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Person

Nihad Awad

Nationality:

Palestinian-American
Born:

1964
Occupation(s):

Co-Founder & National Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

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Nihad Awad is a co-founder and the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights advocacy organization in the United States. 1 Before co-founding CAIR, Awad worked for the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a now-defunct organization accused of being “part of the ‘propaganda apparatus’ of Hamas.” 2

Awad has been recognized among the most influential American Muslim scholars and civil rights advocates by political entities, corporations, and international groups, including former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Al Gore, Nike, and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. 1

Awad has been accused of propagating antisemitic tropes against the State of Israel and its alliance with the United States. He and his CAIR associates have also been the center of substantial controversy, including through Awad’s expressed support for Hamas, his and CAIR’s connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, and his connection to various radical Islamists such as Abdul-Majid al-Zindani. 2

In December 2023, Awad expressed apparent support for the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023. Awad spoke at an American Muslims for Palestine event during which he claimed to be “happy” to see Palestinians fighting against what he considers to be Israeli oppression and colonialism. Awad walked back his claims after receiving severe backlash for his comments, including from then-President Joe Biden. 3

Education and Early Career

Nihad Awad is a Palestinian-American who studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota in the 1990s. 4 Before becoming the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Awad worked for the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) as the group’s public relations director. 2 IAP is a defunct group that was accused of providing material support for terrorism in the United States for Hamas. IAP was connected to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, another defunct organization allegedly involved in terrorism financing, and was founded with financial support from Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook. 5

A December 1989 IAP communiqué stated: “The only way to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine, is the path of Jihad… Hamas is the conscience of the Palestinian Mujahid people.” In 1987, immediately following the establishment of Hamas, IAP began to print and distribute Hamas literature, including Hamas communiqués. 2

In June 1994, then-IAP president Omar Ahmad and Rafiq Jabir founded the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Awad was hired as the executive director. 6 Awad remains the national executive director at CAIR as of January 2025. 1

Since assuming his role within CAIR, Nihad Awar has been recognized by American political figures, international organizations, and private corporations as a prominent Muslim leader and advocate. 1

After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, Awad flew to Oklahoma to aid in the relief effort. He met with then-Governor Frank Keating (R-OK) and gave the governor a donation for the victims’ fund on behalf of the American Muslim community. 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. Awad has also met with former U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell to discuss the needs of the American Muslim community. 1

For the 2000 presidential election, Awad played a key role in the American Muslim Political Coordinating Committee (AMPCC), an umbrella organization of the largest American Muslim organizations, which helped to create the first Muslim voting bloc for a presidential election. Awad is also a regular participant in the U.S. Department of State’s “International Visitors Program”, which welcomes foreign dignitaries, journalists and academics visiting the President of the United States. 1

A few days after September 11, 2001, Awad was one of the few American Muslim leaders invited by the White House to join President George W. Bush in a press conference at the Islamic Center of Washington, the oldest mosque in Washington, D.C. Awad has also testified before both houses of the U.S. Congress. 1

Awad has spoken at several educational institutions, including Harvard University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University. He was also a featured speaker at the 2002 Reuters Forum on global cooperation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. In addition, he works with local and national interfaith leaders and organizations. 1

Numerous law enforcement agencies and Fortune 500 companies, including Nike and DKNY, have participated in CAIR educational seminars which present a left-of-center perspective on Islamic traditions and culture. Awad has conducted over 100 public relations and media training seminars nationwide in furtherance of CAIR’s mission to spread pro-Palestinian Muslim advocacy in the United States. 1

Awad was also listed in the annual Jordanian publication, The Muslim 500: the World’s Most Influential Muslims, which noted that Awad coordinated the formal release of the Open Letter to Abu Bakar Al-Baghdadi, signed by over 120 leading Muslim scholars and academics, which rejected the extremist teachings promoted by the Islamic State (ISIS). 7

