In a significant legal development for U.S. national security, a federal court has ordered the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Texas chapters — including Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and the state branch — to disclose specific donor and funding records to Texas officials. The ruling came in response to motions filed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton during CAIR’s lawsuit challenging Abbott’s November 2025 designation of CAIR as a foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organization linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Judge Albright granted the requests in part — compelling production of foreign funding records central to assessing national security risks — while denying broader demands for all U.S. donor records over a decade, striking a balance between investigative needs and constitutional privacy concerns.

“Progress in my legal fight against CAIR.” — Gov. Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX), on the court ruling

Muslim Reform Voices Celebrate the Ruling

Among the most vocal voices welcoming the decision were Muslim Americans who have long stood against Islamist influence — and paid a personal price for doing so. Anila Ali, President and CEO of the American Muslims Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC), celebrated the ruling on social media, calling it “a win for Muslims like us that are standing up to terrorism and Islamism and who love America.”

Anila Ali

@anilaali

What a win for Muslims like us that are standing up to terrorism and Islamism and who love America. #CAIR Thank you @POTUS @GregAbbott_TX @SenTedCruz @SenTomCotton

CAIR here is Muslim Brotherhood there! JUST IN: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has DEFEATED Islamic terror organization CAIR in the courts — the group must now TURN OVER: 1. Donor list 2. Donee list 3. CAIR chief Nihad Awad’s travel records to 9 countries hosting Islamic terror.

LFG! CAIR should be FULLY BANNED in America! Abbott is also targeting other forms of Islamification of Texas and Sharia — NEVER LET UP ON THIS!

May 8, 2026  •  View on 𝕏

A Warning Issued Years Before the Ruling

Ali’s alarm about CAIR is not new. In a follow-up post recalling her 2015 testimony at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, she described warning officials years ago that Islamist-aligned networks like CAIR were quietly embedding themselves across American civic life — in politics, nonprofits, mosques, school boards, and civic institutions — while applying pressure on candidates to abandon support for Israel.

Anila Ali

@anilaali

Governor Abbott, I warned in 2015 at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism that Islamist-aligned networks like #CAIR were embedding themselves in politics, nonprofits, mosques, school boards, and civic institutions while pressuring candidates to abandon support for Israel.

I bear witness that they have harassed and intimidated dozens of Muslims speaking out. My Muslim Pakistani sister, Lori Saroya, settled with them — and I asked then, why were they so afraid to reveal their donors? We know why!

They are Muslim Brotherhood and their spiderweb runs across America — sadly they are overwhelmingly embedded in California Democratic Party, CADEM, and other states where you see the subversion of America and a brazen Red-Green Alliance, such as IL, WA, MA, NY.

Those of us who challenged antisemitism and extremism were ostracized, harassed, and silenced. America must investigate extremist influence wherever evidence leads and protect our institutions from hate, intimidation, and subversion. They are like a cancerous virus, embedded in every American institution and campuses.

cairawad.com

May 7, 2026  •  View on 𝕏

CAIR’s Documented History and Federal Scrutiny

CAIR was founded in 1994 by leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which U.S. authorities explicitly identified as part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Palestine Committee” — a Hamas support network in America. CAIR’s longtime Executive Director Nihad Awad, a former IAP public relations director, and co-founders attended secret 1993 Hamas strategy meetings in Philadelphia.

In the 2007–2009 Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial — the largest terrorism-financing prosecution in U.S. history — federal prosecutors named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator. HLF funneled over $12 million to Hamas. FBI Special Agent Lara Burns testified that CAIR functioned as a “front group for Hamas.” A federal judge found “ample evidence” linking CAIR to the Hamas network, and the FBI severed formal ties with CAIR in 2008 citing its Hamas connections.

Why Transparency Matters

Judge Albright’s order is narrowly tailored — it does not compel indiscriminate disclosure of all American donors, addressing First Amendment concerns CAIR raised — but it does target foreign funding, precisely where terror-financing risks are greatest. The ruling supports Texas’s sovereign authority to investigate groups operating within its borders under its terrorism designation laws, which restrict such organizations from activities including land purchases.

“Why were they so afraid to reveal their donors? We know why. They are Muslim Brotherhood and their spiderweb runs across America.” — Anila Ali (@anilaali), President & CEO, AMMWEC

CAIR condemned the ruling, claiming Abbott exaggerated its scope. Critics note, however, that the court explicitly compelled production of the foreign funding records most central to the national security inquiry — the very records CAIR has resisted disclosing.

For Muslim Americans like Anila Ali who have long sounded the alarm — at personal cost — the court’s order represents a moment of validation. “Those of us who challenged antisemitism and extremism were ostracized, harassed, and silenced,” Ali wrote. “America must investigate extremist influence wherever evidence leads and protect our institutions from hate, intimidation, and subversion.”

Faith & Freedom News covers stories at the intersection of religious liberty, national security, and American values. Read more at fandfnews.com. Related coverage: Anti-Christian Hate Crimes Recorded Across Europe in February 2026.