The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Minnesota is a state-level affiliate of CAIR, a prominent Muslim advocacy group founded by Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad. CAIR and its founders have a history of association with and statements on behalf of pro-Hamas organizations. ¹

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota was founded in 2007, ² and is a partner of We Choose Us, a Minnesota-based left-of-center advocacy group. ³

Controversies

Non-Profit Status

In May 2024, the Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota sponsored a “Protest Donald Trump” rally at the annual Minnesota Republican Party Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at which former President Donald Trump delivered a speech. According to the Capital Research Center, CAIR Minnesota’s sponsorship could violate its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status which permits tax-deductible donations but prohibits “directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.” ⁴

Mashal Sherzad

In April 2024, the CAIR Minnesota announced a lawsuit against the University of Minnesota for firing a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) manager for, according to CAIR, expressing “support for Palestine through their personal social media pages.” ⁵ According to a report by the Star Tribune, Mashal Sherzad was fired for making an Instagram post of a picture of her taken at a “pro-Palestinian” protest in Barcelona where she was “standing in front of an Israeli flag with swastikas painted on it.” In another post, she referred to Israel’s conduct in the conflict against Hamas as genocide. The university fired Sherzad following requests for her to take down the posts. Sherzad is demanding $75,000 in damages and to be rehired at her position. ⁶

Shaun King

In March 2024, CAIR Minnesota announced that Shaun King, a controversial social media activist formerly affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, would be speaking at the organization’s 17th annual Ramadan Fundraising Dinner. Hours later, CAIR Minnesota disinvited King following public outcry against King for allegedly misallocating charitable funds, colluding with Hamas, and other misconducts. ⁷

Hamline University

In late 2022 and early 2023, CAIR Minnesota publicly defended Hamline University president Fayneese Miller who made the decision to fire professor Erika Lopez Prater and publicly call her Islamophobic after she displayed Muslim-drawn pictures of Muhammad in class. The national Council on American-Islamic Relations disagreed with CAIR Minnesota’s support for Miller and defended Prater, stating, “We see no evidence that Professor Erika Lopez Prater acted with Islamophobic intent.” Miller faced backlash from within Hamline University; a majority of full-time faculty voted in favor of a measure to ask Miller to resign. Prater sued the university and Miller publicly backtracked on calling Prater’s actions Islamophobic. In April, Miller resigned under pressure. CAIR Minnesota responded by recommending that Muslim students leave the school. ^{8 9}

The ordeal brought scrutiny upon CAIR Minnesota executive director Jaylani Hussein in particular, who in Prater’s lawsuit was portrayed as a bully. According to the Middle East Forum, Hussein “obliquely [suggested] at a campus meeting on Dec. 8, 2022… that if they don’t submit to the Islamophobia Regime he was trying to enforce, the school could be the scene of violence similar to what was endured by staffers at Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris in 2015 who were murdered by jihadists angry over the publication of insulting pictures of Muhammad.” ¹⁰

Leadership

Jaylani Hussein is the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota. He has worked with the group since January 2015 and previously worked as outreach director. Prior, Hussein worked at the Metropolitan State University and for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. ¹¹ Hussein has been on the board of the Islamic Cultural Center of Minnesota and the advisory boards of the Wilder Foundation and Muslim Youth of Minnesota. ¹²

Mayzer Muhammad was the board chair of CAIR Minnesota as of 2022. In 2017, Muhammad was the president of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at the University of St. Thomas, and in 2016 he served as the president of the university’s Muslim Students Association. In 2011, he was affiliated with the university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. ^{13 14}

In 2017, the USG motioned for a vote of no confidence against Muhammad in response to revelations about a series of antisemitic tweets he had made over previous years, including referring to supporters of Israel as “the scum of the earth,” and saying that Jews will “get [what’s] coming for them.” Muhammad claimed that he was not antisemitic and that the posts did not reflect his true beliefs. He survived the vote and remained in his position as undergraduate president through the end of the year. ¹⁵

1. “US Census Bureau Partners with Controversial Muslim Group – Report.” The Jerusalem Post. August 30, 2019. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/us-census-bureau-partners-with-controversial-muslim-group-report-600143
2. “CAIR-MN Welcomes Jaylani Hussein as Executive Director.” CAIR. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.cair.com/american_muslim_news/cair-mn-welcomes-jaylani-hussein-as-executive-director/.
3. “Partners.” We Choose Us. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.wechooseusmn.com/partners.
4. Mauro, Ryan. “Did CAIR Violate Its Tax-Exempt Status by Endorsing an Anti-Trump Protest?” Capital Research Center. May 17, 2024. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://capitalresearch.org/article/did-cair-violate-its-tax-exempt-status-by-endorsing-an-anti-trump-protest/.
5. “CAIR-Minnesota to Announce Legal Actions Against University for Firing of Muslim Employee Based on Pro-Palestine Posts.” CAIR. April 25, 2024. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-minnesota-to-announce-legal-actions-against-university-for-firing-of-muslim-employee-based-on-pro-palestine-posts-2/.
6. Navratil, Liz. “Former diversity worker sues University of Minnesota after firing over swastika photo.” Star Tribune. April 29, 2024. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.startribune.com/former-diversity-worker-sues-university-of-minnesota-after-firing-over-swastika-photo/600362010/.
7. “CAIR MN drops activist Shaun King as keynote speak of its Ramadan fundraiser.” CBS News. March 22, 2024. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/cair-mn-shaun-king-ramadan-fundraiser/.
8. Dernbach, Becky Z.; Peters, Joey. “Hamline President Fayneese Miller defends leadership, criticizes media in speech announcing her retirement.” Sahan Journal. April 3, 2023. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://sahanjournal.com/education/hamline-university-fayneese-miller-departure-prophet-muhammad-erika-lopez-prater/.
9. Van Zile, Dexter. “CAIR vs. CAIR at Hamline Univ.; Inciting a Firing.” Middle East Forum. January 25, 2023. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/64077/cair-vs-cair-at-hamline-univ-inciting-a-firing.
10. Van Zile, Dexter. “CAIR vs. CAIR at Hamline Univ.; Inciting a Firing.” Middle East Forum. January 25, 2023. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/64077/cair-vs-cair-at-hamline-univ-inciting-a-firing.
11. “Jaylani Hussein,” LinkedIn. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaylani-hussein-82574318/
12. “CAIR-MN Welcomes Jaylani Hussein as Executive Director.” CAIR. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.cair.com/american_muslim_news/cair-mn-welcomes-jaylani-hussein-as-executive-director/.
13. “Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/450553731/202313199349322941/full.
14. “Mayzer Muhammad.” Canary Mission. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://canarymission.org/individual/Mayzer_Muhammad.
15. “Mayzer Muhammad.” Canary Mission. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://canarymission.org/individual/Mayzer_Muhammad.