
Nihad Awad, CAIR’s Executive Director at a MAS-ICNA conference (screen grab)
Introduction
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization that seeks to position itself as the leading American Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S.
Founded in 1994, the organization ostensibly focuses on responding to the proliferation of anti-Muslim incidents and sentiment nationwide, but key CAIR leaders often traffic in openly antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric. Some of CAIR’s leaders, such as Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director, were previously involved in a now-defunct organization that openly supported Hamas and, according to the U.S. government, functioned as its “propaganda apparatus.”
Awad also met with several members of the Muslim Brotherhood as recently as 2022. In an April 2024 Facebook post, Awad eulogized the late Sheikh Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, who the U.S. and UN designated as a recruiter and fundraiser for al-Qaeda. According to The New York Times, al-Zindani was a “one-time mentor of Osama bin Laden.” The U.S. Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2004, accusing al-Zindani of recruiting for al-Qaeda training camps.
Following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, many of CAIR’s leaders defended or justified the unprecedented terror assault, and argued it was a “legitimate right” of the Palestinians to “resist the occupation.” Awad claimed that Israel did not have a right to defend itself after the attack and that he had been “happy” on October 7 “to see people breaking the siege.”
Over the years, some of CAIR’s leaders have also cultivated suspicion among the public toward a wide array of American Jewish institutions. For instance, Zahra Billoo, CAIR San Francisco Bay Area Executive Director, declared that “Zionists” are “your enemies.”
She warned followers to “pay attention” to “Zionist synagogues,” Hillels (the premier U.S. Jewish student organization) and Jewish Federations. When Billoo faced criticism for her remarks, CAIR National released a statement in support of her comments.
On October 7, as the scale of the assault was not yet clear, Billoo minimized the atrocities of the Hamas attack and said the world was “witnessing decolonization.”
Awad has often engaged in similar antisemitic rhetoric, claiming that “Zionist organizations” are “enemies of the Muslim community” and that “Zionist organizations make up the core of the Islamophobia network in the United States.” He has also alleged that pro-Israel groups have “corrupted” the U.S. government and that Israel’s existence has no legitimacy.
Following Hamas’s attack on October 7, he further engaged in antisemitic tropes, such as denouncing the “Zionist lobby.”
CAIR leaders have also posited that pro-Israel organizations are responsible for U.S. police brutality, and that “Zionists” and Israel are analogous to the Ku Klux Klan and ISIS. Billoo has expressed support for Hamas firing rockets at Israel, and has called for “Zionists” — the vast majority of Jews, who believe Israel has a right to exist — to be banned from antiracist, interfaith and LGBTQ+ work. Such rhetoric is an affront to the vast majority of American Jews, as well as to the vast majority of Jews around the world, for whom a connection to Israel is integral to their Jewish identities. (ADL defines Zionism as the movement for self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel.)
CAIR has also drawn controversy for its stances on LGBTQ+ issues, including its opposition to pro-LGBTQ+ materials in public school classrooms.
CAIR leaders’ antisemitic and inflammatory comments post October 7
Nihad Awad, national executive director, CAIR
On November 24, 2023, Awad made controversial statements at an American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) conference that were criticized by the White House and Jewish groups. He later said the comments were taken out of context:
In February 2024, he invoked historic antisemitic tropes about Jewish control over political affairs and dual loyalty and charged that an immoral, corrupt "Zionist lobby" manipulated Congress into approving a $95 billion foreign aid bill that included $14 billion for Israel:
On July 16, 2024, three days after Donald Trump was injured in a shooting at a rally in Butler, PA that is being investigated as an assassination attempt, Awad tweeted a link to a CNN story about the Secret Service being on high alert in the weeks before the attack due to a potential threat on Trump's life from Iran. Awad commented on the story, which did not mention Israel: "Are you sure this is not an Israeli plot to ignite another war between the US and other countries in the Middle East at its behest?"
