| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The State of Texas is proud of its diverse |
|
|
communities built on shared values of liberty, faith, and |
|
|
patriotism; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, All communities are important to Texas, and we honor |
|
|
those who contribute to the strength, culture, and prosperity of |
|
|
our state; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Council on American-Islamic Relations has been |
|
|
credibly linked to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the |
|
|
Muslim Brotherhood, both enemies of the United States and threats |
|
|
to our way of life; CAIR's leadership has openly praised acts of |
|
|
terror, defended violence against innocent civilians, and shown |
|
|
contempt for American allies such as Israel; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation has suspended |
|
|
all formal contacts with the Council on American-Islamic Relations |
|
|
due to evidence demonstrating a relationship between CAIR and |
|
|
Hamas; Hamas is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by |
|
|
the United States Department of State and perpetrated the brutal |
|
|
attack on the State of Israel on October 7, 2023, in which Hamas |
|
|
indiscriminately killed more than 1,200 innocent people, including |
|
|
Israelis, Americans, and other nationals, and took more than 240 |
|
|
civilians as hostages; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In the federal criminal prosecutions of persons |
|
|
involved with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, |
|
|
the largest successful prosecution of terrorism financing in our |
|
|
country's history, CAIR was identified as an associate of the |
|
|
Muslim Brotherhood and was named an unindicted co-conspirator in |
|
|
the trial; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Soon after opening its first office in Washington, |
|
|
D.C., CAIR received a grant from the Holy Land Foundation for Relief |
|
|
and Development, a charitable organization that was closed and was |
|
|
designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United |
|
|
States Department of the Treasury for funding jihadist terrorist |
|
|
organizations; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 2009, Ghassan Elashi, who was a member of the |
|
|
founding board of directors of the Texas branch of CAIR and a leader |
|
|
of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, was |
|
|
sentenced to a total of 65 years in prison after being convicted of |
|
|
10 counts of conspiracy to provide, and the provision of, material |
|
|
support to a designated foreign terrorist organization as well as |
|
|
numerous other charges; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Randall Todd Royer, also known as Ismail Royer, who |
|
|
served as a communications specialist and civil rights coordinator |
|
|
for CAIR, trained with and set up an Internet-based newsletter for |
|
|
Lashkar-e-Taiba, an al Qaeda-tied Kashmir organization that is |
|
|
listed on the United States Department of State's international |
|
|
terror list; he was also indicted on charges of conspiring to help |
|
|
al Qaeda and the Taliban battle American troops fighting in |
|
|
Afghanistan and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on April 9, |
|
|
2004; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In September 2003, CAIR's former community affairs |
|
|
director, Bassem Khafagi, pleaded guilty to three federal counts of |
|
|
bank and visa fraud and agreed to be deported to Egypt after he had |
|
|
funneled money to activities supporting terrorism and had published |
|
|
material advocating suicide attacks against the United States, |
|
|
illegal activities that took place while he was employed by CAIR; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Rabih Haddad, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based CAIR |
|
|
fundraiser, was arrested on terrorism-related charges and was |
|
|
deported from the United States due to his work as Executive |
|
|
Director of the Global Relief Foundation, which in October 2002 was |
|
|
closed by the United States Department of the Treasury for |
|
|
financing al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, It is a dangerous affront to the people of Texas to |
|
|
allow any group that supports, sympathizes with, or excuses |
|
|
terrorism to be welcomed or honored within the halls of our Capitol; |
|
|
just as the Texas Capitol would never open its doors to groups such |
|
|
as the Ku Klux Klan, to drug cartels, or to any other group that |
|
|
promotes hatred and violence, it must not and will not open its |
|
|
doors to CAIR; the ongoing Islamification of American communities |
|
|
through extremist organizations represents one of the most urgent |
|
|
cultural and security challenges facing our state today; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Texas has always stood firmly against enemies |
|
|
foreign and domestic, rejecting any group that seeks to undermine |
|
|
the Constitution, erode our freedoms, or endanger our families, and |
|
|
it will never tolerate, support, or honor organizations aligned |
|
|
with terrorism, hatred, or the enemies of the United States; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby declare the Council on American-Islamic |
|
|
Relations unwelcome at the Texas Capitol. |