Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of CAIR’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter and a veteran of the 1960s civil rights struggle, warned in a recent interview that Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s designation of CAIR as a “foreign terrorist organization” echoes segregationist tactics used to shutter NAACP chapters, potentially endangering any advocacy group nationwide. The November 18, 2025, proclamation by Abbott targets CAIR’s national body under state law, prompting a federal lawsuit from Texas chapters that argues only the U.S. government can make such designations. Carroll emphasized this as the opening salvo in a broader assault on civil liberties, drawing from his firsthand experience with historical suppression.
Echoes of NAACP Shutdowns
Carroll likened Abbott’s move to Alabama’s eight-year NAACP ban and Texas investigations that closed Dallas and Houston chapters until federal intervention, stating, “That means that anybody... any other organization that we have can be [targeted] the same [way]”. He recounted living through that era’s “struggle,” where “words come first, and then the actions,” positioning CAIR’s current fight as a modern parallel without the era’s overt violence. The interviewer noted personal family stories from the 1950s, to which Carroll replied he “doesn’t put it past anybody,” citing Texas’s high mass murder rates and permit less gun carry as fueling a culture of “indiscriminate killing”.
Constant Threats, No Uptick—But Lingering Fear
Texas Muslims face steady harassment rather than a surge post-designation, Carroll explained, with Governor Abbott’s anti-Sharia rhetoric providing “tacit approval” to extremists. He described a man yelling “go back to where they come from” at a mosque the day after one statement, and another heckling, praying children as “pedophile” and “demon”. “There are some people in our society who are not wrapped too tightly,” Carroll said, linking leadership words to street-level intimidation.
Lawsuit Mirrors Past First Amendment Wins
CAIR’s suit differs from the 2019 Bahia Amawi case—where a Palestinian speech pathologist regained her job after refusing an anti-Israel boycott pledge—but builds on it, Carroll noted. Texas rewrote its anti-BDS law post-victory to target firms with 100+ employees seeking state contracts, yet “we can boycott any country... but not that state”. He stressed governors lack the authority to label groups terrorists without proof, a federal power only.
EPIC City, Political Targeting Before Groundbreaking
State probes into the East Plano Islamic Center’s EPIC City project represent “political targeting,” Carroll charged, as accusations of discrimination and Sharia promotion flew before construction began. This chills religious freedom, especially for first-generation immigrants “scared to death” from authoritarian homelands, unlike Americans accustomed to protest. He contrasted this with civil rights resilience, such as a sharecropper choosing eviction so his daughter could integrate the school.
“Abbott doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. He doesn’t know what Sharia is. He wouldn’t know it if it walked up on him.”
Carroll dismissed Sharia fears as propaganda from David Yerushalmi’s template, spread via Eagle Forum and Act for America, leading to Texas’s first anti-Sharia bill by Rep. Leo Berman around 2007-2009. Sharia governs personal Muslim duties like prayer and charity, obligating adherence to U.S. law—not imposition on others, akin to Catholic Canon or Jewish Halakha.
Anti-Muslim Industry Profits from Hate
A records request seeks Abbott’s ties to “hate groups” and Israeli officials to expose “anti-Muslim propaganda,” Carroll said. He revealed the “anti-Muslim industry” generates “over a couple of hundred million dollars” for a small cadre, joking he could profit as a “former Islamic extremist” but never would. Institutional bias, like a Texas Commission chair’s anti-Muslim texts, shows politicians profiting politically by allaying fears rather than uniting communities.
Civil Rights Parallels—But Muslims Must Step Up
Current anti-Muslim climate pales against lynchings and church burnings, Carroll told Muslims: “We’re just getting some bad press”. Yet, politically, it mirrors Dr. King’s marches paired with Thurgood Marshall’s behind-the-scenes lawyering. Texas Muslims—60% college-educated, 20% doctors, 30% engineers—lack that grit, often fearing authority despite wealth.
Live Unapologetically, Build Alliances
Carroll predicts a lawsuit victory as “unlawful,” boosting civil liberties but not ending the fight. Muslims should stay “unapologetic,” engage broadly on criminal justice, maternal mortality, and healthcare—refusing ACA funds costs Texas dearly—and build hospitals with their skills. “You can’t fight back just by complaining... Your behavior will prove them wrong,” he urged, summarizing resilience through action. The case tests state overreach amid rising national anti-Muslim complaints, per CAIR’s 2024 data.