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Background

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a large and prominent advocacy organization for Muslims in the United States. Throughout its history, CAIR has been suspected of supporting political Islamist movements, especially the Muslim Brotherhood. 8

In 1993, the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee organized a secret meeting in Philadelphia that was surveilled by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). 9 At the meeting, two Islamic Association for Palestine officials (Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad) discussed 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.” 8

A year later, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad formed CAIR. Ahmad served as CAIR’s chairman until 2005, and Nihad Awad remains the executive director of CAIR. 8

Ties to Terrorism

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, saying that his arrest was due to “political considerations, not legitimate national security problems.” 10 11 A CAIR spokesman, echoing a common anti-Israel trope, blamed his arrest on the “pro-Israel lobby.” 12

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. 13 Then, 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.” 14

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.” 15 In 2006, Awad rejected some tactics associated with Palestinian militants, claiming, “[m]y position and CAIR’s position is extremely clear—we condemn suicide bombings. We are mainstream American Muslims.” 16

Terror Financing Co-Conspirator

CAIR executive director Nihad Awad originally denied that CAIR had ever received money from the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), declaring, “Our organization did not receive any seed money from HLFRD.” However, it was later revealed that two months after its founding, CAIR received a $5,000 donation from the HLF. 17

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 the terrorist organization. The case has been described as “the largest successful terror financing prosecution in U.S. history.” 18 19

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.” 20

In 2009, on appeal, a federal judge upheld the designation of CAIR as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case. 21 The judge found that the government presented “ample evidence to establish the association” between CAIR and Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization, and between CAIR and the Holy Land Foundation. 21 22

After these findings, the FBI explained that the Bureau had suspended contact with CAIR. 2

Connections to Extremism

Support for Hamas

In his capacity as the national executive director for CAIR, Nihad Awad has expressed support for Hamas. During a panel discussion in 1994 at Barry University, Awad said in response to an audience question about the various humanitarian efforts in the Palestinian territories, “I am in support of the Hamas movement.” 6 Again in 2004, when Awad was asked about Hamas during an Al Jazeera interview, he refused to condemn the group, stating, “[w]e do not condemn, and we will not condemn any liberation movement inside Palestine or inside Lebanon.” 2

In 2006, Awad rejected some tactics associated with Palestinian militants , claiming, “[m]y position and CAIR’s position is extremely clear—we condemn suicide bombings. We are mainstream American Muslims.” 16

Connection to Islamist Radicals & Groups

In 2011, then-U.S. Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) called for an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation of CAIR 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 tax returns. 23

Rep. Wolf pointed to a 2009 letter that Awad sent to Gaddafi requesting $15 million to support the Muslim Peace Foundation. Wolf noted that the letter was written with the full knowledge of the regime’s deplorable human-rights record, as well as its long history of acts of international terrorism. 23

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.” 24

In May 2022, Awad met with several members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Qatar, including Abu Jarra Sultani, a former leader of an Algerian Islamist party, and Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, the former Grand Mufti of Australia. Sultani has described the perpetrators of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terror attack in Paris as “individuals who decided to avenge [the prophet Muhammad].” In 2004, Sultani was a signatory to a letter also signed by terrorist leaders Hassan Nasrallah of Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and Khaled Mashaal of Hamas calling for “jihad” and “military resistance” against Israel. Abu Mohammed met with Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh during a trip to Gaza in 2012 and initially refrained from condemning the Charlie Hebdo attack. 2

A decade prior to meeting with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in December 2012, Awad traveled to Qatar, where he shared a stage with the late radical Islamist preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi at a press conference promoting a movie about Muhammad. Al-Qaradawi was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, engaged in blatant anti-Semitism and repeatedly expressed support for terror against Israel, including suicide bombings, and terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah. 2

