Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona is an advocacy organization for Muslims in the United States. It is the Arizona branch of the national group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the founders of which have been suspected of supporting political Islamist movements, in particular Hamas. ¹

Background

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona is the Arizona branch of the national group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR has been suspected of supporting political Islamist movements, in particular Hamas. ^{2 1}

Activities

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona advocates for the rights of Muslims in the United States. It offers educational material on Islam, civil rights, government affairs, and “Islamophobia,” the last of which redirects to CAIR’s website islamophobia.org which hosts reports on alleged Islamophobic actions by American corporate leaders. ^{3 4} It also has a portal for people to submit examples of Islamophobic actions as well as a set of “anti-prejudice tools” which includes a call to political activism, voter mobilization, political campaigning, raising Muslim children to become politicians and journalists, and creating “blogs and websites that put the Muslim-haters on the defensive.” ⁵

It has a page on its website for users to submit an incident of religious discrimination or any interaction with law enforcement. Among the questions it asks is, “Do you authorize CAIR-AZ to give the media your contact information?” ⁶

CAIR Arizona distributes a “Know Your Rights Pocket Guide” which informs American Muslims on their legal rights, including “rights if stopped by the police,” “rights if federal law enforcement contacts you,” “rights if the Department of Homeland Security contacts you,” “rights as an airline passenger,” “How to tell if you might be on the no-fly list or a selectee list,” “What to do if faced with job discrimination,” “How to react to anti-Muslim hate crimes,” and “Recommendations for activism including local involvement, contacting your elected representatives, and media advocacy.” ⁷

Financials

In 2020, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona had a revenue of $257,478, expenses of $183,075, and net assets of $172,002. ⁸

Leadership

As of 2023, Azza Abuseif was the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona. Previously, Abuseif worked as the state director for NextGen America in Arizona. ⁹ NextGen was founded in 2013 as “NextGen Climate” by left-wing billionaire Tom Steyer when it was primarily an environmentalist group, but rebranded as “NextGen America” in 2017 when it expanded it scope to the national level, particularly to oppose then-President Donald Trump. ¹⁰ During her time at NextGen, Abuseif led a youth voter mobilization campaign for a presidential election. ⁹

Abuseif is a co-chair for the Phoenix Women’s March and is known for her influential role in Arizona’s immigration advocacy and left-wing civic engagement movements. She sat on CAIR Arizona’s board from July 2018 to March 2021. ⁹

1. “The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).” ADL, April 4, 2023. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/council-american-islamic-relations-cair.
2. Svirsky, Meira. “Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) – Nat’l Headquarters.” Clarion Project, January 17, 2013. Accessed November 11, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20170307144542/https://clarionproject.org/council-islamic-relations-cair/.
3. “What We Do.” CAIR Arizona. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://cair-az.org/what-we-do/.
4. “U.S. Corporate Leaders Promote Anti-Arab, Islamophobic Bias.” Islamophobia.org. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://islamophobia.org/special-reports/u-s-corporations-promote-anti-arab-islamophobic-bias/.
5. “Anti-Prejudice Tools.” Islamophobia.org, September 8, 2014. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://islamophobia.org/anti-prejudice-tools/anti-prejudice-tools/.
6. “Report an Incident.” CAIR Arizona. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://cair-az.org/action-center/report-an-incident/.
7. “Guides and Toolkits.” CAIR Arizona. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://cair-az.org/resources/guides-and-toolkits/.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona. 2020. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
9. “Azza Abuseif.” CAIR Arizona. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://cair-az.org/in-the-news/azza-abuseif-2/.
10. “NextGen Climate Expands Mission, Relaunches As NextGen America.” NextGen America. Accessed November 11, 2023. https://nextgenamerica.org/press/nextgen-climate-expands-mission-relaunches-nextgen-america/.