Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)

CAIR was founded in 1994 by Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad, who were both officials at the pro-Hamas Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP). ³ Awad and Ahmad had attended a summit for Hamas sympathizers in 1993, although the U.S. State Department only labeled Hamas a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997. ^{4 3}

Over the years, CAIR’s alleged ties to Hamas have proved troublesome for the organization. In 2007, federal prosecutors reportedly designated CAIR a co-conspirator with the Holy Land Foundation, a group that was eventually convicted for financing terrorism.⁵

CAIR is an opponent of American anti-terrorism policies like the PATRIOT Act, citing civil liberties concerns. ⁶ CAIR’s leaders are extremely anti-Israel,¹ claiming that terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah are liberation movements. ¹

Following the terrorist attacks against Israel by the terror organization Hamas on October 7, 2023, CAIR executive director Nihad Awad seemingly praised the attacks against Israel at an event for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), stating, “I was happy to see people breaking the siege…the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves, and yes, Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense.” ⁷ In addition, he praised members of the terrorist organization Hamas that committed the attacks, claiming, “Israel did not scare them, because they knew their heaven is in Gaza, and if they would like to die, they will go to another heaven. That is the faith of the people of Gaza.” ⁷

Awad’s comments sparked immediate backlash, with the White House and then-President Joe Biden condemning the statement and even AMP deleting the original video of his address from its Youtube page. Awad later released a statement claiming he did not support the attacks of October 7, but instead was praising, “[t]he average Palestinians who briefly walked out of Gaza and set foot on their ethnically cleansed land in a symbolic act of defiance against the blockade and stopped there without engaging in violence.”⁷ He also claimed that, “Targeting civilians is unacceptable, no matter whether they are Israeli or Palestinian or any other nationality.”⁷

Alleged Association with the Muslim Brotherhood

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) grew out of the Islamic Association for Palestine, a group that was created by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.⁸ The Muslim Brotherhood also identified the Islamic Association for Palestine as one of its United States fronts.⁹

In 1993, the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee organized a secret meeting in Philadelphia that was surveilled by the FBI.¹⁰ At the meeting, two Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) officials (Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad) claimed to discuss the need to create a new “neutral” entity for influencing U.S. policy and opinion to support Hamas because “it [was] known who we are.”⁹

A year later, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad formed CAIR. ⁹ Ahmad served as CAIR chairman until 2005, and Nihad Awad remains the executive director of CAIR.⁹

In October 2025, U.S Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX 21) announced he had introduced H.R.5890 or the “No Tax-Exemptions for Terror Act” to the U.S House of Representatives. The bill would remove the tax-exempt status for CAIR as well as other groups he claimed had “close ties to terrorist organizations.” ^{11 12} As of June 2026, the bill had not been voted on since being introduced to the House Ways and Means Committee, but that same month Rep. Roy announced on X (formerly Twitter) he would soon be introducing similar legislation to remove the tax-exempt status for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). ^{13 12}

Structure

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) purports to be the largest Muslim civil liberties organization in the United States, with a headquarters in Washington, D.C. and chapters in several states, including Maryland, North Carolina, Alabama, Arizona, California (with four additional distinct chapters for San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento), Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois (Chicago), Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio (with one for Cleveland and one for Columbus and Cincinnati), Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (one for Pittsburgh and one for Philadelphia), Texas (one for Houston and one for Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth), and Washington State. ^{14 15}

Financials

Council on American-Islamic Relations raises money for its national organization through a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization called the CAIR Foundation, but it also retains its first nonprofit based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 2023, the CAIR Foundation reported revenue of $7,942,722, expenses of $6,354,365, and net assets of $6,050,799. ¹⁶ Additionally, CAIR directly operates the Washington Trust Foundation, housed in the commonwealth of Virginia, which serves as an asset-holder for the CAIR network. ^{17 18} In 2023, the Washington Trust Foundation reported total assets of $16,679,198 and total liabilities of $10,483,939. ¹⁹

In 2023, the Oklahoma-based Council on American-Islamic Relations reported revenue of $729,695, expenses of $760,627, and net assets of $28,844. ²⁰ As of 2023, its principal officer was listed as Adam Soltani on its tax return. ²¹

