1

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): CAIR Exposed

Introduction and Summary

Introduction: It offers a benign mission statement - to enhance understanding of Islam,
encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build
coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. But a closer look at the Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) raises a host of troubling questions about its history
and purpose.
Born of an effort to scuttle hopes for a negotiated Middle East peace, CAIR was listed
among organizations tied to the Muslim Brotherhoods American network. Its founders
emerged from a separate Islamic organization that two courts have found played a
supporting role for the terrorist group Hamas.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization purports to be a leading advocate for justice
and mutual understanding and claims to speak for the majority of American Muslims.
However, after a careful review of the history, activities, statements, and causes of and by
CAIR, it seems that its primary goals are to silence and de-legitimize its critics and redefine
what it means to be a moderate Muslim. And when it comes to U.S. efforts to crack down
on terrorists and their financiers, CAIR takes an almost visceral stand in opposition. This
has the effect of undermining the legitimate security-related concerns and campaigns of the
United States and its allies. These conclusions and the summary immediately below are
based upon the evidence and examples that follow in this report; beginning with CAIRs
very founding.
*************************************************************************
Summary of Report:
Beginning in the summer of 2007, federal authorities have tied CAIR to Hamas in three
separate court filings.
First, CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Hamas-support trial of the Holy
Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). CAIR was listed among "entities who
are and/or were members of the US Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee." That
committee, prosecutors say, was created to advance the Hamas agenda within the United
States. Then, when the group petitioned to remove its name from that list, prosecutors said
such relief "will not prevent its conspiratorial involvement with HLF, and others affiliated
with Hamas, from becoming a matter of public record." (emphasis added)
In a December 2007 federal court filing, prosecutors described CAIR as "having conspired
with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists." The government also
stated that "proof that the conspirators used deception to conceal from the American public
their connections to terrorists was introduced" in the Dallas Holy Land Foundation trial last
year and the Chicago trial of the Hamas men in 2006.
2
That is a strong and consistent message from career prosecutors working with mounds of
eavesdropped conversation transcripts, other intercepted communications and internal
documents. It is within those previously secret communications that CAIRs true history as
described in the various court files emerges.
Two CAIR founders participated in a secret 1993 meeting of Hamas members and
sympathizers. That meeting, held at a Philadelphia Marriott, focused on Hamas opposition
to the Oslo Accords, which called for a peaceful, two-state solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. But the group also discussed life and politics in America, agreeing that
a more organized and effective lobbying program was needed here to help their cause.
CAIR was formed the following summer by three men, including the two - Omar Ahmad
and Nihad Awad - who were present at that secret Philadelphia meeting. Both Ahmad and
Awad worked for the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) before forming CAIR. We
know details about this 1993 meeting because the FBI secretly monitored the Philadelphia
gathering, concluding all 25 participants were Hamas members or sympathizers.
The IAP already was a central player in Hamas U.S. support network. It was part of a
broad-based Palestine Committee in America established by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Awad and Ahmad were individual members of the effort which a 1991 Committee internal
memorandum said was charged with serving the Muslim Palestinian cause on the
American front in cooperation and coordination with the Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood]
inside America and out of it
Mousa Abu Marzook, the current deputy political chief of Hamas, served on the IAPs
governing board in 1989 and gave the IAP nearly $500,000. Its conferences promoted
Hamas agenda by featuring leaders of the terrorist group and by soliciting money for the
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), Hamas primary fundraising
arm in the United States. The IAPs audiovisual wing, Aqsa Vision, distributed videos
celebrating Hamas attacks and showing operatives undergoing training.
Ahmads two fellow CAIR incorporators also served prominent roles at IAP. CAIR
Executive Director Nihad Awad was the IAPs public relations director. And CAIRs third
founding officer, Rafeeq J aber, left the group to become the IAPs president from 1996
until it closed a decade later.
Biographies of Awad and Ahmad on CAIRs website make no reference to their years of
service to the IAP. That may be due to the court findings about IAP.
One federal judge found in 2002 that the Islamic Association for Palestine has acted in
support of Hamas. Two years later, a federal magistrate found an abundance of evidence
that IAPdesired to help Hamas activities succeed, andengaged in some act of helping
those activities succeed. She added, If IAP has never outrightly cheered on Hamas
terrorist activities, it has come awfully close.
IAP is defunct. In 2007, CAIR found itself identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the
trial of five HLF officials and the foundation itself. The defendants stood accused of
providing material support to Hamas to the tune of $12 million. At the 2007 trial of the
foundation and five former officers, one defendant, Mohammad El-Mezain, was acquitted
on all but one of the charges against him. But the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the
3
remaining count against him or any of the charges against the other defendants. A second
trial is expected in August 2008.
With so many connections, it should come as no surprise then that CAIRs Awad has
declared at a 1994 forum, I am in support of the Hamas movement. Yet, Awad demurred
before a Senate committee in September 2003: CAIR, he said, has never voiced support
for Hamas
Similarly, Ahmad acknowledged during the Philadelphia meeting that his true ambition for
a Palestinian state covers the 48 territories, or one in which there is no Israel. Unaware
that the FBI was eavesdropping on the meeting, Ahmad further acknowledged we didn't
say that to the Americans.
CAIRs record often contradicts its public claims. The organization has said it receives no
support from any overseas group or government. But CAIR has received funding from
both the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) and the International Islamic Relief
Organization (IIRO) -- two Saudi-funded organizations whose U.S. offices have been
raided to investigate possible links to Hamas and Al Qaeda. IIRO offices and personnel
from around the world have been linked to al Qaeda. And CAIR received $500,000 from a
Saudi prince in 2002 and, in 1999, $250,000 from a Saudi-based bank currently headed by
the former director of the Muslim World League (MWL), a charity identified by Osama bin
Laden as a primary source of Al Qaedas funds. MWLs U.S. office has been raided by
federal terrorism investigators.
When pressed, CAIR leaders refuse to offer any criticism of Hamas actions. Were not in
the business of condemning, spokesman Ibrahim Hooper told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
in 2002. They exhibit no such reluctance when American law enforcement acts against
suspected terrorists and the organizations supporting them.
CAIR denounced the 1995 arrest and detention of Marzook, the former IAP board member
and current Hamas deputy political chief mentioned above, on an Israeli murder warrant.
Co-founder Nihad Awad called it politically motivated [and] orchestrated to serve as a
wedge between America and Islamic countries. CAIR also signed an open letter to then-
Secretary of State Warren Christopher complaining that our judicial system has been
kidnapped by Israeli interests.
Similarly, CAIR supported Hamas member Abdelhaleem Ashqar in 1998 when he was held
in contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Hamas fund-raising in
the United States. It co-sponsored a letter to the judge request[ing] the immediate release
of Dr. Ashqar so that he could continue offering positive contributions to this society.
CAIR railed against the December 2001 closing of the Texas-based HLF as unjust and
counterproductive. The government labeled HLF a Specially Designated Terrorist
Organization that illegally funneled money to Hamas.
CAIR branch offices have staunchly defended other HLF officials investigated by the
government. CAIR-Dallas-Fort Worth said the investigation of HLFs Resource
Development Director on immigration charges reflected the campaign of a few
government agents who are abusing their positions of authority to whip up anti-Muslim
hysteria within our community. That officer was eventually deported.
4
The vice president of CAIR-Dallas-Fort Worth said that the Israeli detention of an HLF
fund-raiser and spokeswoman should outrage every freedom-loving American.
CAIR maintained personal and financial relations with HLF. The foundation seeded CAIR
with a $5,000 donation soon after its founding. Throughout the 1990s, despite significant,
widely reported evidence of HLFs ties to Hamas, CAIR raised money for HLF via its
electronic mailing list. CAIR also co-sponsored an HLF fundraiser and its Northern
California chapter made direct donations to HLF. Immediately after 9/11, CAIRs website
featured an appeal for donations to aid the victims. One was for the Red Cross. Another,
labeled Donate to the NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund, redirected readers to the HLF
website.
CAIRs links with HLF go even deeper. Ghassan Elashi, a participant in the 1993
Philadelphia Hamas meeting and a founding board member of CAIR-Texas, also
incorporated an IAP office in California, and served as chairman and treasurer of HLF. He
was convicted in 2004 of conspiracy, money laundering and dealing in property of a
terrorist and was indicted again with other HLF officials in the foundations criminal case
in Dallas. Other defendants facing a possible retrial on those charges include CAIRs
former western region spokesman and a former endowments chair.
While CAIR has 32 regional chapters across the United States and Canada, its headquarters
exercises much control over the agenda and operations of the regional offices.
In one public example of the ties between CAIR National and a regional office, in a sworn
affidavit of former CAIR-Canada director Sheema Khan, she states that In 1996 a
Canadian chapter of CAIR UNITED STATES was established in Montreal. The purpose
of the chapter was to promote CAIR UNITED STATES awareness in Montreal. One of the
means of promoting awareness was through the distribution in Canada of CAIR UNITED
STATES newsletters, publicity kits, brochures and handbooks. CAIR UNITED STATES
had direct control over the character and quality of the activities of the Canadian chapter in
Montreal. (Emphasis added)

Even when CAIR seems to take a stand against terrorism, the results are inconsistent at
best. CAIR maintains that it has unequivocally condemned 9/11. However, its national
leadership tolerates outlandish conspiracy theories. It remained silent when the executive
director of CAIR-New York told Newsday on October 14, 2001, Mohammed Atta is alive
and living in the United Arab Emirates. His passport was stolen. On October 18
th
, the
same CAIR official asked, Who really benefits from such a horrible tragedy that is blamed
on Muslims and Arabs? And after a speaker at a September 2003 CAIR-New York
banquet asked, Why would the Bush administration allow 9/11 to happen? Executive
Director Nihad Awad affirmed that there are many unanswered questions about 9/11.
CAIR has consistently opposed all efforts to shut down organizations that the government
identified as financing terrorism and has vehemently defended accused terrorists, accusing
the U.S. government of launching a war on Islam. Within hours of arrests or raids, no
matter how compelling the case may seem, CAIR usually issues press releases that accuse
the government of politically motivated selective prosecution, a fishing expedition, or
scapegoating. For example, after the indictment of now-convicted IAP co-founder Sami Al-
Arian on charges of serving as the North American head of the Palestinian Islamic J ihad,
5
Omar Ahmad noted, This action could leave the impression that Al-Arians arrest is based
on political considerations, not legitimate national security concerns.
After the arrest of Nuradin Abdi, an alleged al Qaeda operative plotting to blow up a
Columbus, Ohio shopping mall, CAIR-Ohios president commented that the indictment
raises questions of whether the U.S. government is covering up its troubles in Iraq and
elsewhere by reasserting the threat of domestic terrorism and again using immigrants and
minorities as scapegoats.
And yet, when defendants have been found guilty of terror or related criminal charges,
CAIRs silence is deafening. There has been no comment on Abdis guilty plea in the
summer of 2007.
A CAIR director in Florida cast doubt on the May 2005 arrest of Boca Raton Dr. Rafiq
Sabir for allegedly agreeing to provide medical assistance to wounded jihadists in Saudi
Arabia,
There have been many incidents where Muslims have been wrongfully arrested. We want
to make sure he receives a fair trial as any American, Altaf Ali

said.
Sabir was convicted in May 2007 after jurors saw a video of him pledging allegiance to Al
Qaeda. CAIR has not issued any statement concerning the verdict or Sabirs documented
support for Al Qaeda.
In the Al-Arian case, he pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiring to provide goods and services
to the Palestinian Islamic J ihad but CAIR routinely defends him as an innocent man.
Further, CAIR minimizes the challenges and threats posed by radical Islam. For example,
its officials have asserted that Wahhabism is a term invented to scare people about
Muslim bogeymen, and have denied that jihad is the motivating ideology underlying
Islamic terrorism. Similarly, CAIR protested the use of the term Islamist terrorism in the
9/11 Commission Report.
CAIR leaders also spew bigotry and extremism, and their propaganda supports terrorists
and those who incite terror. CAIR has repeatedly defended the Muslim Brotherhood-linked
cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, calling him a moderate, despite his support for suicide
bombings in Israel and attacks against Western troops and civilians in Iraq. CAIR
officials also have claimed that J ews control U.S. policy and defended the oppressive
Iranian and Sudanese governments.
According to Steve Pomerantz, who served as the FBIs assistant director and
Counterterrorism Section chief, the success of groups like CAIR could affect the nations
success against terrorists. Pomerantz said, By masquerading as a mainstream public affairs
organization, CAIR has taken the lead in trying to mislead the public about the terrorist
underpinnings of militant Islamic movements, in particular, Hamas.
Thus, in reality, CAIR is a radical group operating under a moderate veneer. Instead of
building bridges as it purports to do between law enforcement and the Muslim
community in the United States, CAIR creates a wedge of mistrust and fear.