Hussam Ayloush, CEO and Executive Director, CAIR Greater Los Angeles Area
In November 2023, Ayloush compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and said it didn’t have a right to defend itself. At a teach-in hosted by the Islamic Society of Orange County, he said:
On October 7, 2023, Ayloush wrote a post on Facebook, declaring that people should not be “so surprised and appalled” that Hamas launched the terror attack that day, which killed some 1,200 people, most of them civilians
Zahra Billoo, Executive Director, CAIR San Francisco
On October 7, 2023, Billoo wrote a post on Facebook that appeared to justify the attack as a response to alleged Palestinian oppression, suggesting the victims were colonizers undergoing “decolonization.”
On May 15, 2024, Billoo claimed on X that anyone who is pro-Israel or who waves an Israeli flag is "pro-genocide."
Zainab Chaudry, Director of Maryland Outreach, CAIR Maryland
On October 7, 2023, Chaudry appeared to defend the Hamas terror attack in a Facebook post, calling it an “uprising” and labeling Israelis “colonizers” against which Hamas was engaging in “resistance”:
On October 9, 2023, she appeared to refer to Hamas terrorists as “Palestinian freedom fighters” in a post on Facebook:
On October 17, 2023, Chaudry equated Israel to Nazi Germany in a Facebook post that included swastika imagery:
Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR Chicago
During an October 15, 2023, press conference, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab suggested that Joseph Czuba, the man charged with murdering a six-year-old Palestinian Muslim boy in the Chicago area, may be “of Jewish background:”
Abdullah Jaber, Executive Director, CAIR Florida
On November 14, 2023, Jaber stated at a Tallahassee, FL protest that he could not be accused of antisemitism because, he argues, Israeli Jews are not authentically Jewish:
Salaedin Maksut, Executive Director, CAIR New Jersey
On October 7, 2023, Maksut posted on Facebook, negating the agency of Hamas in committing atrocities:
Blatant and Classic Antisemitism from CAIR Leaders
Prior to October 7, some prominent CAIR officials, including Awad, Billoo, Ayloush and others, regularly infused their criticism of Israel with explicit antisemitic ideas that portray the mainstream American Jewish community as duplicitous and overly powerful.
Several CAIR leaders have expressed their view that Israel and “Zionists” control and corrupt the United States government; are the chief purveyors of Islamophobia; and oppress marginalized communities.
At an AMP convention in Chicago, Illinois in November 2021, Billoo stated:
In December 2021 at the annual MAS-ICNA (Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America) conference in Chicago, Illinois, Awad, CAIR’s executive director, stated:
On a few occasions, Awad has articulated the antisemitic allegation that Israel and pro-Israel organizations control and corrupt the United States government:
At an anti-Israel rally in New Jersey in May 2021, Maksut, CAIR’s New Jersey executive director, claimed that Israel bears responsibility for oppressing marginalized groups in the U.S. and implicitly tied Israel to the murderers of George Floyd:
In a December 2021 Facebook post, Ayloush, CAIR‘s Los Angeles executive director, wrote: “...Islamophobia is an industry mostly funded by global Zionist donors and foundations. That's an established fact."
In February 2023, Ayloush wrote on Facebook: “Ever wondered why our police is becoming more brutal, more racist, and more like an occupation army? Well, wonder no more. It is being trained by Israel!”
Rhetoric Supporting Terrorism Against Israel and Opposition to Israel’s Legitimacy
Some CAIR executives have expressed support for violence against Israel and a refusal to accept Israel’s existence. Awad has refused to condemn Hamas, and Billoo has justified Hamas rocket attacks. Ayloush has called for the Israeli “regime” to be “terminated.”
Stigmatizing the Mainstream Jewish Community
Despite the well-documented fact that most American Jews identify in some way with Zionism, Zahra Billoo and Hussam Ayloush have repeatedly demeaned and disparaged Zionism and Zionists. Billoo has declared that no one should work with Zionists. Ayloush has compared Israel and Zionists to ISIS and the KKK and has weaponized the trauma of the Holocaust by suggesting that the actions of the “Zionist regime” are reminiscent of those that “led to...a Holocaust.”