CAIR has separate 501(c)(3) organizations for each of its state-based organizations, located in those respective states. ²²

Funding

In 2018, CAIR received $31,000 from the Anwar Foundation. ²³

CAIR has received grants from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors ($30,000 since 2008) and the Tides Foundation ($5,000 since 2002). ²⁴

In 2020, CAIR received $9,445 from United Way Worldwide. ²⁵

Foreign Contributions

In 2013, it was revealed that from approximately 2007 to 2012, CAIR transferred $1.08 million to the CAIR Foundation.²⁶ CAIR, Inc., had disclosed in 2005 that it received a total of $1.2 million from six contributors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. ²⁷

Subsequently in 2013, in its petition for nonprofit status reinstatement, the CAIR Foundation acknowledged that that it had received $405,000 from the government of Qatar during the five-year period that it failed to file IRS annual disclosures.²⁶

Nonprofit Status Controversy

The CAIR Foundation had obtained its tax-exempt status in 2007,²⁸ but failed to file the required IRS annual reports. It lost its tax-exempt status in June 2011.^{29 30} In August 2011, ³¹ the CAIR Foundation filed for re-instatement with the IRS as a nonprofit charity.³²

In 2011, then-U.S. Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) called for an IRS investigation of the organization because it was revealed that it had solicited overseas contributions from then-Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi during the years in which the CAIR Foundation failed to file its annual IRS reports.³³

Rep. Wolf pointed to a 2009 letter that CAIR Foundation executive director Nihad Awad sent to Gaddafi requesting $15 million to support the Muslim Peace Foundation.³³ Rep. Wolf noted that the letter was written with the full knowledge of the regime’s brutal treatment of its opponents and its deplorable human-rights record, as well as its long history of acts of international terrorism.³³

Rep. Wolf also claimed that he also had information indicating that during the same years, “CAIR representatives may have traveled to Sudan to solicit funds from Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir, an internationally indicted war criminal.”³⁴

In October 2025, U.S Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX 21) announced he had introduced H.R.5890 or the “No Tax-Exemptions for Terror Act” to the U.S House of Representatives. The bill would remove the tax-exempt status for CAIR as well as other groups he claimed had “close ties to terrorist organizations.” ^{11 12}

Programs

The CAIR Foundation claims to advocate and educate on behalf of Muslims using media relations, government relations, education/advocacy activities, and voter-registration efforts.³⁵

In 2015, the CAIR Foundation claimed to have spent $353,000 on communications to spin Islam and Muslims in a positive light, and $101,000 on government relations.³⁶

CAIR additionally engages in organized lobbying efforts and responds to legislation and government actions.³⁶ Despite not filing any lobbying-registration documents,³⁷ CAIR says that it coordinated 325 meetings with members of Congress or their staffs in 2015 and 2016.³⁸ (Federal lobbying registration law requires registration once certain thresholds are met; non-registration despite meeting members does not necessarily imply impropriety.)

Additionally, in 2012, the White House acknowledged that President Barack Obama’s deputies held “hundreds” of closed-door meetings with CAIR representatives.³⁹

In 2009, five members of Congress and one U.S Senator wrote a letter to the IRS and the House and Senate Clerks claiming that CAIR potentially violated both the IRS rules against excessive lobbying by a 501(c)(3) organization and the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 2005 for failing to register as lobbyists.⁴⁰

Policy Advocacy

Civil Liberties

In 2003, CAIR and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed a lawsuit titled Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor v. Ashcroft challenging the constitutionality of the USA PATRIOT Act,⁶ alleging that it violated the civil liberties of Americans, particularly Muslims.⁴¹ CAIR also endorsed the Civil Liberties Restoration Act of 2004, which was designed to roll back national-security policies that had been adopted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.⁴²

In 2007, former CAIR Board Chairman⁴³ Parvez Ahmed said, “The new perception is that the United States has entered a war with Islam itself” and that “The war on terror is causing us infinitely more harm than the terrorists could have ever imagined.” Ahmed claimed that the Bush administration had used fear to generally create bad policies.⁴⁴