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Table of Contents:

I. CAIRs Origins (p. 7)
II. The 1993 Philadelphia Hamas Meeting (p. 12)
III. CAIRs Funding (p. 15)
IV. The Suspect Ties of CAIR Officials, Fundraisers & Trainers (p. 23)
V. CAIR and Hamas (p. 37)
VI. CAIR and Terrorism: Blanket Opposition to U.S. Investigations, Equivocal
Condemnations for Plots Against America (p. 42)
VII. CAIR Claims that the War on Terrorism is a War on Islam (p. 70)
VIII. CAIR Has Participated in and Co-Sponsored Islamist Conferences Within the United
States (p.78)
IX. CAIR Intimidates and Censors Muslim Moderates (p. 81)
X. CAIRs Propaganda Minimizes Terrorism (p. 85)
XI. CAIRs Hate Crimes (p. 91)
XII. CAIRs Extremism and Anti-Semitism (p. 94)
XIII. CAIR Denies the Challenges Posed by Radical Islamists (p. 102)
XIV. CAIRs Rejection of an Arab-Israeli Peace (p. 107)
XV. CAIR Supports Repressive Theocracies Regimes in Iran and Sudan (p. 108)
XVI. What Others Say about CAIR (p. 112)









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I. CAIRs Origins
CAIR is an offshoot of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP)
Founded in 1994, CAIR was incorporated by three leaders of IAP -- Nihad Awad, Omar
Ahmad, and Rafeeq J aber.
1
Mousa Abu Marzook, the current deputy political chief of
Hamas, served on the board of directors of IAP in 1989 and provided the group with
$490,000.
2
IAP, which is now defunct, was long a central player in Hamas U.S. support
network while CAIRs future founders controlled IAP. A 2001 Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) memo extensively documented IAPs support for Hamas and
noted that the facts strongly suggest that IAP is part of Hamas propaganda apparatus.
3

In August 2002, a federal judge ruled that there was evidence that the Islamic Association
for Palestine has acted in support of Hamas.
4

In November 2004, a federal magistrate judge held IAP civilly liable for $156 million in
the 1996 shooting of an American teenager by a Hamas member in the West Bank.
5
The
judge ruled that there was an abundance of evidence that IAPdesired to help Hamas
activities succeed, andengaged in some act of helping those activities succeed.
6
She
added, If IAP has never outrightly cheered on Hamas terrorist activities, it has come
awfully close.
7

The U.S. Appeals Court in the Seventh Circuit overturned the award in December 2007
after determining the J oyce and Stanley Boim had not done enough to establish that the
groups' support for Hamas contributed, even indirectly, to their son David's murder. The
case was sent the case back to the district court to allow for additional proceedings.
8


In the summer of 2007, evidence from the Dallas trial charging HLF and its officers with
providing material support for Hamas shows that the IAP played a central role in the
Muslim Brotherhoods Palestine Committee. The trial marked this first time the
Committees existence was publicly disclosed. A sampling of those exhibits includes:

A 1991 memo suggesting changes to Committee bylaws which show the IAP, the Holy
Land Foundation for Relief and Development and a Virginia think-tank Marzook
founded were the Committees primary components.
9


1
Articles of Incorporation, Council on American-Islamic Relations, September 15, 1994.
2
Ila Filastin, February 1989, 27; and In the matter of Hasan Faisal Yousef Sabri, Notice of Revocation of
petition for Amerasian, Widow, or Special Immigrant, Attachment (Form I-360).
3
In the matter of Hasan Faisal Yousef Sabri, Notice of Revocation of petition for Amerasian, Widow, or
Special Immigrant, Attachment (Form I-360).
4
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, 2d 57 70, Memorandum Opinion, 219 F
(D.D.C. 2002).
5
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Report and Recommendation,(N.D. Ill 12/14/2004).
6
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Memorandum and Order,(N.D. Ill, 11/10/2004).
7
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Memorandum and Order,(N.D. Ill 11/10/2004).
8
Boim v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh
Circuit, decided Dec. 28, 2007.
9
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G Government Exhibit 3-17(TX ND 7/30/3007).
8
A November 1991 status report approved by the Shura Council explained that the
Ikhwan, or Brotherhood, created IAP to serve the cause of Palestine on the political
and media fronts The Associations work has developed a great deal since its
inception, particularly with the formation of the Palestine Committee, the beginning of
the Intifada at the end of 1987 and the proclamation of the Hamas Movement.
10

A 1992 internal memo, which calls on the Palestine Committees, to work to increase
the financial and the moral support for Hamas" to "fight surrendering solutions," and to
publicize and focus on the savagery of the J ews.
11

A later report, dated J uly 30, 1994, includes CAIR along with HLF, the IAP and the
United Association for Studies and Research think tank as Committee members.
12
Each
group was listed among more than 300 unindicted co-conspirators in the case.
The documents were found in the home of Ismail Elbarrasse, a former assistant to
Marzook, records and testimony from the HLF trial show.
13

An internal memo, also taken from Elbarrasse, defines in chilling fashion the role the
Muslim Brothers play in North America.
14


Records from the 2004 Boim lawsuit brought show how the IAP acted upon these plans. As
the magistrate judge noted, IAP has published and distributed an abundance of pro-Hamas
documents.
15
The group published the Hamas charter - a viciously anti-Semitic document
that calls for the murder of J ews - and noted in the October 1988 issue of its Arabic-
language publication, Ila Filastin, The IAP will deliver this charter of the Hamas
movement to all over the American continents.
16
Similarly, a statement in the December
1988 edition of Ila Filastin read, The call for J ihad in the name of Allah, is the only path
for liberation of Palestine and all the Muslims lands We (Hamas) promise Allah, in
continuing the J ihad way and with the martyrdoms way.
17

In addition to disseminating Hamas statements in Ila Filastin, IAP published the English-
language Muslim World Monitor and the Arabic periodical, Al-Zaitounah, which frequently

10
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G Government Exhibit 3-3 (TX ND 7/30/2007).
11
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G Government Exhibit 3-15 (TX ND 7/30/2007).
12
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G Government Exhibit 3-78 (TX ND 7/30/2007).
13
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G, Governments Exhibit List submitted May 21, 2007.
14
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G Government Exhibit 3-85 (TX ND 7/30/2007).
15
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, Memorandum and Order,(N.D. Ill 00-CV-2905, 11/10/2004).
16
Ila Filastin, October 1988.
17
Ila Filastin, December 1988, page 17.
9
praised Hamas terror attacks. An October 1994 Al-Zaitounah headline captures the
magazines ideological bent: In Its Greatest Operation, Hamas Takes Credit for the
Bombing of an Israeli Bus in the Center of Tel Aviv.
18

In August 1994, the Muslim American Youth Association (MAYA) conference featured a
booklet called Americas Greatest Enemy: THE J EW! and an UNHOLY ALLIANCE
which featured J ewish and Zionist conspiracies for global domination, as well as Holocaust
denial claims among its contents.
19

Another key element of IAPs Hamas propaganda machine was its audiovisual wing, Aqsa
Vision, which distributed videos celebrating Hamas attacks and showcasing operatives
undergoing training. One of these videos, titled Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, showed
Hamas members armed with Kalashnikovs, making Molotov cocktails, and bragging about
the killing of J ews. The video also contained interviews with blindfolded Palestinian
collaborators prior to their execution.
20

Annual conferences also allowed IAP to promote the Hamas agenda. As the October 1988
Ila Filastin noted, The Islamic Association for Palestine held conferences and activities to
celebrate [the] one year anniversary of the blessed Intifada andthe inception of the
Hamas movement.
21
Hamas members made frequent appearances at IAPs conferences.
22

At these conferences, IAP raised significant amounts of money for the Holy Land
Foundation (HLF), Hamas primary fundraising arm in the United States, which was shut
down by the government in 2001,
23
and indicted for providing material support to Hamas in
2004.
24

In fact, all of the money IAP collected during its Intifada celebrations in the late 1980s and
early 1990s went to HLF, or the Occupied Land Fund, as it was then known.
25

Additionally, all the proceeds from IAPs 1996 convention went to HLF.
26
J aber, one of
CAIRs founders, became IAP president earlier that year.
27

IAP consistently encouraged people to donate to HLF
28
in its publications
29
and on its
website, and the two organizations formalized their close relationship. The following is an

18
Al-Zaitounah, October 1994.
19
Americas Greatest Enemy: THE J EW! and an UNHOLY ALLIANCE, Published by Islamic
Association for Palestine.
20
Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades: Gaza, September 1992, Aqsa Vision.
21
Ila Filastin, October 1988.
22
Islamic Association for Palestine Annual Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, December 27-30, 1989.
23
US Treasury Department, Shutting Down the Terrorist Financial Network, December 4, 2001,
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/po841.htm (accessed July 8, 2004).
24
US v. Holy Land Foundation, Indictment, (N.D. TX July 27, 2004). As noted above, a mistrial was
declared on most counts in the indictment and a retrial is expected in August 2008.
25
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 77-78 (N.D. Ill July 28,
2003).
26
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 253-255 (N.D. Ill July 28,
2003).
27
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 11 (N.D. Ill April 9, 2003).
28
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 167, 201-202 (N.D. Ill July
28, 2003).
29
See for example: Muslim World Monitor, J uly 30, 1993 and Muslim World Monitor, February 9, 1994 and
Muslim World Monitor, February 2, 1995. For more on IAPs promotion of HLF in its publications, see Holy
Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 at 1443 (D.D.C).
10
exchange between the IAPs president and the attorney representing the family in the Boim
civil case against Hamas-front groups referenced above:
Q: Was there any communication that you or anybody else at IAP
had with the Holy Land Foundation about putting Holy Land
Foundation in as a potential recipient for donors in action alerts
such as this?

A: I think it's part of our contract that to promote them in every
way we can.
30


In 1993 and 1994, Omar Ahmad, who served as CAIRs chairman from its incorporation
until 2005,
31
was also the president of IAP National.
32
He acknowledged in a 2003
deposition that Hamas speakers and others advocating its positions routinely were invited
to IAP conferences.
33

At IAP, Ahmad worked closely
34
with Nihad Awad, the groups public relations director
in 1993 and 1994,
35
as well as a contributing editor of its English language publication The
Muslim World Monitor.
36

In a 2000 article in The Link, Awad, who now is CAIRs executive director,
37
described
how Ahmad had suggested that they split off from IAP: Omarhad the insight to realize
that the central issue facing the Muslim community in the United States was not being
addressed. The core challenge, that of stereotyping and defamation, was having a
devastating effect on our children and paralyzing adults from taking their due roles in civic
affairs. Omar suggested to me that we leave the IAP and concentrate on combating anti-
Muslim discrimination nationwide. He proposed that I move to Washington, D.C., where
any effective national effort would have to be based, while he tried to raise the seed money
for the project.
38

Rafeeq J aber, the third incorporator of CAIR
39
and a board member in 1994 and 1995,
40

headed IAPs Chicago office in 1991.
41
He also served as IAP president from 1996-1998

30
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 203 (N.D. Ill April 9,
2003).
31
J eff Brumley, Prof. Parvez Ahmed Elected CAIR Chairman, Florida Times Union, May 21, 2005. Note:
Omar Ahmad wired thousands of dollars from his personal bank accounts to CAIR when the organization
was being formed. In total, CAIR received $41,930 in start-up capital directly from Ahmad. The NationsBank
Wire Transfers took place on October 3, 1994, February 8, 1995, February 10, 1995, February 17, 1995 and
March 1, 1995.
32
Omar Yayha, Letter to IAP Members/Supporters, December 1, 1993, and Al-Zaitounah, August 25,
1994, 14.
33
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00C-2905, Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 123 (E.D. CA May 27,
2003).
34
Nihad Awad, Muslim-Americans in Mainstream America, The Link, February-March 2000.
35
Nihad Awad, Muslim-Americans in Mainstream America, The Link, February-March 2000.
36
The Muslim World Monitor, J uly 30, 1993, 2.
37
CAIR Key Staff, Nihad Awad
http://www.cair.com/AboutUs/CAIRNationalBoardandStaff.aspx#NihadAwad2 (accessed November 13,
2007).
38
Nihad Awad, Muslim-Americans in Mainstream America, The Link, February-March 2000.
39
Articles of Incorporation, Council on American-Islamic Relations, October 12, 1994.
11
and again from 1999 until the organization closed its doors in 2005.
42
Additionally, he was
president of the Chicago-based American Muslim Society (AMS) since its inception in
1993 through 1996.
43
In 1994, AMS applied for the name Islamic Association for
Palestine in Chicago.
44

There are other significant links between CAIR and IAP.
Ghassan Elashi, a founding board member of CAIR-Texas in 1998,
45
incorporated an IAP
office in California in 1986.
46
Elashis brother, Basman,
47
was IAP-Texas president from
1995-1998.
48

In 2001, Oliver Revell, the FBIs former counterterrorism chief, said that IAP and CAIR
had had intertwined membership in the past.
49
Moreover, CAIR and IAP have co-issued
a number of statements
50
and co-hosted a number of radical events (discussed later in
greater depth).
51

And IAPs website has redirected visitors
52
to a webpage titled CAIR List Server.
53

Given the opportunity to distance himself from IAP in September 2003 Senate testimony,
CAIR Executive Director Awad instead chose to defend the group: The Islamic
Association of Palestine (IAP) is a grassroots organization which continues to function

40
1994 and 1995 Council on American-Islamic Relations Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
41
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, (N.D. Ill July 28, 2003).
42
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 10-12 (N.D. Ill April 9,
2003).
43
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 10-12 (N.D. Ill April 9,
2003).
44
Application to Adopt, Change, or Cancel an Assumed Corporate Name of a General Not for Profit
Corporation, American Muslim Society, Secretary of State, State of Illinois, filed April 18, 1994. Note: AMS
functions as the Chicago branch of IAP. See: Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, 6 (N.D. Ill
May 12, 2000).
45
Articles of Incorporation Council on American-Islamic Relations, Texas Secretary of State, September
29, 1998.
46
Articles of Incorporation Islamic Association for Palestine, California Secretary of State, November 11,
1986.
47
US v. Elashi, 3:02-CR-052-R, Superseding indictment, (N.D. Tex. December 17, 2002).
48
Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report, Islamic Association for Palestine, Richardson, Texas,
1995-1998.
49
Alexander Bolton, Rep. McKinney to Headline Muslim Fundraiser, The Hill, October 3, 2001.
50
See for example: Islamic Leaders Say No One Has the Right to Negotiate Away Muslim Rights in
Jerusalem, July 10, 2000,
http://web.archive.org/web/20001211214400/www.iap.org/statements/statements/campdavidstatement.htm
(accessed November 13, 2007) and PR Newswire, Raid on Texas Business is Anti-Muslim Witch Hunt
Say Muslim Leaders, September 6, 2001.
51
See for example: 50 Years of Occupation, MSA News, Direct submission from IAP Information Office,
May 23, 1998 and Conference on Palestine,
http://web.archive.org/web/20010202150200/groups.yahoo.com/group/iapinfo/message/883 (accessed
November 13, 2007) and IAP Media Dinner Reaches Out To Mainstream Press,
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/july01/0107082.html (accessed November 13, 2007).
52
http://web.archive.org/web/20030425141117/http://iap.org/ (accessed December 11, 2004).
53
http://web.archive.org/web/20021127102104/http://iap.org/ and
http://web.archive.org/web/20020924192830/http://iap.org/ (accessed December 2, 2004).
12
legally and has only been linked through allusion and no charge of criminality has been
brought against the organization.
54


