Florida governor signs law targeting Muslim civil rights groups under national security guise
Bill gives governor unchecked power to designate organizations as terrorist groups; legal experts warn it is unconstitutional
TALLAHASSEE, United States (MNTV) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed legislation giving himself and his cabinet the power to designate any group they deem engaged in “terrorist activity” as a terrorist organization — a law legal experts say is unprecedented, likely unconstitutional and squarely aimed at Muslim advocacy groups and Palestinian activists.
The bill, HB 1471, grants the governor authority to dissolve designated organizations and prosecute anyone who has provided them material support, without requiring public disclosure of the basis for the designation. It also prohibits educational institutions from promoting designated groups and, in certain circumstances, requires universities to expel students who express support for them.
The legislation follows an executive order DeSantis signed earlier this year designating the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a “foreign terrorist organization” — a move CAIR has already challenged in court, winning a preliminary injunction preventing it from taking effect.
The state’s justification rests on CAIR being named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2007 terror financing trial involving Palestinian charity organizations. Federal courts have since found that the prosecutors violated the rights of the American Islamic organizations named in that case, and CAIR has long maintained the co-conspirator designation was nothing more than a legal tactic.
CAIR does not advocate for the implementation of Islamic religious law in the U.S., nor any foreign legal system.
Stanford Law professor Shirin Sinnar described the law as unprecedented and constitutionally fragile. “It is unprecedented for a state to claim the authority to designate terrorist organizations,” she said.
“You don’t want localities or states getting into the business of designating their enemies or their political adversaries or the people they disagree with as terrorists.”
She warned that even if the law does not survive in court, it is “doing a lot of damage in the meantime.” CAIR’s legal team expressed confidence the law would be struck down, with one attorney saying: “This is not North Korea, Russia or Cuba. The governor has no authority in law at all to do this.”
Texas and Arkansas have also passed laws banning Sharia law specifically, and similar bills have been introduced in 44 states and in Congress, despite no instance of Sharia being enforced anywhere in the United States.
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