Islamic Religious Law

In a 1998 San Ramon Valley Herald article, Lisa Gardiner wrote that CAIR co-founder Omar Ahmad proclaimed that “Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran … should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.”⁴⁵

Similarly, in 1993, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper told a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “I wouldn’t want to create the impression that I wouldn’t like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future.”⁴⁶

In 2014, Nihad Awad signed a letter denouncing the jihadist militant group Islamic State (ISIS). However, the letter appeared to support the imposition of Islamic religious law in civil contexts: The letter specifically stated, “Hudud punishments are fixed in the Qu’ran and Hadith and are unquestionably obligatory in Islamic Law.”⁴⁷

Terrorist Support

CAIR actively defended convicted Palestinian Islamic Jihad financier Sami Al-Arian before and after his conviction for financing terrorism. On the day Al-Arian was arrested, CAIR co-founder and then-Chairman Omar Ahmad issued a press release in support of Al-Arian,⁴⁸ saying that his arrest was due to “political considerations, not legitimate national security problems.”⁴⁹ A CAIR spokesman, echoing a common anti-Israel trope, blamed his arrest on the “pro-Israel lobby.”⁵⁰

In February 2007, CAIR endorsed a call by the American Muslim Taskforce for Civil Rights and Elections for a worldwide “rolling fast” in support of Al-Arian, who had declared a hunger strike.⁵¹ In 2008, CAIR executive director Nihad Awad led a delegation to visit Al-Arian, stating that “[Awad] believes in [Al-Arian’s] just cause and we were there to support him.”⁵²

In the hours after the deadly 2015 San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack in which Islamist terrorists had murdered 14 people and wounded 31 others, CAIR “advised” the family of the suspected terrorist and held a press conference featuring the family of the killers.⁵³ In the days that followed, CAIR offered legal assistance to the family, and CAIR’s Los Angeles chapter appeared in court to help the terrorist’s sister obtain custody of his child.⁵⁴ During this time, CAIR’s Los Angeles chapter director, Hussam Ayloush, said the United States was partly responsible for such acts of terror, saying “let’s not forget that some of our own foreign policy as Americans, as the West, have fueled that extremism.”⁵⁵

Legitimizing Terrorism

In 2008, CAIR’s then-National Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed described terror organizations Hamas and Hezbollah as “part of the political processes in their societies, just like the [Irish Republican Army, an Irish nationalist terror group] was part of the political process in their society.”⁵⁶

In 2004, when asked by Al-Jazeera about the U.S. designations of Hamas and Hezbollah as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Nihad Awad said “we do not and will not condemn any liberation movement inside Palestine or Lebanon.”⁵⁷

Anti-Israel

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “CAIR’s anti-Israel agenda dates back to its founding by leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a Hamas affiliated anti-Semitic propaganda organization.”¹

In 1994, CAIR founder and executive director Nihad Awad said, “I am in support of Hamas.”⁵⁸ Later that year, he said Hamas was under occupation and thus should be allowed to defend itself.⁵⁹

In a 2004 interview with Al Jazeera, Awad said, “If they want us to condemn a liberation movement inside Palestine or inside Lebanon they should condemn Israel tens of times on all levels at all times, and we will not condemn any organization.”¹

CAIR officials have displayed a double standard for denouncing violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.⁶⁰ For example, Ibrahim Hooper in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview refused to denounce the terrorism of Hamas and Hezbollah, stating “we’re not in the business of condemning.”⁶¹ By contrast, when Israeli troops killed Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin, CAIR condemned “the assassination of a wheelchair-bound Palestinian Muslim religious leader,” calling the operation “an act of state terror.”⁶²

The Investigative Project on Terrorism noted that CAIR’s failure to denounce Hamas has come while the organization has committed countless violent acts that have killed numerous Israeli non-combatants.⁶⁰