II. The 1993 Philadelphia Hamas Meeting
In order to fully understand CAIRs origins and its close relationship with IAP and HLF, it
is critical to first examine a meeting in a Philadelphia, Pa. Marriott hotel that took place
less than a year before CAIRs incorporation.
Organized by senior Hamas operative
55
Abdelhaleem Ashqar,
56
who was indicted in
August 2004 for allegedly participating in a 15-year racketeering conspiracy to finance
Hamas activities,
57
the meeting was called in the wake of the Oslo Accords. In the
Accords, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin agreed to a future of coexistence and
independence for the Israelis and Palestinians.
The 25-person
58
gathering represented, according to the FBI, a meetingamong senior
leaders of HAMAS, the HLFRD and the IAP.
59
A FBI analysis further noted: all
attendees of this meeting are Hamas members or sympathizers.
60

According to the J uly 2004 HLF indictment, The purpose of the meeting was to determine
their course of action in support of Hamas opposition to the peace plan and to decide how
to conceal their activities from the scrutiny of the United States government.
61

Attendees at the FBI-monitored meeting included five HLF officials who were indicted
with the group in J uly 2004: Executive Director Haitham Maghawri, Chief Executive
Officer Shukri Abu Baker, Treasurer Ghassan Elashi,
62
Chairman of the Board Mohammad
El-Mezain,
63
and fundraiser Mufid Abdulqader.
64
Highlighting the familial ties binding

54
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, at 5, September 17, 2003.
55
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, Memorandum Opinion, 22 (D.D.C 02-
442 GK).
56
Action Memorandum, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, From Dale Watson, Assistant Director FBI Counterterrorism Division to Richard
Newcomb, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of Treasury, November 5, 2001, 9
(hereinafter Watson Action Memo.)
57
US v. Marzook, 03-CR-978, Indictment, (N.D. Ill August 19, 2004). Ashqar was acquitted on the terror
support charges but convicted for contempt of court. He was sentenced in November 2007 to 11 years in
prison.
58
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK , Exhibit 28 at 1400 (D.D.C).
59
Watson Action Memo, 9.
60
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 at 1400 (D.D.C).
61
US v. Holy Land Foundation, Indictment, (N.D. TX J uly 27, 2004).
62
US v. Holy Land Foundation, Indictment, (N.D. TX J uly 27, 2004).
63
FBI Memorandum Regarding the Philadelphia Conference, October 27, 1993, Submitted as an exhibit in
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 14 at 255 (D.D.C).
64
FBI Memorandum Regarding the Philadelphia Conference, October 27, 1993, Submitted as an exhibit in
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 14 at 255 (D.D.C).
13
HLFs top officials to Mousa Abu Marzook, the godfather of IAP and HLF, Elashi (cousins
through marriage) and El-Mezain (cousin) are both related to him.
65

Also at the meeting was Abdel-J abbar Hamdan,
66
an HLF fundraiser
67
who was arrested on
immigration charges the same day that the HLF indictment was unsealed.
68
But surely the
most notable attendees were future CAIR Chairman Omar Ahmad, whose presence is
documented in the FBI-certified hotel registry;
69
and CAIR Executive Director Nihad
Awad.
70

Awads presence was not confirmed until August 2007, when FBI Special Agent Lara
Burns testified about it during the HLF trial in Dallas.
71
Previous references to a Nihad
LNU (last name unknown) appeared in government transcripts of the meeting that were
released in other court proceedings.
According to the FBIs wiretaps of the meeting, Ahmad referred to himself as Omar
Yahya.
72
Although he claimed in a 2003 deposition that he cant recall attending this
meeting,
73
he acknowledged that some people call me Omar Yahya because its like
one of my middle names.
74
Ahmad also acknowledged knowing many of the men who
were in Philadelphia, including Ashqar, Abu-Baker, Elashi and Maghawri.
75

While he testified that he could not remember being there, transcripts show it was Ahmad
who called the meeting to order:
This meeting was called for by the Palestine Committee in order to have a
seminar or a meeting to the brothers present here today in order to study
the situation in light of the latest developments on the Palestinian arena, its
effects and impact on our work here in America.
76




65
US v. Holy Land Foundation, Indictment, (N.D. TX J uly 27, 2004); Texas Islamic Group Busted By
Feds, CBS, December 28, 2002, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/18/attack/main533469.shtml.
66
FBI Memorandum Regarding the Philadelphia Conference, October 27, 1993, Submitted as an exhibit in
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, Exhibit 14, at 255 (D.D.C 02-442 GK), and
H.G. Reza, Man Tied to Charity Stays in Jail, The Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2004.
67
1999 Holy Land Foundation Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
68
Kevin Pang and Mike Anton, Rally Supports Muslim Man Who Was Arrested by FBI, The Los Angeles
Times, July 29, 2004. Hamdan was ordered deported in 2005, but released from custody J uly 31, 2006 after a
judge ruled he had been detained longer it should have taken to carry out the deportation.
69
FBI Memorandum Regarding the Philadelphia Conference, October 27, 1993, Submitted as an exhibit in
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, Exhibit 14, at 255 (D.D.C 02-442 GK), and
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, at 51 (N.D. Ill 00-CV-2905, Memorandum and Order, filed November 10,
2004).
70
Testimony of FBI Agent Lara Burns, US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G, Aug 2, 2007
71
Testimony of FBI Agent Lara Burns, US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G, Aug 2, 2007
72
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, Exhibit 28, at 1466 (D.D.C 02-442 GK). See p. 12 of this document for more
details on Ahmads reference to himself as Omar Yahya.
73
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00C-2905, Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 8 (E.D. CA May 27, 2003).
74
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, CA 00C-2905,Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 224 (E.D. May 27,
2003).
75
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, CA 00C-2905, Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 241-242 (E.D. May 27,
2003).
76
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G, Government Exhibit 16-47, p. 10.
14
Awad, like Ahmad, said he could not remember whether he attended the Philadelphia
meeting when asked during a 2003 deposition.
77

But government transcripts show Awad was an active participant, including this exchange
in which he and Ahmad discuss tailoring their message to appeal to Americans while
hiding their true intent:
Awad: What is important is that the language of the address is there even
for the American. But, the issue is how to use it.
....
Omar Ahmad: There is a difference between you saying "I want to restore
the '48 land" and when you say "I want to destroy Israel."
....
Awad: Yes, there are different but parallel types of address. There
shouldn't be contradiction. Address people according to their minds.
When I speak with the American, I speak with someone who doesn't know
anything. As for the Palestinian who has a martyr brother or something, I
know how to address him, you see?
78


According to the hotel registry, Ahmad shared a room with Abdul Rahman Baraski,
79

which is likely a misspelling of Abdul Rahman Barajki. Barajki would become CAIR-
Northern Californias registered agent,
80
a CAIR-National Board member,
81
and a director
of IAP-Texas.
82

Participants in the Philadelphia meeting apparently attempted to cover up their true agenda.
As an FBI analysis of the wiretaps states, they spent much effort hiding their association
with the Islamic Resistance Movement, a.k.a. HAMAS. Instead, they referred to HAMAS
as Samah, which is HAMAS spelled backwards.
83

Ahmad employed this unsophisticated counter-surveillance technique, remarking:
We cant, as an American organization, say we represent Samah. Can we
go to the Congressman and tell him, I am Omar Yehya, Chairman of the
Union [IAP], Yassir Arafat doesnt represent me, but Ahmad Yassin
does?
84


77
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, CA 00C-2905, Deposition of Nihad Awad, 195. Oct. 22, 2003).
78
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G, Government Exhibit 16-71, p. 4.
79
Watson Action Memo, Exhibit 14 at 4.
80
Articles of Incorporation of Council on American-Islamic Relations, N. Cal, California Secretary of
State, August 30, 1995.
81
Letter on CAIR letterhead noting their accomplishments to date, September 1995.
82
Texas Franchise Tax Public Information Report, Islamic Association for Palestine, Richardson, Texas, July,
26, 1996, September 15, 1997, May 19, 1998.
83
Watson Action Memo, 12. See also US v. Holy Land Foundation, (N.D. TX J uly 27, 2004) Government
Exhibit 49, p. 10.
84
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, C 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 1466 (D.D.C).
15
Sheikh Ahmad Yassin was the spiritual leader of Hamas.
85

In addition to trying to obscure their ties to Samah, those at the meeting discussed how
organizations in the United States could support Hamas. A speaker contemplated the
merger of HLF and IAP
86
and noted, The institutions here should be at the service of the
Movement over thereThis should include finance, information, political, and
everything.
87
Another urged his colleagues to focus on those people who are directly
connected with J ihad.
88

In conjunction with their support for the jihad in Palestine, the participants also recognized
the critical importance of domestic lobbying. Stressing the need for deeper engagement
with the American Muslim community, one attendee discussed the groups attempting to
encourage the Islamic community to be involved in the political life in this country. He
commented, We should assist them in this task. This will be an entrance for us to put,
through the Islamic community, pressure on the Congress and the decision makers in
America.
89

CAIR Founder Omar Ahmad went a step further, envisioning a lobby because we dont
have influence over the CongressThis will bolster our position in America with the U.S.
Administration and other media and political organizations.
90
He concluded:

This can be achieved by infiltrating the American media outlets,
universities and research centers as we previously said. if Muslims
engage in political activism in American and started to be concerned with
Congress and public relations we will have an entry point to use them to
pressure Congress and the decision-makers in America.
91


CAIR was incorporated the following summer.

III. CAIRs Funding
CAIR was founded in part with donations from the Holy Land Foundation for
Relief and Development (HLF), later tagged as a Specially Designated Global
Terrorist organization that has been indicted for providing material support to
Hamas.

85
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, C 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 1466 (D.D.C).
86
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 at 1439 (D.D.C).
87
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 at 1439 (D.D.C).
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief and
Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 at 1439 (D.D.C).
89
FBI Analysis of the Philadelphia Conference, Submitted as an exhibit in Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 28 at 1439 (D.D.C).
90
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G, Government Exhibit 16-75, p. 17
91
Ibid.
16
In October 1994, barely a year after the 1993 Philadelphia meeting and less than two
months after CAIR filed its articles of incorporation; the organization received a $5,000
check from HLF.
92

Unwilling to admit a direct financial link to Hamas main U.S. financier, CAIRs
leadership has been quick to deny the existence of this payment. During a 2003 civil
deposition, CAIR incorporator Ahmad was asked, Did they [HLF] give you any money to
help start CAIR? He responded unequivocally, No.
93

Bank records show CAIR received a second $5,000 payment from HLF on October 31,
1994.
94

In written testimony submitted to the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Securitys September 10, 2003 hearing, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11,
Connecting the Dots, CAIR Executive Director Awad also denied that CAIR had ever
received money from HLF, declaring, Our organization did not receive any seed money
from HLFRD.
95

When The Investigative Projects Matthew Epstein produced a copy of the check at the
Senate hearing, however, Awad had no choice but to admit, in supplemental testimony
submitted to the Senate, that CAIR had, indeed, received money from HLF: CAIR is a
nonprofit, grassroots organization. Our only source of income is through donations and the
amount in question was a donation like any other.
96

Awad then attempted to minimize the significance of the CAIR/HLF money trail: HLF
was not indicted for any criminal activity at the time of its donation in 1994 and its assets

92
NationsBank Wire Transfer, 941031011157000, federal reference number 9410310014920824, October 31,
1994.
93
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00C-2905, Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 133-134 (E.D. CA May 27,
2003).
94
NationsBank Wire Transfer Advice, Account, Federal Reference Number 9410310014920824, October 31,
1994.
95
Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland
Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003, 19.
96
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 17, 2003, 6.
17
were frozen by the J ustice Department seven years later in December 2001.
97
He added
that HLFs relatively small donation came seven years before any wrongdoing was
attributed to Holy Land Foundation.
98

Given their attendance at the Philadelphia meeting and prior leadership roles with AMELP
and IAP, Awad and Ahmad were intimately familiar with HLFs role on the Palestine
Committee and the goals of its members. In fact, Ahmad testified in the 2003 deposition
that IAP advertised for and encouraged people to donate to HLF.
99

Moreover, Rafeeq J aber, one of CAIRs three incorporators and a member of CAIRs board
in 1994, worked with IAP to sponsor the annual Intifada celebrations in the late 1980s and
early 1990s mentioned in CAIRs Origins.
100
J aber testified in the same civil case that, as
noted previously, all of the funds raised at these events went to HLF.
101

While trying to downplay HLFs donation to CAIR, Awad also has sought to cloud his
admission by narrowly defining the term seed money. When presented with the check
while being deposed in October 2003, he commented If this is a true document, it would
[have] been months after that organization startedthe word seed does not apply.
102

Indeed, Awad even attempted to distance himself from the supplemental testimony, stating,
I had other people prepare it for meit was in a rush.
103

CAIRs ties to HLF continued after the 1994 HLF check, even after the Israeli government
raided HLFs J erusalem office on May 7, 1995
104
and New York Congressman Charles
Schumer held a March 13, 1996 press conference to highlight HLFs role in support of
Hamas.
105

