- Arizona lawmakers propose designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist groups.
- State Rep. Gillette claims focus isn't on religion or race but on governance.
- Community members express concerns that the bills foster Islamophobia and civil rights violations.
As Arizona lawmakers considered designating two national Muslim organizations as terror groups this week, Muslim members and advocates pushed back against the proposals.
Two bills from the Arizona House of Representatives’ Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee name the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR.
State Rep. John Gillette, the chairman of the Military Affairs Committee, said in his opening remarks during a meeting on Wednesday, that it “is not about religion or race.”
“Sharia law is unlawful in the state of Arizona. It’s a parallel form of governance that we cannot have,” said Gillette, referring to the religious and moral code of Islam.
As part of his evidence, Gillette showed a video from Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese American critic of Islam, who alleged that the two Muslim organizations in question fund terrorist organizations like Hamas.
In November 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis followed suit a month later and signed the same designations for the two Muslim groups in his state.
The Trump administration designated three chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood associated with Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan as terrorist organizations.
Such designations typically fall under the purview of the federal government.
Muslim community in Arizona unites against bills
Many residents and community organizers testified against Gillette’s proposals.
“I’m troubled by this motion,” Thomas Isaac, a Tempe resident, said. “I remember in my childhood reading about the ... Salem witch trials, and you read about McCarthyism, and it seems like Islam, Islamophobia is the rage.”
“Take away CAIR from us (and) we don’t have the advocacy,” he said.
Other community members — like Natacha Chavez, a field organizer for CAIR Arizona — pointed to CAIR’s work in registering voters and supporting individuals facing instances of Islamophobia.
“There’s nothing CAIR has done that I have seen firsthand that would be labeled as terrorism. If anything, this bill will further Islamophobia in this country,” Chavez said in her testimony.
Civil rights advocacy and faith-based organizations sent a letter to Arizona lawmakers in opposition to the anti-CAIR legislation.
CAIR executive director Azza Abuseif criticized Gillette, recalling his statement from September 2025, when he called Islamophobia “a construct of the Marxist left” and referred to Muslims as “savages.”
“Arizonans who believe in the Constitution and justice stand united in opposition to attempts to smear organizations advocating for civil rights amid an unprecedented crackdown on our freedoms,” the coalition said in a press release.
“Mr. Gillette should know that the people of Arizona will not stand for the unjust targeting of the Arizona Muslim community or other communities across our diverse state.”