In December 2023, CAIR executive director Nihad Awad spoke at an event for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) praising the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023. He stated, “…I was happy to see people breaking the siege…the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves, and yes, Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense.” ⁷ In addition, he praised the members of the terrorist organization Hamas that committed the attacks, claiming, “Israel did not scare them, because they knew their heaven is in Gaza, and if they would like to die, they will go to another heaven. That is the faith of the people of Gaza.” ⁷ Awad’s comments sparked immediate backlash, with the White House and President Joe Biden condemning the statement and even removing CAIR from its list of organizations participating in its U.S. National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism program. In addition, AMP soon deleted the original video of Awad’s address from its  YouTube page. In a reaction to the controversy, Awad released a statement claiming he did not support the attacks of October 7, but instead praised, “The average Palestinians who briefly walked out of Gaza and set foot on their ethnically cleansed land in a symbolic act of defiance against the blockade and stopped there without engaging in violence…”⁷ He also claimed that, “Targeting civilians is unacceptable, no matter whether they are Israeli or Palestinian or any other nationality.”⁷

On May 6, 2024, CAIR was one of roughly 100 organizations that signed a letter sent to then-U.S Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and then-Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) seeking to block the passage of H.R.6408 /S.4136. that would strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofits identified as supporting terrorist organizations. The signatories claimed that such a bill is motivated by “anti-Palestinian bias” and will “undermine our nation’s democratic freedoms and principles” if passed. ⁶³ Other groups that signed include American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Samidoun, and The People’s Forum. ^{63 64}

In December 2024, CAIR released a statement condemning a raid by law enforcement of the home of two George Mason University (GMU) students, sisters Jena and Noor Chanaa, who were also identified as leaders of the SJP chapter on the GMU campus that had engaged in vandalism earlier in August around GMU’s Johnson student center with messages calling for a “student intifada.” ⁶⁵ According to a Washington Free Beacon article, law enforcement officials were granted a warrant to search the home, where they found multiple firearms and ammunition, foreign passports, and pro-terror materials which included Hamas and Hezbollah flags as well as signs reading “death to America” and “death to Jews.” ⁶⁵ In addition, it was reported by The Intercept that “antique firearms” were seized that had been registered to the sister’s brother GMU alum Mohammad Chanaa, whom police stated was “linked to destruction of property in connection with a large group of people with like-minded rhetoric.” ⁶⁵ CAIR later condemned the raid while accusing authorities of using “draconian measures” to “silence or intimidate those who seek to end the Israeli genocide in Gaza.” ⁶⁵

In March of 2025, CAIR advised non-citizen residents of the United States to take precautions in response to the Trump Administration’s deportation of non-citizen residents who expressed support for Hamas or pro-Hamas groups. The council recommended purchasing a “burner phone,” or deleting apps and pictures that could raise red flags to law enforcement. CAIR additionally advised non-citizens to reduce their participation in activism against Israel or the United States. ⁶⁶

In April 2025, CAIR asked for New York-based federal Judge Arun Subramanian to delay Columbia University in turning over documents to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) regarding the Columbia-based chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which was suspended from the campus in November 2023, and its activities as well as finances in regard to potential connections to terrorist groups. CAIR requested the University be delayed by 30 days for the group to review the documents to be released, though Judge Subramanian only allowed a two-day period that expired on April 11. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the attempted delay over CAIR and other groups suing Columbia University’s board of trustees on behalf of “detained protest leader Mahmoud Khalil” and several anti-Israeli protesters that objected to the documents being released over concerns they would implicate Khalil and others. ⁶⁷ According to the Washington Free Beacon, Judge Subramanian, on behalf of CAIR, had previously ordered a 30-day delay at the beginning of April for Columbia in releasing other documents so they could be reviewed by CAIR. The group claimed it was due to concerns that such documents would contain student records. However, Columbia released a statement claiming that documents requested by HELP regarding SJP activities were not subject to the previous 30-day delay order since they did not “include any student records.” ⁶⁷