In September 1996, CAIR distributed an Action Alert soliciting money for HLF after
Israel opened a tunnel below the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock in J erusalem. In
that emailed Action Alert, CAIR urged recipients to SEND DONATIONS to help those
who are suffering under occupation. Every mosque should ask each person for at least one
dollar. Donations may be sent to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and
Development
106


97
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 17, 2003, 6.
98
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 17, 2003, 6.
99
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00C-2905, Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 98-100 (E.D. CA May 27,
2003).
100
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 70-76 and 80-81 (N.D. Ill
April 9, 2003).
101
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Deposition of Rafeeq J aber, 77-78 (N.D. Ill July 28,
2003).
102
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00C-2905, Deposition of Nihad Awad, 175 (E.D. CA October 22,
2003).
103
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00C-2905, Deposition of Nihad Awad, 178 (E.D. CA October 22,
2003).
104
Watson Action Memo, 19.
105
Ian Christopher McCaleb, Schumer: Hamas Raising Funds in US, United Press International, March 13,
1996.
106
CAIR Action Alert, American Muslims Asked to Pray for Palestinians, September 9, 1996.
18
Less than a year later, HLFs offices in Israel were closed by Israeli authorities.
107
Three
months later, the chairman of HLFs J erusalem office, Mohammad Anati, was arrested for
aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.
108

Nonetheless, CAIR refused to sever its connections with HLF.
In May 1999, CAIR co-sponsored an HLF fundraiser, held in Virginia and attended by
HLF Executive Director Haitham Maghawri, who also had attended the 1993 Philadelphia
meeting.
109
At the event, titled Holy Land Foundation Kosovar Solidarity Night,
Maghawri solicited donations that he claimed would help the 800,000 refugees forced to
flee Kosovo.
110
CAIR also solicited donations for HLFs Kosovo relief efforts via the
Internet.
111

Then, on J une 1, 2000, CAIR Chairman Ahmad wrote a letter to HLF in which he said, It
is truly an honor to congratulate the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development on
ten years of outstanding achievement.On behalf of the Council on American Islamic
Relations, please accept our best wishes for many years of continued excellence in your
field.
112

Three months later, in September 2000, the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) notified HLF that, at the State Departments urging, it planned to
terminate HLFs USAID registration. The State Department determined that HLF's
registration with USAID is contrary to the national defense and foreign policy interests of
the United States.
113

That same month, Charles Schumer, by then a U.S. senator, wrote Secretary of State
Madeline Albright and Attorney General J anet Reno to demand that the government shut
down HLF.
114
A press release on Schumers website stated, The Holy Land
Foundationhas clear links to the terrorist organization Hamas.
115

Nonetheless, CAIR continued to solicit donations for HLF. At an October 22, 2000 rally
outside the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, CAIR Southern Californias Hussam Ayloush

107
Watson Action Memo, 22-23.
108
Interrogation of Muhammad Anati, Identification Number 029089172 by Amnon Michaeli, Petach-Tikva
Police Station, Petach Tikva, Israel, December 17, 1997 and FBI HLF Action Memo, 23.
109
Holy Land Foundation Kosovar Solidarity Night, Alexandria, Virginia, May 23, 1999.
110
Holy Land Foundation Kosovar Solidarity Night, Alexandria, Virginia, May 23, 1999.
111
Southern California Muslims Hold an Emergency Fund-Raiser for Kosovar Refugees, CAIR Direct
Submission to MSA News, April 20, 1999.
112
Letter from Omar Ahmad to the Holy Land Foundation, June 1, 2000, Ten Years of Achievement, The
Holy Land Foundation.
113
Letter from Lenora F. Watlington (USAID) to Shukri Abu Baker (President, Holy Land Foundation),
September 14, 2000.
114
Schumer Calls for State and Justice Department Crackdowns on Charity Organizations with Terrorist
Ties, September 6, 2000,
http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/PR00275.html (accessed November 13,
2007).
115
Schumer Calls for State and Justice Department Crackdowns on Charity Organizations with Terrorist
Ties, September 6, 2000,
http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/PR00275.html (accessed November 13,
2007).
19
told the crowd, We need to make sure to send our donations to HLF.
116
Also in 2000, a
CAIR Action Alert asked people to sponsor a Palestinian child orphaned in the recent
massacres by contacting HLF, and provided a direct link to HLFs donation page
(www.hlf.org/donate.shtml).
117

But the most glaring CAIR solicitation for HLF came after the 9/11 atrocities. The appeal,
titled what you can do for the victims of the WTC and Pentagon attacks, appeared on
CAIRs website for over a month
118
and urged people to donate to HLF among other
charities.
119

Foreign Financial Support
CAIR denies receiving funding from Saudi Arabia and other foreign sources. In a
November 2001 press release, CAIR stated, We do not support directly or indirectly, or
receive support from, any overseas group or government.
120

However, financial records tell a different story as detailed below.
Islamic Development Bank: In August 1999, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), a
Saudi-based entity, donated $250,000 as a contribution to the purchase of land in
Washington DC to be the headquarters for an education and research center under the aegis
of the Council for American Islamic Relations.
121

Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, who has served as IDB President for more than 20 years, was
Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) from 1993-1995.
122
Founded in
1962 to promote Islamic unity, MWL is one of the largest of the Saudi Islamic
evangelical charities.
123
According to a government trial proffer in 2003, Osama bin Laden
identified MWL as one of three Muslim charities that provided the primary sources of Al
Qaedas funds during conversations a decade earlier with former senior Al Qaeda
lieutenant J amal Ahmed Al-Fadl.
124
MWLs U.S. office was raided in 2002 as part of a
massive terrorism financing probe.
125

In 2002, MWL Secretary General Dr. Abdullah Ibn Abdul Mohsin Al Turki toured CAIRs
Washington D.C. headquarters and received a briefing from Nihad Awad. According to a

116
Rally outside the Israeli Consulate, Los Angeles, California, October 22, 2000.
117
CAIR Action Alert, Support the Victims of Palestinian Aggression, October 1, 2000.
118
CAIR website, September 17, 2001, http://web.archive.org/web/20010917013636/http://cair-net.org/ and
CAIR website, October 31, 2001, http://web.archive.org/web/20011031190542/http://www.cair-net.org/ .
119
http://web.archive.org/web/20010925192044/http://www.cair-net.org/ (accessed September 3, 2004).
120
Islamaphobe Smear Campaign Goes Public, CAIR Press Release, November 8, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011108194447/www.cair-net.org/nr/11-08.asp (accessed November 13, 2007).
121
IDB Approves Projects Worldwide, Saudi Embassy Press Release, August 15, 1999,
http://web.archive.org/web/20000417093241/http://saudiembassy.net/press_release/99_spa/08_15_aid.html
(accessed November 13, 2007).
122
Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali The IDB Group President,
http://web.archive.org/web/20040603062042/www.isdb.org/english_docs/idb_home/Pres_CV.htm (accessed
November 13, 2007).
123
Saudi Arabian Information Resources: Muslim World League, http://www.saudinf.com/main/k312.htm
(accessed October 6, 2004).
124
US v. Arnaout, 02 CR 892, Governments Evidentiary Proffer Supporting the Admissibility of Co-
Conspirator Statements, 25 (N.D. Ill January 31, 2003).
125
In the Matter of Searches Involving 555 Grove Street, Herndon, Virginia, and Related Locations, 02-114-
MG, Redacted Affidavit In Support of Application, (USDC ED VA).
20
report in the official Saudi publication Ain-Al-Yaqeen, Al Turki stressed the necessity of
promoting effective coordination among Islamic organisations in the United States of
AmericaDr. Al Turki expressed the League's readiness to offer assistance in the
promotion and coordination of Islamic works, and noted that it will establish a Commission
for this purpose.
126

Also in 2002, CAIR received $500,000 from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
127

World Assembly of Muslim Youth: Additionally, CAIR has received significant financial
support from WAMY, a Saudi-supported group
128
that publishes materials that promote
religious hatred.
129
WAMYs Washington, D.C. office, raided in May 2004 by federal
agents,
130
had once been headed by Osama bin Ladens nephew, Abdullah bin Laden.
131

When Ahmad Ajaj was arrested in 1992 while trying to enter the United States with Ramzi
Yousef, investigators found among Ajajs belongings a WAMY envelope with the
organizations Saudi Arabia address.
132
The envelope contained a manual entitled,
Military Lessons in the J ihad against the Tyrants. Both Yousef and Ajaj were later
convicted for their roles in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
WAMY publishes materials that promote religious hatred through such books as Islamic
Views, printed in Arabic by the Armed Forces Printing Press of the Saudi government.
Islamic Views teaches that Islam is a religion of Jihad and that Jihad was an answer for
the J ews, the liars.
133
Islamic Views also advises Muslims to
Teach our children to love taking revenge on the J ews and
the oppressors, and teach them that our youngsters will
liberate Palestine and Al Quds when they go back to Islam
and make Jihad for the sake of Allah.
134

According to a Dec. 23, 1999 Arab News article, WAMY announced at a Riyadh press
conference that it was extending both moral and financial support to CAIR in its effort to
construct a $3.5 million headquarters in Washington, D.C.
135
The article noted that

126
Ain-Al-Yaqeen, July 12, 2002, http://www.ain-al-yaqeen.com/issues/20020712/feat10en.htm, (accessed
October 18, 2004).
127
US Muslims Split Over Saudi Donations, Associated Press, December 1, 2002.
128
WAMY team in Afghanistan risks life to deliver aid, Saudi Gazette, Interview with Dr Abdul Wahab
A. Noorwali, Assistant Secretary General of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), in Jeddah,
November 20, 2001:
Saudi Arabia's support has been enormous since the establishment of WAMY in 1963. The
Kingdom provides us with a supportive environment that allows us to work openly within the
society to collect funds and spread activities. It also provides us with protection abroad through
Saudi embassies and consulates, in addition to financial support.
129
See discussion infra.
130
Controversial Muslim Charity Says Volunteer Wrongly Charged, Associated Press, June 2, 2004.
131
Islamic Charity Committee Moves to New Premises, Arab News, May 1994; see also IRS 1993-1999
World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) Form 990, Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
132
The 48-page manual was Government Exhibit No. GX 2800-A S5 93 CR 180 in United States v. Salameh,
93-cr-180 (S5).
133
Islamic Views, Saudi Armed Forces Printing Press, 13
th
Edition, Circa 1991.
134
Islamic Views, Saudi Armed Forces Printing Press, 13
th
Edition, Circa 1991.
135
WAMY Spends SR12m on New Mosques, Arab News, December 23, 1999.
21
WAMY would introduce CAIR to Saudi philanthropists and recommend their financial
support for the headquarters project.
136
Nihad Awad attended the press conference.
137

On November 9, 2002, The Muslim World, MWLs weekly newspaper, reported that CAIR
and WAMY would cooperate on a million dollar public relations campaign and that Awad
was scheduled to meet with Prince Walled Ibn Talal.
138

International Relief Organization: Additionally, CAIR received a $5,000 check on J une
13, 1994 from the International Relief Organization (IRO), the American branch of the
Saudi-funded International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO).
139
CAIR also received
$2,172 from IRO in 1995
140
and $10,000 in 1997.
141

The U.S. Treasury Department designated the Philippine and Indonesian branches of IIRO
in 2006 for facilitating fundraising for al Qaida and affiliated terrorist groups.
142

A former ASG member in the Philippines familiar with IIRO operations in the country
reported that a limited amount of foreign IIRO funding goes to legitimate projects and the
rest is directed to terrorist operations, the Treasury statement said.
143

IROs Virginia office was raided by the FBI in 1997 as part of a money laundering and
terrorism investigation. In an affidavit, FBI Agent Valerie Donohue stated, IRO holds
itself out to the public as a charitable organization, but has disbursed significant sums of
money in ways that do not appear consistent with a charitable mission.
144

In 2002, IRO was again raided by Operation Green Quest, a federal task force targeting the
financiers of Al Qaeda and other international terrorist groups.
145
CAIR also received over
$15,000 from IIRO, which was raided by federal law enforcement in 1997 and 2002.
146

CAIR founder and chairman Omar Ahmad testified on behalf of Mohamed J amal
Khalifah,
147
Osama bin Ladens brother-in law
148
and the one-time head of IIROs office in
the Philippines.
149


136
WAMY Spends SR12m on New Mosques, Arab News, December 23, 1999.
137
WAMY Spends SR12m on New Mosques, Arab News, December 23, 1999.
138
WAMY Supports CAIR Campaign Against US Anti-Islamic Sentiment, The Muslim World, November
29, 2002. Also published in the Saudi Gazette, November 13, 2002. Note: CAIR was planning to publish
advertisements in 10 American newspapers.
139
Check number 1958, Account 056001118, First Virginia Bank, Falls Church, Virginia.
140
1995 International Relief Organization Form 990, Internal Revenue Service. Note: IRO is also known as
the International Islamic Relief Organization (IRO). See: US v. Biheiri, 03-365-A, Declaration in Support of
Pre-Trial Detention, (E.D. VA August 14, 2003).
141
1997 International Relief Organization Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
142
Press Release, Treasury Designates Director, Branches of Charity Bankrolling Al Qaida Network, U.S.
Treasury Department, August 3, 2006.
143
Ibid.
144
Application and Affidavit for Search Warrant, Global Chemical Corporation, Affidavit of Special Agent
Valerie Donahue FBI, 97 M010, 15 (ND Ill ED January 8, 1997)
145
In the Matter of Searches Involving 555 Grove Street, Herndon, Virginia, and Related Locations, 02-114-
MG, Redacted Affidavit In Support of Application, (USDC ED VA).
146
See discussion infra.
147
Testimony of Omar Ahmad, A29 457 661, In the matter of Mohammad J amal Khalifah, December 20,
1994.
148
Congressional Joint Inquiry into the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, 128.
22
Khalifah was arrested by the INS and the FBI in San Francisco on Dec. 16, 1994.
150
At the
time of his arrest, he had been convicted in absentia in J ordan for his alleged involvement
in a series of bombings in J ordan in 1993 and1994.
151
Additionally, authorities found
documents in his possession referring to the assassination of bishops and bombings of
churches.
152
Moreover, Khalifah has been identified as the financier of Ramzi Yousefs
plot to simultaneously blow up 12 U.S. airplanes over the Pacific.
153