Zahra Billoo:
Hussam Ayloush:
Controversies:
Early Controversy: Some CAIR Leaders’ Alleged Links to Hamas
CAIR was founded by several leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a radical anti-Israel organization that was once described by the U.S. government as part of the “propaganda apparatus” of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization (it is also viewed by the EU as a global terrorist organization). Nihad Awad, who was IAP’s Public Relations Director, became CAIR’s first Executive Director, a position he retains today.
IAP, which was active in the U.S. from 1981 until about 2004 and is now defunct, was explicit in expressing support for Hamas. A December 1989 communiqué stated: “The only way to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine, is the path of Jihad… Hamas is the conscience of the Palestinian Mujahid people.” In 1987, immediately following the establishment of Hamas, IAP began to print and distribute Hamas literature, including Hamas communiques. IAP also circulated the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
CAIR was also linked to the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), a Texas-based charity whose founders were convicted in 2009 for providing material support to Hamas. Ghassan Elashi, the CEO of HLF, was, according to the Sacramento Bee, a founding member of CAIR’s Dallas chapter. For his part, Awad has stated that “Elashi was a former member of CAIR in Dallas.” HLF was the chief fundraising arm of The Palestine Committee in the U.S., of which CAIR was a member. The Palestine Committee was created by the Muslim Brotherhood (Hamas’s parent organization) and was headed by Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook. Since 1995, Marzook has been designated by the U.S. government as a Specially Designated Terrorist.
In May 2009, HLF’s five founding officers, including Elashi, were sentenced to prison for financing terrorism by funneling more than $12 million to Hamas. According to news reports, evidence presented at the trial demonstrated that other CAIR leaders were also linked to HLF and Hamas activity in the U.S.
Throughout the HLF trial, CAIR organized support for the defendants and joined several other organizations, including the Muslim American Society (a non-profit educational and religious organization), to form the “Hungry for Justice” coalition in support of HLF. Two CAIR leaders acted as media contacts, while Khalil Meek of CAIR’s Dallas chapter served as the coalition’s primary spokesperson.
CAIR was included on a 2007 Department of Justice list of nearly 250 “unindicted co-conspirators” in the HLF case. A federal appeals court subsequently ruled that the government had been wrong to make the list public, and the list has since been re-sealed. In response to CAIR’s involvement with the Holy Land Foundation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) decided to “suspend formal contacts” with the group.
Meetings with Members of Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Republic of Iran
In May 2022, Awad met with several members of the Global Muslim Brotherhood in Qatar, including Abu Jarra Sultani (former leader of an Algerian Islamist party) and Ibrahim Abu Mohammed (former Grand Mufti of Australia). Sultani has described the perpetrators of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terror attack in Paris as “individuals who decided to avenge [the prophet Muhammad].” In 2004, Sultani was signatory to a letter also signed by terrorist leaders Hassan Nasrallah, of Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, and Hamas’s Khaled Mashaal calling for “jihad” and “military resistance” against Israel. Abu Mohammed met with Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh during a trip to Gaza in 2012, and initially refrained from condemning the Charlie Hebdo attack.
A decade prior to meeting with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in December 2012, Awad traveled to Qatar, where he shared a stage with the late radical Islamist preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi at a press conference promoting a movie about the Prophet Muhammad. Al-Qaradawi was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, engaged in blatant antisemitism and repeatedly expressed support for terror against Israel, including suicide bombings, and terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Separately, CAIR leaders have also engaged with the Iranian regime to appeal for the release of detained American citizens.
Controversies Related to LGBTQ+ Issues:
CAIR has also waded into controversy regarding the LGBTQ+ community, opposing pro-LGBTQ+ content in public school classrooms; calling for constituents to report when a transgender girl uses a girl’s locker room; and supporting the banning of Pride flags on public property. CAIR Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid has been particularly vocal on LGBTQ+ issues. Responding to a report that Atlanta is considered the most LGBTQ+ friendly city in America, Walid complained that such a development made the city “the capital of debauchery.”