Consulting in Public Schools

In 2021, a report card of various educational contractors and consultants was released by Parents Defending Education (PDE). The report listed consultants who work with schools implementing Critical Race Theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) curriculums and policies. CAIR was named as one of the consulting groups in the report. PDE reported that in 2017, CAIR signed a partnership agreement with the San Diego Unified School District to teach “anti-bullying” material in classrooms. The fine print of the contract, obtained by PDE, specified that CAIR planned a “Teaching Against Islamophobia Training Program” for faculty and staff, “Cultural Competency Training” on Islam and the Muslim community, and to serve as a “American Muslim Community Resource” for the district. In return, the school district promised its newsletter would detail the activities. ⁶⁸ However, the contract was quickly cancelled after a parent and the community protested CAIR’s alleged insertion of religious propaganda into the anti-bullying material being taught in the classroom.  ⁶⁹ PDE’s report also claimed that CAIR had worked for Minneapolis Public Schools and Spring Lake Park School District 16 in Minnesota, and Seattle Public Schools in Washington.

“Hate-Free Philanthropy”

On May 6, 2019, CAIR released a report titled “Hijacked by Hate: American Philanthropy and the Islamophobia Network,” which listed several mainstream philanthropic foundations it claimed had been donating to organizations considered anti-Muslim hate groups between 2014 and 2016. ⁷⁰ According to the report, roughly 1,096 philanthropies had been used to donate over $125 million towards the “Islamophobia Network” during the two-year window. Such organizations listed in the network include the Fidelity Charitable Fund, the National Christian Charitable Foundation, and the Jewish Communal Fund. The network also claimed that President Donald Trump is part of an “Anti-Muslim Hydra Administration” and that more than a dozen members of his administration have been a part of these anti-Muslim groups.⁷⁰

On March 10, 2020, CAIR, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the American Muslim Fund (AMF), released a white paper discussing how philanthropic nonprofits can deny funding to organizations classified as hate groups. Titled “Hate-Free Philanthropy,” the white paper discussed areas including the issue of “hate-funding” for philanthropies, understanding the role of donor-advised funds, the role of private sectors like Big Tech in pushing anti-hate policies, and how the philanthropic community can develop a framework for “greater reform.” ⁷¹ The white paper itself was a product of a symposium in August 2019 which included CAIR, SPLC, and the AMF along with several dozen like-minded advocates and organizations. ⁷¹

Immigration Assistance Under the Biden Administration

In June 2025, CAIR was one of 215 non-governmental organizations (NGO) the U.S House of Homeland Security Committee noted as having received federal funding during the Biden Administration to settle undocumented migrants in the United Stated while helping “fuel the worst border crisis in our nation’s history.” ⁷² House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) and Subcommittee Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) sent letters to the over 200 organizations demanding the full amount in “federal grants, contracts or payments” they received  “between Jan. 19, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025” as well as additional information on potential legal action they might have taken against the Federal Government and all services they provided to undocumented migrants during that period of time. The letters further read “[t]he Committee remains deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration, and stand ready to do so under future Democrat administrations.” ^{72 73}

2025 New York City Mayor Race

On November 3, 2025, a video of Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour was posted on X (formerly Twitter) in which she spoke about NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and the support his campaign has received. She commented “Once November 4th comes around, I will tell the story…it’s Muslim money…the PACs that have supported Zohran or a particular PAC that has supported Zohran is probably over 80% of Muslim-American donors in this country.” ⁷⁴ She also alleged “[a]nd I wanna…make the point that the Unity and Justice Fund PAC, which is the CAIR Super PAC, was the largest institutional donor…to the pro-Zohran PAC in New York.” ⁷⁴

Alignment with Left-of-Center Organizations

CAIR partners with a number of groups that are involved with organized American left-wing politics and advocacy including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Hispanic Unity, and the NAACP.⁷⁵

In October 2011, CAIR’s New York chapter expressed its support for the anti-capitalist movement Occupy Wall Street.⁷⁶ In 2016, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said, “Black Lives Matter is our campaign.”⁷⁷ In 2017, CAIR joined the “Women’s March on Washington.”⁷⁸

In 2017, CAIR condemned President Trump’s termination of the DACA immigration program and encouraged CAIR members to attend a rally for the DREAM Act hosted by the left-of-center immigration group United We Dream.⁷⁹