Despite Khalifahs deep involvement in terrorism, Ahmad testified that, although he did
not know him personally, he was familiar with IIROs work, Ahmad said. Im very
familiar with their work. I work very closely with their office in Washington D.C.And
also I knowa lot of people who work in their office in J iddah, in Saudi Arabia, who are
very close friends of mine.
154
During the testimony, Ahmads attorney stated that,
[Ahmad] has known and worked with the International Islamic Relief Organization for
approximately ten years.
155

U.S. officials deported Khalifah to J ordan in 1995. He was killed in J anuary 2007 by a
number of assailants at a mine he owned in Madagascar.
156

International Institute of Islamic Thought: Further, CAIR received $19,500 between
2000 and 2003 from the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).
157
Significant
financial, ideological and personal connections exist between IIIT and the World and Islam
Studies Enterprise (WISE), which the U.S. government has identified as a front for the
Palestinian Islamic J ihad.
158
Like IIRO, IIIT was raided by Operation Green Quest.
159

Independent of the foreign financial support, the depth of CAIRs support in America is
difficult to gauge. During the summer of 2007, CAIR officials claimed membership was
robust and growing, only to contradict themselves two months later in fighting the J ustice
Departments identification of CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF trial.
CAIR balked at a Washington Times report on J une 12, 2007 that cited IRS returns to show
membership plummeting 90 percent from 29,000 members in 2000 to less than 1,700 in

149
Respondents opening brief regarding the Immigration judges denial of bail In the matter of Mohammad
J amal Khalifah,A29 457 661.
150
Fax sent by the US Consulate General in J eddah to S/CT Wilcox at the US State Department on December
17
th
1994.
151
Affidavit of FBI Special Agent Robert Walker, In support of complaint against Benevolence International
Foundation, April 29, 2002.
152
Affidavit of FBI Special Agent Robert Walker, In support of complaint against Benevolence International
Foundation, April 29, 2002.
153
Congressional Joint Inquiry into the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, at 128.
154
Testimony of Omar Ahmad, In the matter of Mohammad Jamal Khalifah, File A29 457 661, December
20, 1994.
155
Testimony of Omar Ahmad, In the matter of Mohammad Jamal Khalifah, File A29 457 661, December
20, 1994.
156
Nick Fielding, Gems, al-Qaida and murder. Mystery over killing of Osama Bin Laden's friend, The
Guardian, March 2, 2007.
157
2000, 2001, 2001, 2003 International Institute of Islamic Thought Form 990, Internal Revenue Service
(IRS).
158
In the Matter of Searches Involving 555 Grove Street, Herndon, Virginia, and Related Locations, 02-114-
MG, Redacted Affidavit In Support of Application, (USDC ED VA). Note: For example, in 1991 and 1995,
IIIT contributed at least $50,000 to PIJ front-group WISE.
152
In the Matter of Searches Involving 555 Grove Street, Herndon, Virginia, and Related Locations, 02-114-
MG, Redacted Affidavit In Support of Application, (USDC ED VA).
23
2006.
160
A CAIR news release issued the same day accused the Times of "agenda-driven
reporting" and claimed that the story ignored 25,000 people who joined for $10 each.
161

"Support for CAIR has grown as ordinary Muslims witnessed the exponential growth in
attacks on their faith by Islamophobes seeking to marginalize and disenfranchise the
American Islamic community," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
162

On Aug. 14, 2007, CAIR filed a court brief in which it acknowledged membership indeed
was down. This negative reaction by the American public can be seen in the decline of
membership rates and donations resulting from the government's publicizing of CAIR as an
unindicted co-conspirator, attorney William Moffitt wrote in a brief to the court.
163

Among the proof cited, the same Washington Times story CAIR originally dismissed as
false and agenda driven.

IV. The Suspect Ties of CAIR Officials, Fundraisers & Trainers
A number of CAIR officials and some other individuals who have raised funds for CAIR
have in some cases committed criminal acts themselves, or in other cases have ties to
organizations connected to Islamic extremism. The fact that such individuals have played
significant roles for CAIR casts doubt on CAIR's claims of moderation and restraint. The
individuals discussed in this section of the report are included not to suggest that any is
responsible for the acts of the others or that those convicted of crimes should be lumped
together with those that have not been, but rather to demonstrate a pattern of extremism
that appears to pervade CAIR.

Ghassan Elashi
Though Elashi attended the 1993 Philadelphia Hamas meeting and was a founding board
member of CAIR-Texas,
164
CAIR attempts to minimize his ties to the group. That is
understandable, given Elashis 2004 conviction on six criminal counts, including making
false statements, conspiracy to violate the Export Administration Regulations and the
Libyan Sanctions Regulations, and conspiracy to file false shippers export declaration
forms.
165
J urors were unable to reach unanimous verdicts on the charges against him in the
HLF trial.
In Senate testimony, CAIRs Nihad Awad said Mr. Elashi was never an employee or
officer of our corporation. The fact that he was once associated with one of our almost
twenty regional chapters has no legal significance to our corporation.
166
Again, in J anuary
2007, Awad had this to say when U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.) rescinded an award to

160
Audrey Hudson, CAIR membership falls 90% since 9/11, The Washington Times, J une 12, 2007.
161
CAIR Accuses Washington Times of 'Agenda-Driven Reporting, June 12, 2007
162
Ibid.
163
Amicus Curiae Brief of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, US v. Holy Land Foundation, No.
3:04-CR-240 (TX ND) Aug. 14, 2007.
164
Articles of Incorporation for CAIR, Texas Secretary of State, September 29, 1998.
165
Elashi Brothers Convicted, US Department of Justice Press Release, J uly 8, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel04/elashi_conv.pdf (accessed J uly 9, 2004).
166
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 17, 2003, 5.
24
CAIR employee Bassim Elkarra: Ghassan Elashi was a former member of CAIR in Dallas
-- he did not do it on CAIR's behalf. This is true guilt by association. We have tens of
thousands of members nationwide, and it will be very unfair to hold the organization
responsible for the actions of an individual.
167

Elashi was also chairman
168
and treasurer
169
of HLF and vice president of marketing for
Infocom, a computer export company.
170
On December 17, 2002, Elashi and Infocom were
indicted for engaging in financial transactions with Libya, Syria, and Mousa Abu
Marzook.
171
According to the indictment, Elashi and Infocom received at least $250,000
from accounts controlled by Marzook.
172

Infocom was found guilty on all 10 counts with which it was charged.
173
Additionally,
Elashi and his brothers, Basman and Bayan, were found guilty of the Marzook-related
charges on April 13, 2005.
174

The Elashi brothers were convicted on the Infocom computer equipment charges in J uly
2004
175
and on the Marzook/Hamas related charges in April 2005.
176
Ghassan and Basman
Elashi were sentenced to 80 months in prison and Bayan Elashi was sentenced to 84
months in prison.
177
Ihsan Elashi was sentenced to 72 months in prison; he had already
been sentenced to 48 months on separate charges and his terms will run consecutively.
Hazim Elashi was sentenced to 66 months in prison and will be deported upon completion
of his term.
178


167
Stephen Magagnini and David Whitney, Boxer Pulls Muslim Award, CAIR Director's Honor Rescinded
Over Concerns About Group's Activities, The Sacramento Bee, January 4, 2007,
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/102832.html
168
1999 HLFRD Form 990, Internal Revenue Service. Note: Ghassan Elashi is listed on HLFs (then
known as the Occupied Land Fund) IRS forms as principal officer/secretary in January 1989. See: 1989
Articles of Incorporation, Occupied Land Fund Form 1023, Internal Revenue Service.
169
1993, 1998 HLFRD Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
170
US v. Elashi, 3:02-CR-052-R, Superseding indictment, (N.D. Tex. December 17, 2002).
171
US v. Elashi, Case No. 3:02-CR-052-R, Superseding indictment (N.D. Tex. December 17, 2002). Note:
Mousa Abu Marzook is married to Elashis first cousin.
172
US v. Elashi, Case No. 3:02-CR-052-R, Superseding indictment, (N.D. Tex. December 17, 2002).
173
Elashi Brothers Convicted, US Department of J ustice Press Release, J uly 8, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel04/elashi_conv.pdf (accessed J uly 9, 2004).
174
US v. Elashi, 3:02-CR-052-R, Verdict of the jury (N.D. Tex. April, 13, 2005) and David Koenig,
Brothers Found Guilty of Terrorism Support, Associated Press, April 13, 2005,
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050413/ap_on_re_us/hamas_trial_1 (accessed April 14,
2005) and Art Moore, CAIR leader convicted of terror charges; Founding board member of Texas Chapter
funded Hamas, World Net Daily, April 14, 2005,
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43805 (accessed April 14, 2005).
175
Elashi Brothers Convicted, Department of J ustice press release, J uly 8, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel04/elashi_conv.pdf
176
More Federal Convictions For Elashi Brothers And Infocom Corporation At Second Trial, Department
of J ustice press release, April 14, 2005, http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel05/elashi_conv_part2.pdf
177
INFOCOM CORPORATION AND ITS OPERATORS SENTENCED IN FEDERAL COURT;
ELASHI BROTHERS CONVICTED FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH TERRORIST, Department of J ustice
Press Release, October 13, 2006, http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/terroristsupport101306.htm;
Michael Grabell, Holy Land group's co-founder sentenced, Dallas Morning News, October 12, 2006,
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/101306dnmetelashi.302f898f.html
178
Elashi Brothers Sentenced Department of Justice press release, January 25, 2006,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel06/elashi_hazim_ihsan_sen_pr.html
25

Randall (Ismail) Royer
According to a biography posted on IslamOnline.net, Royer began working as a CAIR
communication specialist in 1997.
179
According to media reports, he continued to work for
CAIR at least through the beginning of October 2001.
180

When police stopped Royer for a traffic violation in September 2001, they found in his
automobile an AK-47-style rifle and 219 rounds of ammunition.
181

He was indicted in J une 2003, with 10 others, on a variety of charges stemming from
participation in the ongoing jihad in Kashmir. Specifically, the indictment charged that
Royer engaged in propaganda work for Lashkar-e-Taiba and fired at Indian positions in
Kashmir.
182
Lashkar-e-Taiba was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization on
December 26, 2001.
183

Thus, while news reports indicated he still worked for CAIR, according to a federal
indictment, Royer purchased an AK-47 assault rifle and 219 rounds of ammunition,
distributed newsletters for a group later designated as a foreign terrorist organization, and
fired at Indian targets in Kashmir.
184
Again, Awad has minimized CAIRs ties to Royer,
noting Royer was also a former employee of Starbucks Coffee.
185
In J anuary 2007, in
response to Senator Boxers withdrawal of the award to Elkarra, Awad claimed that CAIR
had no knowledge of Royers travels and activities before he joined CAIR.
186


179
Biography of Ismail Royer,
http://ww.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Guestcv.asp?hGuestID=605R88 (accessed October 14, 2004).
180
Mike Snider, Harassment Intrudes on Chat Sites, USA Today, September 18, 2001 and Dave Lenckus,
US Muslims Advised to Address Racism Risks; Advocates Encourage Community Work, Crain
Communications, Inc. Business Insurance, October 1, 2001.
181
US v. Royer, 03-296-A, Superseding indictment, (E.D. Va. September 23, 2003).
182
US v. Royer, 03-CR-296, Sealed indictment, (E.D. Va. J une 25, 2003).
183
Powell Names Two Groups as Terrorist Organizations, US State Department, December 26, 2001,
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/01122601.htm (accessed July 9, 2004). Markaz al-Dawa wal Irshd,
the admitted political wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba, was first established in 1986 for the purpose of organi[zing]
the Pakistanis participating in Afghan J ihad. See: Markaz ad-Da'wa wal Irshad & Lashkar-e-Taiba, Pakistan,
former URL http://www.dawacenter.com/ via MSA News, March 7, 2000.
184
US v. Royer, 03-CR-296, Sealed indictment, (E.D. Va. J une 25, 2003).
185
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 17, 2003, 4. Note: As
an example of the close ties between Awad and Royer, see the October 5, 2000 IslamOnline chat that the two
men participated in together. See: Live Dialogue with Nihad Awad and Ismail Royer, Executive Director
and Communications Specialist: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), October 5, 2000,
http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=605R88 (accessed October 29,
2004).
186
Stephen Magagnini and David Whitney, Boxer Pulls Muslim Award, CAIR Director's Honor Rescinded
Over Concerns About Group's Activities, The Sacramento Bee, January 4, 2007,
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/102832.html
26
Additional charges listed in a superseding indictment against Royer and his 10 co-
conspirators included conspiracy to levy war against the United States and conspiracy to
provide material support to Al Qaeda.
187

On J anuary 16, 2004, Royer pleaded guilty to weapons and explosives charges and agreed
to cooperate fully with the government.
188
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
189

In J anuary 2007, two weeks after U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.) rescinded an award to
one of its employees, CAIR released an open letter, ironically titled, DE-MYSTIFYING
URBAN LEGENDS ABOUT CAIR.
190
It once again downplayed Royers conviction
and ties to CAIR, writing:

FACT: WHATEVER ISMAIL ROYER DID OR DID NOT DO HAS
NO BEARING ON HIS PREVIOUS WORK FOR CAIR

In J anuary 2004, Royer pleaded guilty to weapons charges and did not plead
guilty to any charge of terrorism. Notwithstanding the fact that any
criminal action to which he pleaded guilty was done when Royer was no
longer employed with CAIR and not at CAIRs direction, it is important to
note that the only crimes that he pleaded guilty to were weapons charges,
not charges of terrorism.