In an April 2024 Facebook post, Awad eulogized the late Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the United States and United Nations designated as a recruiter and fundraiser for al-Qaeda. According to the New York Times, al-Zindani was a “one-time mentor of Osama bin Laden.” The United States Department of the Treasury designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2004, accusing al-Zindani of recruiting for al-Qaeda training camps. 2 25

Allegations of Anti-Semitism

Nihad Awad has been accused of spreading anti-Semitism through his work with CAIR. In December 2021, at the annual MAS-ICNA (Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America) conference in Chicago, Illinois, Awad stated, “Zionist organizations make up the core of the Islamophobia network in the United States…[b]ecause the only issue they care about is Israel. As long as you speak for the Palestinian people and stand up for justice you are their enemy and they will plot against you, they will spy on you, they will distort you, they will smear you.” 2

In February 2024, he invoked historic anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish control over political affairs and dual loyalty while charging that a “Zionist lobby” manipulated the United States Congress into approving foreign aid for Israel. He accused lobbyists for Israel of immoral political corruption. 2

On July 16, 2024, three days after the attempted assassination of then-former President Donald Trump, Awad tweeted a link to a CNN story about the Secret Service being on high alert in the weeks before the attack due to a potential threat on Trump’s life from Iran. Awad commented on the story, which did not mention Israel: “Are you sure this is not an Israeli plot to ignite another war between the US and other countries in the Middle East at its behest?” 2

Remarks Following October 7, 2023 Hamas Terror Attack

Following the terrorist attacks against Israel by the terror organization Hamas on October 7, 2023, 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.” 26 In addition, he appeared to praise 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.” 27

Awad’s comments sparked immediate backlash, with then-President Joe Biden condemning the statement and AMP deleting the original video of his address from its YouTube page. 28 Awad later released a statement claiming he did not support the attacks of October 7, but instead was praising “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.” He also claimed that, “Targeting civilians is unacceptable, no matter whether they are Israeli or Palestinian or any other nationality.” 27 29