According to the Middle East Forum, since 2000, CAIR’s “key figures” have given over $700,000 to political candidates, with $635,000 going to Democrats. CAIR officials have been supportive of left-wing Muslims in Congress, providing $138,098 to then-U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) and $38,126 to U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN). The group’s figures have supported institutional Democrats and Democratic Party committees, providing $35,635 to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, $24,138 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and approximately $37,000 to former President Barack Obama’s campaign committees. ⁸⁰

Ties to Terror

Terror Financing Co-Conspirator

CAIR Executive Director Awad originally denied that CAIR had ever received money from the Holy Land Foundation, declaring, “Our organization did not receive any seed money from HLFRD.” However, it was later revealed that two months after its founding, CAIR had taken a $5,000 donation from the Holy Land Foundation. ⁸¹

In 2008, five leaders of the Holy Land Foundation were convicted of funneling $12 million to Hamas after 1995, when the Clinton administration banned any dealings with Hamas. ⁸² The case was previously described as “the largest successful terror financing prosecution in U.S. history.”⁸³

During a preceding 2007 trial against the Holy Land Foundation, prosecutors named CAIR as unindicted co-conspirators in the case and introduced evidence that linked CAIR, Inc., to the Holy Land Foundation and the “U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Palestine Committee.”⁵

In 2009, on appeal, a federal judge upheld the designation of CAIR as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case.⁸⁴ The judge found that the government presented “ample evidence to establish the association” between CAIR and Hamas,⁸⁴ a Palestinian terrorist organization, and between CAIR and the Holy Land Foundation.⁸⁵

After these findings, the FBI explained that it had suspended contact with CAIR.¹

United Arab Emirates Terror Designation

In November 2014, “Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)” was designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates,⁸⁶ due to its alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.⁸⁷

CAIR Employees and Officials

According to the Middle East Quarterly, at least five individuals connected to CAIR as employees and local chapter board members have been arrested, convicted, deported, or otherwise linked to terrorism-related charges and activities.⁸⁸

Among these CAIR associates is Randall (“Ismail”) Royer, a CAIR communications specialist⁸⁹ and civil-rights coordinator⁹⁰ who was arrested in June 2003 with 10 others known as the “Virginia jihad group.” They were indicted on 41 counts of “conspiracy to train for and participate in a violent jihad overseas.”⁹¹ Royer’s eventual guilty plea deal stipulated that the events culminating in his arrest occurred at least in part while he was working for CAIR.⁸⁹

Among the other CAIR associates convicted of crimes related to terror are Ghassan Elashi, a co-founder of Texas CAIR convicted in 2005 of terrorism-related offenses and sentenced to almost seven years’ imprisonment, and former CAIR board member Abdurahman Alamoudi, sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment for directing at least $1 million to al-Qaeda.⁹²

Biden Administration

In December 2023, the Biden administration formally disavowed CAIR after its executive director Nihad Awad expressed he was “happy to see” Palestinians “break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp [Gaza]” on October 7th, 2023, referring to the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israeli citizens that day. Awad added that the people of Gaza “have the right to self-defense” and that Israel does not because it is an “occupying power.” In response, a spokesman for then-President Biden, Andrew Bates, said the administration “condemn[s] these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms.” ⁹³

The New York Times noted that CAIR officer Robert McCaw was invited to lecture during a “listening session on Islamophobia” held by the White House and attended by Doug Emhoff, husband of then-Vice President Kamala Harris, in May 2023. ⁹⁴

Second Trump Administration

In August 2025, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-AR), whom also serves as Chair of the U.S Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requesting it investigate CAIR over possible violations of its501(c)(3) tax-exempt status due to its “ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.” ⁹⁵ Sen. Hawley’s letter also requested for a federal probe into CAIR’s “financial records, affiliations, and activities” while also stating “[t]ax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right, and it should not subsidize organizations with links to terrorism.” ⁹⁵

In November of 2025, Greg Abbot (R-Texas) signed a proclamation that called for the designation of the Council on American Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations in texas. CAIR claimed Abbot’s actions were a “publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation” ⁹⁶

