Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) San Francisco Bay Area is a chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a controversial advocacy group for the interests of Muslim Americans. ¹ CAIR San Francisco Bay Area works to support the Muslim community in the San Francisco Bay Area and supports several left-leaning causes, including opposing President Donald Trump’s ban on travel for nationals of certain mostly Muslim-majority countries, supporting affirmative action, and supporting California’s state-level “Green New Deal” left-environmentalist policies. ²

Background

The Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR San Francisco Bay Area) is a local affiliate of the controversial Council on American-Islamic Relations, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. CAIR is a large and prominent advocacy organization for Muslims in the United States. ³ Critics have suspected CAIR of supporting political Islamist movements, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, throughout the group’s existence. ⁴ CAIR is an opponent of American anti-terrorism policies like the PATRIOT Act, citing civil liberties concerns. ⁵ CAIR’s leaders are extremely anti-Israel,³ claiming that terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah are liberation movements. ³

CAIR San Fransisco is the oldest CAIR chapter in the country. ¹ It was founded in 1994 as a group of volunteers hoping to educate  and integrate more fully into a broader society. ¹ The organization now serves the estimated 250,000 Muslims who live in the nine different Bay Area counties. ¹

Advocacy

CAIR San Francisco is involved in opposition to various Trump administration initiatives, including a counterintelligence program and Executive Order 13769, labeled by critics as the “Muslim Ban” for prohibiting entry to the United States for nationals of selected Muslim-majority countries. ⁶ They also help provide legal services, in areas including employment discrimination, FBI visits, hate crimes, hate incidents, immigration, and travel issues including alleged mistreatment by the Transportation Security Administration. ⁷ CAIR San Francisco has also supported at least one bill in favor of affirmative action and in favor of the California Green New Deal. ²

The executive director of CAIR San Francisco, Zahra Billoo, was one of the plaintiffs who sued President Trump to challenge Executive Order 13769, banning nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States. ⁸

In 2020, CAIR San Francisco Bay Area signed a petition alongside a large number of left-liberal organizations in support of conducting California elections by mail, at least during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⁹

1. “History.” CAIR California San Francisco Bay Area. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://ca.cair.com/sfba/about-us/history/.
2. “Introducing CAIR-CA’s 2020 Legislative Agenda.” CAIR California San Francisco Bay Area. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://ca.cair.com/sfba/updates/introducing-cair-ca-2020-legislative-agenda/.
3. “Anti-Bias Education: The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed November 17, 2017. https://www.adl.org/education/resources/profiles/the-council-on-american-islamic-relations-cair ^

4. Svirsky, Meira. “Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) – Nat’l Headquarters.” The Clarion Project. January 17, 2013. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://clarionproject.org/council-islamic-relations-cair/ ^
5. MUSLIM COMMUNITY ASS’N OF ANN ARBOR v. ASHCROFT. United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division. Case # 03-CV-72913. September 29, 2006. Accessed November 17, 2017. https://www.leagle.com/decision/20061051459fsupp2d59211001 ^
6. “#NoMuslimBanEver.” CAIR California San Francisco Bay Area. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://ca.cair.com/sfba/campaign/nomuslimbanever/.
7. “Types of Cases We Handle.” CAIR California San Francisco Bay Area. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://ca.cair.com/sfba/what-we-do/legal-services/types-of-cases-we-handle/.
8. Ross, Martha. “Zahra Billoo: Feminist, Civil Rights Activist, Devout Muslim.” East Bay Times. East Bay Times, March 7, 2017. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/03/01/zahra-billoo-feminist-civil-rights-activist-devout-muslim/.
9. Network, Action. “Sign the Petition to Your State Election Officials: Vote by Mail Must Be Available to ALL Voters.” The Action Network. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-your-state-election-officials-vote-by-mail-must-be-available-to-all-voters?nowrapper=true.