The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Ohio is one of 35 chapters of CAIR, a national Muslim civil liberties organization first established in Washington, D.C. in 1994. The CAIR Ohio chapter first opened in 1998 in Columbus as the third branch of CAIR, which has since added offices in Cleveland and Cincinnati. Today, there are two separate chapters of the Ohio affiliate: CAIR-Ohio, which includes the Columbus and Cincinnati offices, and CAIR-Cleveland. ^{1 2}

CAIR is 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 and the Muslim Brotherhood. ³

CAIR-Ohio became the center of controversy in 2021 when it fired its executive director Romin Iqbal for allegedly passing information to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (ITP), a right-of-center watchdog that investigates Islamist extremism in the United States. ⁴

Activities

Litigation

In September 2013, CAIR Ohio won the case Ahmed v. Holder, which involved a Muslim man who was experiencing a delay of his naturalization application because United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) claimed his background check could not be completed because he was allegedly “under criminal investigation.” Ahmed denied the allegations and USCIS did not produce any evidence to substantiate its claim. CAIR Ohio successfully sued, asking the court to order USCIS to schedule Ahmed’s interview and otherwise proceed with his naturalization application. ⁵

In August 2017, the Columbus office of CAIR Ohio announced that it had reached a settlement with a local company that had wrongfully terminated a Muslim woman. The Muslim woman was terminated in November 2016 after being subjected to a hostile work environment based on her race and religion. The woman received monetary compensation for the harassment to which she was subjected. ⁶

In August 2020, CAIR Ohio announced the reunification of a Muslim couple following the successful resolution of a lawsuit against the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan for failing to process the immigrant visa of the Pakistani wife of a U.S. citizen. Muddasar, a U.S. citizen, met Ayesha in Gujrat, Pakistan and they got married in 2016, but the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad refused to rule on her visa application and provided no explanation as to why a decision was not reached. CAIR Ohio sued the U.S. Department of State in order to force the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad to reach a decision on the immigrant visa application, allowing the couple to return to the United States. ⁷

Filing Complaints

In April 2024, CAIR Ohio condemned the actions of the Ohio State Police Department which arrested 41 Ohio State University pro-Gaza protesters. CAIR Ohio’s complaint asserted that the university demonstrated excessive force in its removal of the students from campus. CAIR Ohio also offered the students free legal services as they face trial for their arrests. ⁸

In February 2025, CAIR Ohio condemned a banner and flags with Nazi swastikas and white supremacist statements put up by a group of neo-Nazis on a highway overpass in a historically Black community in Ohio. ⁹ In addition to CAIR’s complaint, residents chased the neo-Nazi contingent off the highway overpass and set fire to the Nazi flags. ¹⁰

Controversy

In 2021, CAIR Ohio fired its then-executive director Romin Iqbal for allegedly collaborating with the right-of-center anti-extremism group Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT). CAIR considers IPT to be an anti-Muslim group, and Iqbal was accused of sharing information with them for years, including leaking sensitive information and CAIR Ohio meeting recordings. ⁴ Henrix, Sheridan. “What is the Investigative Project on Terrorism, and who is its founder Steve Emerson?” The Columbus Dispatch. December 15, 2021. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2021/12/15/what-investigative-project-terrorism-linked-cair-ohio-firing/8907234002/[/note] CAIR Ohio accused IPT of spying. In response to the spying, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Special Counsel for Hate Crimes at Civil Rights Bureau for the State of New York Richard Sawyer filed cease and desist orders against the Investigative Project on Terrorism, accusing IPT of anti-Muslim hate. ^{11 12}

IPT defended its actions, stating “it will not hesitate to uncover and publicly expose radical Islamist activity on American soil by groups like CAIR.” ¹³ A National Review op-ed defended Steven Emerson and IPT for investigating CAIR, noting that IPT conducted normal investigative work and that CAIR has been linked to terrorist organizations. The opinion piece also condemned media across Ohio and the country for giving CAIR the benefit of the doubt in the story. ¹⁴

