Southern Methodist University has scrapped plans to host a Council on American-Islamic Relations youth conference on its Dallas campus, citing the state’s designation of the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Sept. 19 event, part of CAIR-Texas’ Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium, was billed as a day of civic-engagement training designed for high school students and rising college freshmen and sophomores, with workshops, community speakers and a planned visit to Dallas City Hall.
The cancellation was tied to a proclamation Gov. Greg Abbott issued last November declaring CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations under Texas law — a state designation with no federal counterpart; neither group is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. In a statement announcing the move, Abbott said the two groups “have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law.” He added, “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state,” and said the designation bars both organizations from acquiring property in Texas.
An SMU spokesperson confirmed the cancellation to Fox News Digital this week, saying the university “welcomes a wide range of organizations and perspectives to campus” but determined that hosting the symposium “is inconsistent with our mission and related University policies” given the state’s designation of its organizer.
CAIR’s Texas chapters sued Abbott and Paxton in federal court two days after the proclamation, arguing it violates the First Amendment and lacks any basis in Texas law. In a statement announcing the lawsuit, CAIR-Texas said it is “standing up for our constitutional rights” and accused Abbott of running “smear campaigns.” The group said it would keep pushing back, adding, “We are not and will not be intimidated by smear campaigns.” The federal case remains ongoing.
CAIR-Texas describes itself as a civil rights and advocacy organization whose Houston chapter dates to 1994. According to its own description, the group’s stated principles include supporting equality, encouraging interfaith dialogue and condemning violence, and it says its work includes media outreach, government-affairs lobbying and civic education aimed at Muslim communities in Texas.
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