for killing terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden, and one of its most influential leaders, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070612234906/http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&amp;Area=jihad&amp;ID=SP79404#_edn1">called</a> for terrorist attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a self-described civil rights organization, has been criticized over its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. U.S. authorities have also posited that CAIR was established as a front for Hamas. In a 2008 case, which was the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history, the council and its co-founders were named as unindicted co-conspirators in a plot to funnel millions of dollars to Hamas. Multiple people who have worked for CAIR have also been sentenced for planning to aid terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The council has denied the allegations tying it to Hamas and responded to Abbott&#8217;s move to designate it as a foreign terrorist organization.
&#8220;We have consistently condemned all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism. In fact, we condemn terrorism so often that ISIS once put a target on our national executive director,&#8221; the council said. &#8220;Although we are flattered by Greg Abbott&#8217;s obsession with our civil rights organization, his publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation has no basis in fact or law. By defaming a prominent American Muslim institution with debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes, Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas.&#8221;
Abbott&#8217;s move comes as Muslims plan to develop a massive compound in North Texas, which is being <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/epic-city-muslim-community-doj-investigation-ends/">investigated</a> by state and federal authorities. The compound aims to create a Muslim-centered community on 400 acres of land and is spearheaded by the East Plano Islamic Center, the largest mosque in Texas.
The Muslim development plans are not connected to the Muslim Brotherhood or the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The Justice Department launched an investigation into the plans after Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn raised concerns about religious discrimination surrounding the housing development.
&#8220;Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no place in the Lone Star State,&#8221; Cornyn <a href="https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-announces-doj-investigation-into-epic-city/">said</a> in May. &#8220;Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted, and I know under the Trump administration, they will be.&#8221;

‘Not Welcome In Our State’: Texas Governor Designates ‘Radical’ Muslim Groups As Foreign Terrorists

Menu