The word terrorism does not, in fact, appear in the charges to which Royer pleaded
guilty. But the charges were related to his activities in connection to Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT), a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and in furtherance of the terrorist activities
of that group, including against the U.S. military.
191


As part of his plea, Royer admitted to calling his LeT contact in Pakistan in September
2001 while press accounts indicate he was still employed with CAIR and providing
physical descriptions of his associates who wanted to join the jihad, as well as giving one
of his cell members instructions and contact information for reaching LeT once they
arrived in Pakistan. Four of his friends then departed Northern Virginia for Pakistan two
on September 19, 2001 and two on September 20 to train with LeT with the intention of

187
US Department of Justice News Release, September 25, 2003,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae/ArchivePress/SeptemberPDFArchive/03/royer092603.pdf (accessed April 8,
2004).
188
Two Defendants in Virginia J ihad Case Plead Guilty to Weapons Charges, Will Cooperate with Ongoing
Investigations, US Department of Justice News Release, January 16, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/J anuary/04_crm_030.htm (accessed July 7, 2004).
189
Randall Todd Royer and Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi Sentenced for Participation in Virginia Jihad
Network, US Department of Justice News Release, April 9, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/April/04_crm_225.htm, accessed July 7, 2004. In total, six members of the
cell pleaded guilty, three were convicted, and two were acquitted. See: Defendants Convicted in Northern
Virginia Jihad Trial, US Department of Justice News Release, March 4, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/March/04_crm_139.htm, accessed July 13, 2004 and Jerry Markin, Final
Defendant in 'Va. J ihad' Case Acquitted, The Washington Post, March 9, 2004.
190
http://www.cairphilly.org/files/Demystifying_Urban_Legends_About_CAIR.pdf
191
Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons, Office of Foreign Assets Control,
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf.
27
fighting alongside the Taliban against U.S. forces in anticipation of an American invasion
of Afghanistan.

On page two of his plea agreement, Royer admits the facts set forth in the statement of
facts filed with this plea agreement.
192
That statement clearly explains Royers
relationship to LeT, which the government alleged began in February 2000, meaning
almost all of it coincided with Royers employment with CAIR.
193


1. In or about the fall of 2001, in the Eastern District of Virginia,
RANDALL TODD ROYER aided and abetted the use and discharge of a
semi-automatic pistol by Masoud Khan, Yong Kwon, Mohammad Aatique,
and Khwaja Hasan in Pakistan during, in relation to, and in furtherance of a
crime of violence for which the defendant may be prosecuted in a court of
the United States. In specific, ROYER assisted Khan, Kwon, Aatique, and
Hasan in gaining entry to a jihad camp run by the Lashkar-e-Taiba in
Pakistan so that they could train in the use of various weapons; as a
foreseeable part of that training, and in furtherance of the conspiracy
charged in Count One of the Indictment against the defendant, Khan, Kwon,
Aatique, and Hasan fired semiautomatic pistols.

2. In or about the summer of 2000, in the Eastern District of Virginia,
RANDALL TODD ROYER aided and abetted the carrying of an explosive
in Pakistan during the commission of a felony which may be prosecuted in a
court of the United States. In specific, ROYER aided and abetted the
carrying of a rocket-propelled grenade at a Lashkar-e-Taiba camp in
Pakistan by Ibrahim Al-Hamdi, during the commission of a conspiracy to
provide for, and prepare a means for taking part in a military expedition
and enterprise to be carried on from the United States against the territory
and dominion of India, a foreign state with whom the United States was at
peace, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 960.

11. On or about April 10, 2000, ROYER entered Pakistan, and found the
LET office in Lahore. There, he said that he had previously fought in Bosnia
and that-be wanted to go help fight in Chechnya. The LET representatives
verified Royer's story about having previously fought in Bosnia, and told
him that LET could get him to Chechnya.

15. During his time at the LET offices in Lahore, in or about early May
2000, ROYER was taken up to the LET training camps including Ibn
Tayrniyaa, Aqsa, and fin Masood, and to the front line in Kashmir. At the
front line, ROYER was given - - and took - - an opportunity to shoot some
rounds at Indian positions in Kashmir with a machine gun.


192
U.S. v. Royer et. al. Plea Agreement, EDVA 03-cr-296 January 28, 2004.
193
U.S. v. Royer et. al. Superseding indictment, EDVA 03-cr-296 September 25, 2003.
28
31. [After September 16, 2001 and before September 19, 2001] ROYER met
with Kwon and Hasan at a 7-11 store in Virginia. Using a long distance
telephone card purchased at the 7-11 store, ROYER provided to his LET
contact in Pakistan the physical descriptions of Kwon and Hasan, as
individuals who wished to go to LET. ROYER provided Kwon with
instructions and a phone number to call when they arrived in Pakistan.
(emphasis added)

CAIRs word games regarding the word terrorism in Royers pleacannot change the
fact that their employee conspired to engage in a holy war against an ally of the United
States, and, as Royer has also admitted, against the U.S. itself.

In later grand jury testimony relating to a Virginia imam and released by the U.S.
Attorneys office, Royer admitted again that his terrorist cells goal was to directly fight the
United States on behalf of the Taliban.

Royers testimony centers on a secret meeting Sept. 16, 2001 with his Virginia J ihad cell.
There, Royer said, Imam Ali al-Timimi discussed his view of the September 11
th
attacks
and what the response of Muslims in the United States should be now.
194
Al-Timimi came
equipped with a printout of a fatwa from a Saudi Sheikh which approved of the 9/11
attacks, Royer said, and predicted that the U.S. would soon invade Afghanistan and that it
was a positive thing for Muslims to go and help the Taliban defend against U.S.
invasion.
195


If possible, Royer recalled al-Timimi saying, cell members should go join the mujahedin.
To Royer, that meant in pretty clear terms that, that it would be beneficial for us to go
and help them help the Taliban. Royer testified he wanted to act on that advice.
Well, what I said was that if anyone wanted to, to join mujahedin then they should
get training first, and if they wanted to so they, they could obtain it from Lashkar-e-
Taiba, an organization based in Kashmir with whom I had contact.
196
(emphasis
added)
As stated above, the meeting with al-Timimi, Royer and the other members of the Virginia
J ihad cell occurred while news accounts say Royer was still employed with CAIR.
Bassam Khafagi
As late as November 1, 2002, Bassam Khafagi served as CAIRs director of community
relations.
197

Khafagi was arrested in J anuary 2003 and indicted in February that year on bank fraud
charges.
198
At the time of his arrest, the Associated Press reported, he was community

194
U.S. v. John Doe A01-246, Grand Jury Number 04-2, Testimony of RANDALL TODD ROYER, June
22, 2004.
195
Ibid.
196
Ibid.
197
Khafagi was listed as the Director of Community Relations for CAIR at a fundraiser held on November 1,
2002.
29
affairs director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and
advocacy group based in Washington.
199
In September 2003, he pleaded guilty to bank
and visa fraud
200
and agreed to be deported to Egypt.
201

In 2003 testimony, Awad claimed that Khafagi was never an employee of CAIR. He was
commissioned as an independent contractor for CAIR, effective November 2, 2001.
202

But even Khafagis own 2008 biography identifies him as the former director of the
Public Relations office for CAIR.
203

Khafagi also served as a founding member and president of the Islamic Assembly of North
America (IANA).
204
IANA was investigated for money laundering and recruiting terrorists
over the Internet;
205
the FBI raided its offices in February 2003.
206

IANA has created a dozen or more Web sites whose objective, prosecutors have stated in
court papers, was the dissemination of radical Islamic ideology, the purpose of which was
indoctrination, recruitment of members and the instigation of acts of violence and
terrorism.
207

According to corporate records, Khafagi served in a leadership position at IANA during the
period that senior Al Qaeda recruiter Abdelrahman al-Dosari (a.k.a. Shaykh Abu Abdel
Aziz Barbaros) spoke at IANAs 1993, 1994 and 1995 conferences.
208

Nabil Sadoun
Nabil Sadoun currently serves on CAIRs board of directors
209
and is a board member and
past chair of CAIR-Texas.
210


198
US v. Khafagi, Case No. 03-CR 80087, Indictment, (E.D. Mich. February 13, 2003).
199
Former Head of Islamic Charity Sentenced in Fraud Case, Associated Press, November 13, 2003 and
Bill Morlin, Egyptian with UI Ties Held in Probe, Spokane Spokesman-Review, March 14, 2003.
200
Ex-Head of Islamic Charity Pleads Guilty, Associated Press, September 10, 2003.
201
Former Head of Islamic Charity Sentenced in Fraud Case, Associated Press, November 13, 2003
202
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 17, 2003, 4.
203
Guest CV, Islamonline.net Live Dialogue, February 6, 2008.
http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Guestcv.asp?hGuestID=nKTP5u
204
Articles of Incorporation Islamic Assembly of North America, Colorado Secretary of State, May 10,
1994.
205
Saudi National Charged with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Hamas and Other Violent
Jihadists, US Department of Justice News Release, March 4, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/March/04_crm_137.htm (accessed July 11, 2004) and Alexander Higgins,
Swiss Court OKs Bank Document Handover, Associated Press, October 15, 2004 and Susan Schmidt,
Spreading Saudi Fundamentalism in US, Washington Post, October 2, 2003.
206
Feds Raid Muslim Charity, UPI, February 27, 2003. Note: CAIR sent an email announcement about
IANAs 2000 West Coast Conference. See: IANA West Coast Conference 2000, CAIR Southern California
email, MSA News, May 19, 2000.
207
Saudi National Charged with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Hamas and Other Violent
Jihadists, US Department of Justice News Release, March 4, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/March/04_crm_137.htm (accessed July 11, 2004) and Susan Schmidt,
Spreading Saudi Fundamentalism in US, Washington Post, October 2, 2003.
208
Articles of Incorporation Islamic Assembly of North America, Colorado Secretary of State, May 10,
1994 and Shaykh Abu Abdel Aziz, J ihad and Revival, Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA),
Chicago, IL, 1993.
209
CAIR Board of Directors, http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=Board (accessed July 5, 2007).
30
He helped found the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR) with Hamas
leader Marzook.
211
According to a government motion filed in a criminal prosecution,
UASR, through its Executive Director, has demonstrated its sympathies for Hamas
andseveral of its key associates are, or have been, integrally involved in Hamas
activities.
212

As noted earlier, the UASR was listed among the organizations in the Muslim
Brotherhoods Palestine Committee in America.
Sadoun also was a co-founder of the Muslim American Youth Association (MAYA)
213
and
was associated with MAYA through at least 2001.
214
Other co-founders included Osama
bin Ladens nephew, Abdullah,
215
and the group was funded with a $250,000 grant from
the Bin Laden Construction Company in J eddah, Saudi Arabia.
216

MAYAs conferences, many of which it co-sponsored with IAP, have long supported
Hamas.
For example, in 1989, at an IAP/MAYA conference, a masked Hamas commander praised
a Hamas operative for driving a civilian bus off the road into a ravine, killing 17 persons.
217

The crowd responded with shouts of God is great!
218
And Muhammad J arrad, a detained
Hamas terrorist, acknowledged in an April 1993 interrogation that he had been a member
of MAYA for 4 or 5 years.
219
J arrad said that, at the 1993 MAYA conference held in
Oklahoma City, he had met Hamas leader Marzook.
220

Another convicted Hamas member, Nasser Hidmi, was invited by a senior Hamas recruiter
to a MAYA conference in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1990.
221
Hidmi alleged that separate
meetings were conducted during the conference specifically for Hamas supporters. Hidmi
testified that during another MAYA conference in Kansas City in 1991, Hamas members
discussed preparing terrorist attacks against Israel.
222

Additionally, in December 1992, MAYAs Arabic language periodical Al-Amal quoted
Sadoun as saying that MAYA had introduced to the whole American [people] symbols of

210
CAIR Board of Directors, Sadoun Profile, http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=Board&person=Nabil
(accessed J uly 5, 2007).
211
Articles of Incorporation United Association for Studies and Research, Illinois, September 18, 1989.
212
US v. Damra, 03-cr-484, United States Response in Opposition to Defendant Fawaz Damras Motion for
Permission to Travel to Springfield,Virginia, (D.C. Oh March 24, 2004).
213
1990 Muslim Arab Youth Association Form 1023, Internal Revenue Service; and Articles of
Incorporation: Muslim Arab Youth Association in North America, Inc. (MAYA), October 1989.
214
List of Names of Speakers on the MSA Speakers List, September 1, 2001,
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:BAbB2CXeQqsJ:www.msa-
national.org/resources/speakers.pdf+sadoun+maya&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
215
1990 Muslim Arab Youth Association Form 1023, Internal Revenue Service.
216
1990 Muslim Arab Youth Association Form 1023, Internal Revenue Service.
217
Muslim Arab Youth Association /Islamic Association for Palestine Conference, 1989.
218
Muslim Arab Youth Association /Islamic Association for Palestine Conference, 1989.
219
Interrogation of Muhammad Jarad, April 2, 1993, Ramallah.
220
Interrogation of Muhammad Jarad, April 2, 1993, Ramallah.
221
State of Israel v. Nasser Issa Galal Hayedmi, ID#23474141, Verdict.
222
State of Israel v. Nasser Issa Galal Hayedmi, ID#23474141, Verdict.
31
the awakening like Dr. Abdullah Azzam.
223
Azzam was Osama bin Ladens spiritual
advisor
224
and a co-founder of Al Qaedas predecessor, the Makhtab Al-Khidamat.
225
In
May 1988, Azzam had been invited to address the annual MAYA national conference held
in the United States.
226

Sadoun also served as a director of American Products International (API).
227
Federal
investigators say API is a component of the SAAR network. Investigators believe that
network provided material or financial support to international terrorists and terrorist
organizations through terrorist front organizations including Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic J ihad.
228

Mohammad El-Mezain
El-Mezain is the former chairman
229
and director of endowments for HLF.
230
Three years
after the Treasury Department froze HLFs assets,
231
El-Mezain conducted fundraising at a
CAIR-New York event, soliciting over $100,000 for his CAIR hosts.
232
Nihad Awad and
Omar Ahmad both attended the event.
233
Mezain was indicted soon afterward for providing
material support to Hamas. J urors acquitted El-Mezain of all but one count against him in
the HLF trial. He still faces a charge of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist
group.
234

According to an FBI memorandum released in conjunction with freezing assets of the Holy
Land Foundation in 2001 for providing material support to a terrorist group, El-Mezain
helped raise $207,000 at the 1994 MAYA conference in Los Angeles. El-Mezain led a
fundraising drive after a fiery speech by keynote speaker Sheik Muhammed Siyam, who
was introduced as the head of the HAMAS military wing in Gaza.
235

In his speech, Siyam said Finish off the Israelis. Kill them all! Exterminate them! No
peace ever!