Leadership

Khalid Turaani is the executive director of CAIR-Ohio, overseeing operations in the Columbus and Cincinnati offices. He has previously served as a staffer in U.S. Congressional offices and for the European Parliament, along with a decade-long tenure as CEO in the private sector. Turanni has also been involved at the local level in left-of-center coalition-building around electoral politics and voting rights. ¹⁵

Monuza Ashraf is the executive administrator for CAIR Ohio where she works with the executive team to manage special projects to serve the Ohio Muslim community. She has been working in operations at CAIR Ohio since March 2017. She is originally from the United Kingdom where she earned her degree from Keele University in English literature and classics. She has worked with various organizations as a website producer including Virgin.net and the London Business School in the U.K. and for Noor the Islamic Cultural Center. ¹⁵

1. Trombley, Monroe. “What is CAIR-Ohio and what does it do in Columbus?” The Columbus Dispatch. December 15, 2021. Accessed February 10, 2025.  https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2021/12/15/what-cair-ohio-and-what-does-do-columbus/8907566002/
2. “What We Do.” CAIR-Ohio. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://cair-ohio.com/what-we-do/
3. “US Census Bureau Partners with Controversial Muslim Group – Report.” The Jerusalem Post. August 30, 2019. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/us-census-bureau-partners-with-controversial-muslim-group-report-600143
4. Cheung, Karina. “CAIR offers more information on director fired for ties to anti-Muslim group.” NBC4i.com. December 15, 2021. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/cair-offers-more-information-on-director-fired-for-ties-to-anti-muslim-group/
5. “CAIR-Ohio Wins Important Naturalization Delay Lawsuit.” CAIR. September 6, 2013. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-ohio-wins-important-naturalization-delay-lawsuit/
6. “CAIR-Columbus Settles Employment Discrimination Case.” CAIR-Ohio. August 16, 2017. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://staging.cair-ohio.com/cair-columbus-settles-discrimination-lawsuit/
7. “CAIR-Ohio Reunites Family After Successful Lawsuit.” CAIR-Ohio. August 28, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://cair-ohio.com/cair-ohio-reunites-family-after-successful-lawsuit/
8. Wilcox, Jeremiah. “CAIR-Ohio condemns Ohio State police response to campus protesters.” ABC6. April 26, 2024. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/cair-ohio-condemns-osu-police-response-to-campus-protesters
9.  Hooper, Ibrahim. “CAIR-Ohio Condemns Neo-Nazi Group’s Hate Event in Historically Black Neighborhood.” CAIR. February 8, 2025. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-ohio-condemns-neo-nazi-groups-hate-event-in-historically-black-neighborhood/
10. Barnes, Paige. “Neo-Nazis chased out of Greater Cincinnati, local residents set swastika flag ablaze.” Local12. February 7, 2025. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://local12.com/news/local/protestors-with-nazi-flags-stop-traffic-interstate-75-overpass-cincinnati-lincoln-heights-evendale-sign-crowd-protest-masked-police-deputies-flag-fire
11. “Attorney General James Warns Hate Group to Immediately Stop Spying on Muslim Communities.” New York State Attorney General. April 1, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-warns-hate-group-immediately-stop-spying-muslim
12. Sawyer, Richard. “CEASE AND DESIST NOTIFICATION.” STATE OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. April 1, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2022.04.01_ipt_cease_and_desist_vff.pdf
13. Henrix, Sheridan. “What is the Investigative Project on Terrorism, and who is its founder Steve Emerson?” The Columbus Dispatch. December 15, 2021. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2021/12/15/what-investigative-project-terrorism-linked-cair-ohio-firing/8907234002/
14. Caschetta, A.J. “Media Attack Investigative Reporter for Investigating and Reporting on CAIR.” National Review. January 29, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/01/media-attack-investigative-reporter-for-investigating-and-reporting-on-cair/
15. “Meet Our Team.” CAIR-Ohio. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://cair-ohio.com/meet-our-team/