In December 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) passed Executive Order 25-244, which designated CAIR as a “terrorist organization” while stripping it and state affiliates of contacts as well as funding opportunities and public benefits. That same month, on December 15 several nonprofits and legal firms filed a lawsuit on behalf of CAIR and CAIR Florida alleging the executive order was unconstitutional by blocking free speech. The groups included the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), CAIR Legal Defense Fund, the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA) and Akeel & Valentine. In March 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida approved a temporary injunction to block DeSantis’ executive order while the lawsuit continues. ⁹⁷

As of 2026, CAIR has filed legal challenges against state laws in Texas and Florida that designated the organization as a terrorist group. CAIR argued that the designations violated its constitutional rights to free speech, assembly, and due process, while state officials defended the measures. ⁹⁸

Leadership

Nihad Awad

As of February 2025, Nihad Awad was serving as the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). ⁹⁹ Award has held this position since 1994, when he founded the organization with its first chairman Omar Ahmad. ¹⁰⁰

In 1993, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad both attended a conference of Hamas sympathizers in Philadelphia, according to the FBI. The FBI also disclosed that defendants of the Holy Land Foundation attended the meeting and had been bugged by the Bureau. During the Holy Land Foundation case, FBI special agent Lara Burns testified that CAIR was “formed in the aftermath of a 1993 meeting by Palestinian activists in America who brainstormed ways to spread pro-Hamas messages here without attracting too much attention.” ³

Similarly, former FBI counterterrorism chief Oliver “Buck” Revell described the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), Awad’s former place of work where he was employed as the spokesman and public relations director, as “a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants.” ^{3 100}

In 1994, Awad stated he was “in support of the Hamas movement.” Later, in 2006, he revised his position, saying, “I don’t support Hamas today,” with subsequent denials from CAIR of having any ties to the group. ^{101 93}

In 1995, Awad personally met with then-Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating (R) after the Oklahoma City Bombing and donated to its relief fund. ⁹⁹

In 1997, Awad served on then-Vice President Al Gore’s Civil Rights Advisory Panel to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. Award also has met with former U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell to represent the American Muslim community. ⁹⁹

During the 2000 presidential election, Awad was instrumental in creating the American Muslim Political Coordinating Committee (AMPCC), an effort to form the first Muslim voting bloc in a U.S. national election. ⁹⁹

Awad was invited by President George W. Bush shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to speak at a press conference at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. ⁹⁹

Awad has served many times in the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Program to welcome foreign dignitaries, scholars, and reporters seeking to meet the American president. Awad has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on issues pertaining to the American Muslim community. ⁹⁹

Awad has spoken at a number of American universities including Harvard, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins, and participated in a 2002 forum on global cooperation held by Reuters and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He has also been featured on CNN, BBC, PBS, C-SPAN, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Al-Jazeera. ⁹⁹

In December 2023, Awad praised “the people of Gaza” for “break[ing] the siege, the walls of the concentration camp” in light of the terrorist attacks against the nation of Israel committed by Hamas on October 7th, 2023. The Biden administration condemned the statement. ⁹³

Board of Directors

As of 2025, Manal Fakhoury was the board chair of CAIR’s national organization. She is the president and CEO of Fakhoury Leadership International and serves on the boards of Truist Bank, the YMCA, the American Heart Association Heart Walk, Rotary International, and Toastmasters International. She has previously served as the chairwoman of the Chamber of Commerce. ¹⁰²

The national board vice chair was Emad Sabbah, the founder of computer services company Compu-Shack.Net in Atlanta, Georgia and the founder of Georgians for Syrian Refugees. ¹⁰³ The national board treasurer was Eyas Abdeen, who manages the hedging and future purchasing of natural gas for the State of California’s Department of General Service and was previously the president of CAIR-California. ¹⁰⁴ The national board secretary was Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, the first Muslim Chaplain at Howard University, the former head of the National Association of Muslim Chaplains in Higher Education, and the chair of government relations for the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA). ¹⁰⁵ Other board members included attorney John Floyd, immigration activist Spojmie Nasiri, construction consultant Saleh Mubarak, CAIR executive director Nihad Awad, and attorney Noor Bahhur. ¹⁰⁶