CAIR-Florida vows to fight Florida governor over terror remarks
At a Florida press conference, interim executive director Hiba Rahim declared, “We will not back down. CAIR-Florida will file a lawsuit against Governor Ron DeSantis in response to his defamatory and unconstitutional order baselessly smearing CAIR-Florida.” She argued that the governor’s action mirrors a recurring historical tactic used to marginalize vulnerable communities — “the same playbook” once weaponized against African Americans and other minority groups — whenever they “stand up against injustice” and political leaders turn to “false, baseless conspiracy theories.”
Rahim also accused the governor of placing “serving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida,” pointing to earlier decisions such as holding his “first official Cabinet meeting in Israel.” She argued that Floridians are grappling with unmet needs — citing issues like health-care gaps, food insecurity, and rising living costs — while public funds, in her view, support improved living conditions abroad: “Floridians are suffering from a lack of health care, from food scarcity, from economic crises, from high rent…but our tax money is going to fuel a better quality of life for Israelis.”
Megan Amer, CAIR-Florida’s policy director, said the governor’s order is designed to “create a scapegoat” and divert attention from “the current genocide going on in Gaza,” emphasizing that the group advocates for the rights of all residents. She added, “As a Christian, I am completely appalled…Governor DeSantis, you need to take a look back at your job description and determine what you’re supposed to be doing for Florida—and making the state of Florida better, not sowing division and hatred.”
Religious leaders and civil liberties advocates echoed similar concerns. Reverend Andy Oliver of Allendale United Methodist Church said, “Christians should recognize exactly what is happening. It’s fear-mongering…How can I proclaim to follow Jesus, a man executed by the state like those labeled threats, and stay silent while our Muslim neighbors are smeared? I can't. My faith won't let me.”
Ahmed Sharif from the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee in Tampa described the order as “baseless, dangerous and fundamentally un-American,” while National Lawyers Guild attorney Miranda Margolis argued that the governor “does not have the legal authority to unilaterally declare any US-based nonprofit a terrorist organization.”
DeSantis has stood by his decision and said he is prepared to meet CAIR-Florida in court.
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Washington, DC, CAIR remains the country’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
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