References

  1. “Nihad Awad, National Executive Director.” CAIR. Accessed January 27, 2025.  https://www.cair.com/ourstaff/nihad-awad-national-executive-director/
  2. “The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).” Anti-Defamation League. December 23, 2024. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/council-american-islamic-relations-cair
  3. Mauro, Ryan. “CAIR’s Waterloo.” Capital Research Center, December 13, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2024. https://capitalresearch.org/article/cairs-waterloo/
  4. N’Kaoua, Laurance.“Bosnia-Herzegovina.” The Minnesota Daily (pub. of University of Minnesota). November 18, 1992. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20070311011746/http://www.mndaily.com/daily/gopher-archives/1992/11/18/Bosnia-Herzegovina.txt
  5. Schanzer, Jonathan. “Congressional Testimony – From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing.” GOP House Ways and Means Committee. November 15, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Schanzer-Testimony.pdf
  6.  “Testimony of Matthew Epstein Before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security: ‘Saudi Support for Islamic Extremism in the United States.’” United States Senate Judiciary Committee. September 10, 2003. Accessed January 27, 2025.” https://web.archive.org/web/20120503035244/http://kyl.senate.gov/legis_center/subdocs/091003_epstein.pdf
  7. “Nihad Awad.” The Muslim 500. Accessed January 27, 2024. https://themuslim500.com/profiles/nihad-awad/
  8. “Clarion Intel EXCLUSIVE: Nationwide Militant Islamist Network.” The Clarion Project. July 11, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://clarionproject.org/2019/07/11/clarion-intel-exclusive-report-nationwide-violent-islamist-network/
  9. “C.A.I.R. Is HAMAS: How The Federal Government Proved That The Council On American-Islamic Relations Is A Front For Terrorists.” Center For Security Policy. December 2, 2016. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/CAIR_is_HAMAS.pdf
  10. “Sami Al-Arian Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Provide Services To Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” U.S. Department of Justice. April 17, 2006. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2006/April/06_crm_221.html
  11. Witham, Larry. “Eight accused of giving aid to terrorism.” The Washington Times. February, 21, 2003. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/feb/21/20030221-085615-9748r/
  12. “Statement of Steven Emerson to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.” National Commission on Terrorist Attacks On The United States. July 9, 2003. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/hearings/hearing3/witness_emerson.htm
  13.  Saeed, Agha. “Muslim Coalition Calls for Fasting in Solidarity with Al-Arian.” CAIR. February 19, 2007. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20070224011838/http://www.cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=2582&theType=NR
  14. “Al-Arian Gets Visitors During Hunger Strike.” CAIR. Accessed November 17, 2017. https://www.cair.com/cair_in_the_news/cair-al-arian-gets-visitors-during-hunger-strike/
  15. “CAIR’s Nihad Awad Refuses to Condemn Hamas.” Islamist Watch, Translating Jihad. January 24, 2011. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/cair-nihad-awad-refuses-to-condemn-hamas
  16. Frommer, Frederic J. “Muslims Supporting Congressional Hopeful.” Washington Post. September 22, 2006. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/22/AR2006092200059.html
  17. “CAIR’s Funding.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/110.pdf
  18. [1] Kampeas, Ron. “Holy Land founders get life sentences.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency. May 28, 2009. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.jta.org/2009/05/28/news-opinion/united-states/holy-land-founders-get-life-sentences#When:10:32:00Z
  19. “US-based Muslim charity guilty of funding terrorism.” The Telegraph. November 24, 2008. Accessed January 27, 2025. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3515658/US-based-Muslim-charity-guilty-of-funding-terrorism.html
  20. Gerstein, Josh. “Judge snubbed U.S. Islamic groups in secret ruling.” Politico. November 1, 2009. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2009/11/judge-snubbed-us-islamic-groups-in-secret-ruling-022503
  21. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HOLY LAND FOUNDATION FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT. United States District Court For The Northern District Of Texas. Case # 04-cr-00240. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20130508102845/http://media.radicalislam.org/misc/pdf/43380629-2009-order-on-Holy-Land-Foundation-unindicted-coconspirator-list.pdf
  22. Gerstein, Josh. “Judge’s ruling on Islamic groups as ‘unindicted co-conspirators’ made public.” Politico. November 19, 2010. Accessed November 17, 2017. https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2010/11/judges-ruling-on-islamic-groups-as-unindicted-co-conspirators-made-public-030922
  23. Evansky, Ben. “Lawmaker Criticizes Muslim Group Director’s 2009 Fundraising Letter to Qaddafi.” Fox News Politics. April 6, 2011. Accessed January 27, 2025. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/06/lawmaker-criticizes-controversial-muslim-group-200-fundraising-letter-qaddafi.html
  24. May, Caroline. “Congressman calls for IRS investigation of CAIR.” Daily Caller. June 28, 2011. Accessed November 17, 2017. http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/29/congressman-calls-for-irs-investigation-of-cair
  25. Kasinof, Laura and Shane, Scott. “Radical Cleric Demands Ouster of Yemen Leader.” New York Times. March 1, 2011. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/world/middleeast/02yemen.html
  26. Baker, Peter. “White House Disavows U.S. Islamic Group After Leaders Oct. 7 Remarks.” New York Times. December 8, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/us/politics/white-house-cair-nihad-awad.html
  27.  Mauro, Ryan. “CAIR’s Waterloo.” Capital Research Center. December 13, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/cairs-waterloo/
  28.  Gangitano, Alex. “White House condemns CAIR director’s recent comments about Oct. 7 attack.” The Hill. December 8, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4349399-white-house-condemns-cair-director-recent-oct-7-comments/
  29. Piekos, Christian. “CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad pushes back on criticism for October 7 comment.” ABC 7 Chicago. December 8, 2023. Accessed January 27, 2025. https://abc7chicago.com/cair-director-nihan-awad-israel-hamas/14155569/
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