223
Comprehensive Interview with Brother Nabil Sadoun President of Muslim Arab Youth Association, Al-
Amal, December 1992, 64.
224
9/11 Commission Report, 55.
225
9/11 Commission Report, 56.
226
Muslim Arab Youth Association Conference, May 5, 1988.
227
Virginia Secretary of State Record, American Products International, File Number 439740, Status Date
May 31, 2000.
228
In the Matter of Searches Involving 555 Grove Street, Herndon, Virginia, and Related Locations, 02-114-
MG, Redacted Affidavit In Support of Application, (USDC ED VA).
229
1990 Holy Land Foundation Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
230
Action Memorandum, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development International Emergency
Economic Powers Act. From Dale Watson, Assistant Director, FBI Counterterrorism Division, To Richard
Newcomb, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Dept of Treasury , November 5, 2001
231
Shutting Down the Terrorist Financial Network, US Treasury Department, December 4, 2001,
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/po841.htm.
232
CAIR-New York: The Role of the Seven Million American Muslims in the 2004 Elections, April 10,
2004.
233
CAIR-New York: The Role of the Seven Million American Muslims in the 2004 Elections, April 10,
2004.
234
US v. Holy Land Foundation, verdict, Oct. 22, 2007 (N.D. Tx,).
235
Watson Action Memo, 46-47
32
An FBI informant reported that El-Mezain told the audience that money raised by HLF
went to Hamas and that he had raised $1.8 million inside the United States for HAMAS.
236

Further, the source said, El-Mezain said all HLF money was strictly for Hamas.

Riad Abdelkarim
Abdelkarim served as CAIRs Western Region communications director from 2000-
2002,
237
as well as a CAIR Southern California board member in 2000
238
and 2002.
239

He also served as HLFs secretary in 2000
240
and was an HLF board member when the
organization was shut down in December 2001.
241
He defended HLF after the shutdown,
telling the Los Angeles Times, I think it's shameful that our country's best known and most
trusted American Muslim charity has been so horribly lynched by President Bush and
offered as a sacrificial lamb to Israel
242

Following HLFs shutdown, Abdelkarim formed an Islamic charity called KinderUSA
243

with former HLF fundraiser and spokeswoman Dallel Mohmed.
244
In May 2002,
Abdelkarim and Mohmed, were detained in Israel and interrogated about their financial
support for Hamas.
245
Released after two weeks, he agreed never to return to Israel.
246
In
December 2004, KinderUSA suspended operations and entered a period of evaluation and
review in the face of an FBI investigation but has since resumed operations.
247

Rabih Haddad
Rabih Haddad served as a fundraiser for CAIRs Ann Arbor chapter.
248
Haddad was
chairman of the Global Relief Foundation (GRF). After 9/11, CAIR asked people to donate
to GRF to assist the victims of the attacks.
249


236
Watson Action Memo, 46-47
237
Basil Abdelkarim and Riad Abdelkarim, Can a Dying Boy's Image Be the Catalyst for Peace? The Los
Angeles Times, October 6, 2000 and Riad Abdelkarim, Ramadan: Reflecting on Sept. 11 and Beyond, Arab
American News, November 23, 2001, and Riad Abdelkarim, American Muslims and 9/11: A Community
Looks Back...and to the Future, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October 31, 2002.
238
Riad Abdelkarim and Hussam Ayloush, Islam Claims Jerusalem Too, The Los Angeles Times, July 25,
2000.
239
Profile: Riad Abdelkarim, Orange County Register, May 21, 2002.
240
2000 Holy Land Foundation Form 990, Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
241
2000 Holy Land Foundation Form 990, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Teresa Watanabe, Muslim
Leaders Back FBI-Targeted Charity, The Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2001.
242
Teresa Watanabe, Muslim Leaders Back FBI-Targeted Charity, The Los Angeles Times, December 7,
2001.
243
2002 KinderUSA Form 990,Internal Revenue Service.
244
S.H.A.R.E., HLF Newsletter, August 1999 and Mary McKee, North Texas Woman Released from Israeli
J ail, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 14, 2002.
245
Christopher Newton, Israelis Arrest Californian Associated with Relief Groups, Associated Press, May
7, 2002 and Teresa Watanabe, O.C. Doctor May Have Planned to Help Fund Terror, Israel Says, The Los
Angeles Times, May 16, 2002.
246
Big Welcome for Doctor Released by Israel, United Press International, May 20, 2002.
247
Letter from KinderUSA Board Members and KinderUSA response to Dallas Morning News
http://www.kinderusa.org/, (accessed February 14, 2005)
248
CAIR and Terrorism, The Washington Times, J uly 24, 2004 and http://aa-
peacemaking.quaker.org/haddad.html (accessed October 14, 2004).
33
On December 14, 2001 the FBI raided GRFs Bridgeview headquarters and arrested
Haddad, its chairman, on a visa violation.
250
In November 2002, an immigration judge
denied his application for asylum, concluding that he presented a substantial risk to the
national security of the United States.
251
According to the Treasury Department, Haddad
was a member of Makhtab Al-Khidamat, the precursor organization to Al Qaeda.
252


He was deported to Lebanon in J uly 2003.
253


The Global Relief Foundation (GRF) began operating in the United States as a tax-exempt,
nonprofit charitable organization in 1992.
254
Based in Bridgeview, Illinois, it grew into one
of the largest Islamic charities in the United States. GRF described itself as a not-for-profit,
nongovernmental organization set up to provide humanitarian and charitable relief to
Muslims, especially in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kashmir,
and Lebanon, through a network of overseas offices.
255
In addition to undertaking this
charitable work, however, the organization served as a propaganda organ for global jihad,
and the U.S. government has alleged that GRF funded violent jihadism.
256
GRF had an
initial budget of about $700,000.
257
By the end of the 1990s, it was reporting more than $5
million in annual contributions.
258
The organizations tax filings indicate that 90 percent of
the money donated between 1994 and 2000 was sent abroad.
259
An FBI memorandum notes
that some materials distributed by GRF glorify martyrdom through jihad and state that
donations will be used to buy ammunition, equip the raiders and support the
Mujahedin.
260
GRF had overseas registered offices in Islamabad, Pakistan; Brussels,
Belgium; Sarajevo, Bosnia; Zagreb, Croatia; and Baku, Azerbaijan.
261



249
CAIR web page, Recent News section, Help for Victims,
http://web.archive.org/web/20010925192044/http://www.cair-net.org/, (accessed September 3, 2004). Note:
CAIR also co-sponsored a March 2001 conference with GRF. See:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010202150200/groups.yahoo.com/group/iapinfo/message/883 (accessed
November 29, 2004).
250
Deanna Bellandi, FBI issues search warrants at two Islamic charities based in suburban Chicago,
Associated Press, December 14, 2001. Alexandra Moses, Local community leader detained by INS, lawyer
says, Associated Press, Dec. 17, 2001.
251
Statement of Barbara Comstock, Director of Public Affairs, on the Haddad Asylum Decision,
Department of Justice Press Release, November 22, 2002,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2002/November/02_civ_691.htm (accessed November 13, 2007).
252
Treasury Department Fact Sheet on the Global Relief Foundation, http://usinfo.org/wf-
archive/2002/021018/epf510.htm (accessed November 13, 2007).
253
Sarah Freeman, Haddad Deported, Family Remains in the US, Associated Press, J uly 16, 2003.
254
Global Relief Foundation Form 990, 1993.
255
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Monograph on Terrorism Financing,
89.
256
Ibid., 88.
257
State of Illinois, Global Relief Foundation, Articles of Incorporation, January 10, 1992.
258
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Monograph on Terrorism Financing,
89.
259
Ibid.
260
Feds Claim Muslim Charity Had Contact with Bin Laden Secretary, Associated Press, March 28, 2002.
261
Global News 4, no. 1 (Winter 1997) 8.
34
The FBI began investigating GRF prior to 9/11, suspecting that it supported Islamic
extremism
262
and had high-level affiliations with an al Qaeda precursor organization in
Pakistan.
263
Chicago FBI agents summarized their findings in a J anuary 6, 2000 memo:

Although the majority of GRF funding goes toward legitimate relief
operations, a significant percentage is diverted to fund extremist causes.
Among the terrorist groups known to have links to GRF are the Algerian
Armed Islamic Group, the Egyptian Islamic J ihad, Gamaat Al Islamyia,
and the Kashmiri Harakat Al J ihad El Islam, as well as the Al Qaeda
organization of Usama Bin Laden. . . . In the past, GRF support to
terrorists and other transnational mujahideen fighters has taken the form of
purchase and shipment of large quantities of sophisticated
communications equipment, provision of humanitarian cover
documentation to suspected terrorists and fund-raising for terrorist groups
under the cover of humanitarian relief.
264

On the day of Haddads 2001 arrest, NATO soldiers and United Nations police raided
GRFs offices in Kosovo.
265
The U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC) took control of GRFs assets, informing the GRF:
The United States Government has reason to believe that Global Relief Foundation,
Inc. (GRFI) may be engaged in activities that violate the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1701-06 (IEEPA). You are hereby notified
that pursuant to the authorities granted by the IEEPA, the U.S. Department of the
Treasury is blocking all funds and accounts and business records in which GRFI has
any interest, pending further investigation and resolution of this matter.
266


GRF sued then-Treasury Secretary Paul ONeill, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell,
then-Attorney General J ohn Ashcroft, and FBI Director Robert Mueller, challenging the
seizure of its assets, in J anuary 2002.
267
The district court denied GRFs request for an
injunction against the government officials.
268
The case went to the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit where the court found in favor of the officials.
269


Sayyid Syeed

262
Monograph on Terrorism Financing, Staff Report to the Commission, National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks upon the United States, August 2004, p. 89.
263
Treasury Department Fact Sheet on the Global Relief Foundation, Department of State: Washington
File, October 18, 2002.
264
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Monograph on Terrorism Financing,
p. 91.
265
Feds Close Two More Muslim Groups, CBS News, December 14, 2001.
266
Global Relief Foundation, Inc. v. New York Times Company, et al., 01 C 8821, Memorandum Opinion
and Order, 7 (ND IL February 19, 2003). See Appendix for the text of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1701-06.
267
Global Relief Foundation, Inc. v. Treasury Secretary Paul ONeill, et. al., 02-C-0674, Complaint, (ND
IL, J anuary 28, 2002).
268
Global Relief Foundation, Inc. v. Treasury Secretary Paul ONeill, et. al, Defendants-Appellees, No. 02-
2536, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 315 F.3d 748; 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 27172, October
29, 2002, Argued, December 31, 2002, Decided.
269
Ibid.
35
Syeed served on CAIRs board of advisors in 2000.
270

He was IIITs director of academic outreach from 1984-1994,
271
and is a current member of
the international advisory board to the American J ournal of Islamic Social Sciences, an IIIT
publication.
272
There are significant financial, ideological and personal connections
between IIIT and WISE, the latter of which the U.S. government has identified as a front
group for the Palestinian Islamic J ihad.
273

Syeed also was a founding director of the American Muslim Council (AMC) in 1990
274
and
is listed as a director and/or treasurer of the organization from 1990 to at least 1997.
275

During this time, AMC was headed by Abdurahman Alamoudi
276
-- indicted in September
2003 for illegal financial dealings with Libya
277
and, according to court documents,
provided financial support to Hamas and Al Qaeda.
278
Alamoudi pleaded guilty to engaging
in prohibited transactions with a foreign country
279
and was sentenced to 23 years in jail in
October 2004.
280
He also has admitted his involvement in a plot, masterminded by Libyan
leader Muammar Qadaffi, to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
281

Syeed has served on the board of advisory editors of UASRs publication, Middle East
Affairs Journal.
282

Since 1995 Syeed has been the secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA)
283
, investigated by the Senate Finance Committee for its ties to terrorism.
284
The

270
CAIR Newsletter, December 14, 2000 and CAIR Who Are We?
http://web.archive.org/web/20010831084928/http://www.cair-
california.org/who.htm#Management%20&%20Staff (accessed July 5, 2007).
271
M.M. Ali, Dr. Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Vol. 17, No.
3, April 1998.
272
AJISS Editors, http://www.iiit.org/Partner/AJISS/default.asp (accessed February 28, 2005). Note: CAIR
took 11 interns to IIIT headquarters in August 2003. See: IIIT Press Release, CAIR Interns Visit IIIT HQ,
August 8, 2003, http://www.iiit.org/news/news_details/default.asp?l_News_Id=122 (accessed July 5, 2007).
273
In the Matter of Searches Involving 555 Grove Street, Herndon, Virginia, and Related Locations, 02-114-
MG, Redacted Affidavit In Support of Application, (USDC ED VA). Note: For example, in 1991 and 1995,
IIIT contributed at least $50,000 to PIJ front-group WISE.
274
1990 American Muslim Council Form 1024, Internal Revenue Service, Exhibit D.
275
1990-1997 American Muslim Council Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
276
1990-1997 American Muslim Council Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
277
US v. Alamoudi, 03-1009M, (D.C. VA September 23, 2003).
278
US v. Alamoudi, 03-1009M, Supplemental Declaration in Support of Detention, (D.C. Va).
279
US v. Alamoudi, 03-513-A, Plea Agreement, (D.C. VA).
280
Abdurahman Alamoudi Sentenced to Jail in Terrorism Financing Case, Department of Justice Press
Release, October 15, 2004, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/October/04_crm_698.htm (accessed J une 30,
2006).
281
US v. Alamoudi, 03-513-A, Plea Agreement, (D.C. Va) and Patrick Tyler, Two Said to Tell of Libyan
Plot Against Saudi, The New York Times, J une 10, 2004.
282
Middle East Affairs Journal, Summer/Fall 1998.
283
See M. M. Ali, Dr. Sayyid Muhammad Syeed. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, April 1998,
Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 35, 102 (profiling Syeed as current Secretary General of ISNA, stating that Syeed had
arrived to ISNA three years ago, and quoting a 1994 farewell editorial for the American Journal of Islamic
Social Sciences (AJISS) in which Syeed wrote of his new role as secretary-general of ISNA). See also:
http://www.isna.net/majlis/Sayyid_M_Syeed.asp (accessed December 2, 2004).
284
Records Sought About Tax-Exempt Organizations for Committees Terror Finance Probe, Senate
Finance Committee Press Release, December 22, 2003
http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=124&Month=1&Y
36
investigation ended without drawing any conclusions. HLF (then known as the Occupied
Land Fund) was initially located at the same address as ISNA.
285
Furthermore, in 1986,
ISNA gave $170,000 in start-up capital to the Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA),
286
an
organization that the U.S. government shut down in October 2004 for funding Hamas and
Al Qaeda.
287

Siraj Wahhaj
Wahhaj has been a member of CAIRs board of advisors
288
and a frequent speaker at CAIR
events.
289

As the imam of al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., he hosted speeches by Sheikh Omar
Abdel Rahman, the mastermind of the New York City landmarks bombing plot. Wahhaj
later served as a witness on the sheikhs behalf during his 1995 trial.
290
An October 2003
Wall Street Journal profile of Wahhaj noted that the imam takes great pains to remain
neutral about Osama bin Laden.
291

In 1991, Wahhaj told the Islamic Association of Northern Texas that Operation Desert
Storm was part of a plan to destroy the greatest challenge to the Western world, and that is
Islam. He continued, I see the demise of the Soviet Union as a sign for the American
people that what happened to the Soviet Union will defiantly happen in America unless
America changes its path from the new world order and accepts the Islamic agenda.
292

Ihsan Bagby
Bagby served on CAIRs national board of directors
293
and as a member of ISNAs Fiqh
Committee.
294
Bagby has said about Muslims in America, Ultimately we can never be full

ear=2004 (accessed October 14, 2004) and Dan Eggen and John Mintz, Muslim Groups IRS Files Sought,
The Washington Post, January 14, 2004.
285
ISNA and OLF were both located at P.O. Box 38, Plainfield, Indiana, 46168. See: Ila Filastine, May 1991,
p.14 and Islamic Horizons, March/April 1996.
286
1989 Islamic African Relief Agency Form 1023, Internal Revenue Service.
287
Treasury Designates Global Network, Senior Officials of IARA for Supporting bin Laden, Others,
OFAC Press Release, October 13, 2004, http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js2025.htm (accessed October
14, 2004).
288
CAIR Newsletter, December 14, 2000 and CAIR Who Are We?,
http://web.archive.org/web/20010831084928/http://www.cair-
california.org/who.htm#Management%20&%20Staff
289
For example:, CAIR Fundraiser, Vienna, Virginia, October 7, 2001, CAIR Fundraiser, Orange County,
California, October 19, 2002, CAIR Fundraiser, Anaheim, California, October 4, 2003, CAIR-Seattle
fundraiser flyer, http://www.cair-seattle.org/images/CAIR-Seattle%20Flyer%20R4.jpg, , CAIR 10
th

Anniversary Banquet Dinner, October 2, 2004, and CAIR-Southern California fundraiser flyer, October 9,
2004.
290
Paul Barrett, Spiritual J ourney: One Imam Traces the Path of Islam In Black America, The Wall Street
Journal, October 24, 2003.
291
Paul Barrett, Spiritual J ourney: One Imam Traces the Path of Islam in Black America, The Wall Street
Journal, October 24, 2003.
292
Imam Siraj Wahhaj, The Muslim Agenda in the New World Order, Address to the Islamic Association
of Northern Texas, Dallas, November 15, 1991.
293
CAIR Board of Advisors, http://web.archive.org/web/20010831084928/http://www.cair-
california.org/who.htm#Management%20&%20Staff (accessed July 6, 2007).
294
Islamic Horizons, May/J une 1987.
37
citizens of this countrybecause there is no way we can be fully committed to the
institutions and ideologies of this country.
295

Muthanna Al-Hanooti
Once the executive director of CAIRs Michigan office,
296
Al-Hanooti was arrested in
March 2008 on charges of conspiracy and providing false statements to federal law
enforcement officials.
297
Investigators say Al-Hanooti became a spy for Saddam Husseins
government, working with Iraqi intelligence on a plan to persuade the United States to lift
economic sanctions against Iraq.
298

The allegations involve Al-Hanooti's work with Life for Relief and Development (LIFE), a
Muslim charity that operates in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, and the Palestinian
territories.
299
According to the Free Press, the indictment alleges "Al-Hanooti would
travel to Iraq and meet with conspirators of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. The indictment
says that Al-Hanooti was rewarded with 2 million barrels of oil for his work.
300

The indictment also alleges that Al-Hanootis involvement in the conspiracy began in 1999
and ended in 2003, covering the time he worked for CAIR.

V. CAIR and Hamas
In addition to their roots in the IAP, a Palestine Committee organization that served as a
Hamas propaganda organ, top CAIR officials have refused to criticize Hamas, even in the
wake of deadly attacks.
CAIR incorporator and current executive director Nihad Awad has publicly expressed his
support for Hamas. At a symposium at Barry University in Florida on March 22, 1994, he
said, I am in support of the Hamas movement.
301
Again, on CBS 60 Minutes in
November 1994, when Mike Wallace asked him what he thought of the military
undertakings of Hamas, Awad responded, the United Nations Charter grants people who
are under occupation [the right] to defend themselves against illegal occupation.
302

Awad also has echoed Hamas absolute rejection of Israels legitimacy. In an April 1994
letter to the editor of The Message, an American-Muslim publication, he criticized the
magazine for using the term Israel. I hope, he wrote, that the use of Israel in your

295
Steve A. J ohnson, "Political Activities of Muslims in America," in The Muslims of America (Chapter 8),
ed. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 115., footnote #12, which states,
Videotape of speech given by Ihsan Bagby, n.d.
296
News release, CAIR Opens Regional Office in Michigan, Council on American-Islamic Relations, June
15, 2000.
297
USA v. Muthanna Al-Hanooti, Indictment, 2:08cr20083, Eastern District of Michigan
298
Niraj Warikoo, Former worker for Muslim charity in Southfield accused of being Hussein spy, Detroit
Free Press, March 28, 2008.
299
Life for Relief and Development home page, Countries,
http://www.lifeusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage.
300
USA v. Muthanna Al-Hanooti, Indictment, 2:08cr20083, Eastern District of Michigan.
301
Conference on the Middle East The Road to Peace: The Challenge of the Middle East, Barry
University, Miami Shores, FL, March 22, 1994.
302
60 Minutes, CBS, November 13, 1994.
38
news briefs was the result of an oversight and not intentional...Furthermore I hope you will
return to the terminology Occupied Palestine to refer to that Holy Land.
303

Awad has sought to justify these clear statements of support for Hamas in terms of their
timing. In Senate testimony, he wrote, You will never find a CAIR statement supporting
Hamas after the commencement of suicide bombings and United States governments
designation of them as a foreign terrorist organization on J anuary 24, 1995.
304
Similarly,
Awad commented on the context of his Barry University remarks, It [Hamas] has not
attacked civilians then, and it was not designated by the United States government as a
terrorist organization.
305

In fact, Hamas had executed numerous attacks prior to the 1995 Executive Order. Here are
just a few examples:
- On May 3, 1989, a Hamas member stabbed five people, killing two of them, in a
J erusalem market.
306

- On October 16, 1992, Hamas stabbed an orthodox J ewish seminary student.
307

- On J anuary 3, 1993, Hamas bombed a bus.
308

- On September 24, 1993, Israeli discovered the body of an Israeli farm worker who
had been stabbed to death. On his corpse was a note from Hamas.
309

- On April 6, 1994, a Hamas suicide bomber blew up a bus in northern Israel, killing
eight and wounding 44.
310

- Days later, on April 13, 1994, another Hamas suicide bomber blew up a bus, killing
five and injuring 30.
311

- On October 9, 1994, two Hamas terrorists ran down a busy street firing AK-47s
indiscriminately. Two people were killed one Israeli and one Palestinian.
Thirteen were injured including an American diplomat.
312


303
Nihad Awad, Letter to the Editor, The Message, April 1994.
304
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003, at 5.
305
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, CA 00C-2905, Deposition of Nihad Awad, 58 (E.D. October 22,
2003).
306
Incident Profile; Hamas attacked Private Citizens & Property target (May 3, 1989, Israel), MIPT
Terrorism Knowledge Base, http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=5897 (Accessed June 8, 2007).
307
Incident Profile; Hamas attacked Religious Figures/Institutions target (Oct. 16, 1992, Israel), MIPT
Terrorism Knowledge Base, http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=6936 (Accessed June 8, 2007).
308
Incident Profile; Hamas attacked Transportation target (Jan. 3, 1993, Israel), MIPT Terrorism
Knowledge Base, http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=6984 (Accessed J une 8, 2007).
309
Incident Profile; Hamas attacked Private Citizens & Property target (Sept. 24, 1993, Israel), MIPT
Terrorism Knowledge Base, http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=7177 (Accessed June 8, 2007).
310
Incident Profile; Hamas attacked Transportation target (Apr. 6, 1994, Israel), MIPT Terrorism
Knowledge Base, http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=5130 (Accessed J une 8, 2007).
311
Incident Profile; Hamas attacked Transportation target (Apr. 13, 1994, Israel), MIPT Terrorism
Knowledge Base, http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=7350 (Accessed J une 8, 2007).
312
Incident Profile; Hamas attacked Private Citizens & Property target (Oct. 9, 1994, Israel),
http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=7562 (Accessed June 8, 2007).
39
The 1992 State Department Patterns of Global Terrorism report states, Various elements
of HAMAS have used both political and violent means including terrorism, to pursue the
goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian State in place of IsraelOther elements,
operating clandestinely, have advocated and used violence to advance their goals.
313

It is also notable that CAIR opposed the 1995 Executive Order. CAIR spokesman Ibrahim
Hooper told the Washington Post, Weve been fearing something like this for a long time
because there have been elements in the pro-Israeli lobby accusing Muslim groups of
raising money for these kinds of purposes, with no evidence whatsoever of diversion of
funds.
314

And while some CAIR officials have avoided openly stating their support for Hamas
following the 1995 Executive Order, one leader was not so circumspect.
Speaking at a 2001 event at the New York Interfaith Center, Ghazi Khankan, who served as
executive director of CAIR-NY from at least April 2001
315
through September 2004,
316

said, The people of Hamas who direct their attacks on the Israeli military are in the correct
position.
317
When pressed on his definition of a civilian, Khankan revealed his view that
anyone over 18 was a legitimate target: Who is a soldier in Israel and who is not? Anyone
over eighteen is automatically inducted into the service and they are all reserves. Therefore,
Hamas in my opinion looks at them as part of the military. Those who are below 18 should
not be attacked.
318

Others have also openly supported violence against Israelis.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer summarized the attitude of Hooper, CAIRs chief spokesman
like this: While the Islamic council says it has denounced suicide bombings against
Israeli civilians, spokesman Ibrahim Hooper yesterday would not criticize suicide attacks
against Israeli soldiers. Instead, he spoke of Palestinians exercising the right to resist
military occupation.
319
And, in J anuary 2004, at an event in Los Angeles, CAIR-Southern
California Executive Director Ayloush affirmed the legitimate right of the Palestinians to
defend themselves against the Israeli occupation.
320





313
Patterns of Global Terrorism 1992, US Department of State.
314
Clinton Freezes Assets of Mideast Groups Linked to Terrorism, The Washington Post, J anuary 25,
1995.
315
CAIR NY Staff, Webarchive of CAIR NY http://web.archive.org/web/20010312005942/www.cair-
ny.com/about.shtml (accessed July 5, 2007).
316
Webarchive of CAIR-NY citing article on fundraising dinner where Executive Director of CAIR NY,
Ghazi Khankan was quoted, http://web.archive.org/web/20040523184107/http://www.cair-ny.com/ (accessed
July 5, 2007).
317
Walter Ruby, Keeping Up a Hard Line, The Jewish Week, October 12, 2001. Note: The Washington Post
cited The Jewish Week piece. See: Hanna Rasin and Thomas Edsall, Bushs Courting of Some Muslim
Groups Criticized, The Washington Post, November 18, 2001.
318
Walter Ruby, Keeping Up a Hard Line, The Jewish Week, October 12, 2001.
319
Stephen Koff, Kucinich Now Plans to Return Hamas Supporters Gift, Cleveland Plain Dealer, October
3, 2003.
320
MSA-UCLA Islamic Awareness Week, Los Angeles, California, January 28, 2004.
40
CAIR officials have been notably silent when asked to condemn Hamas.
An October 27, 2001 National Journal article reported, Asked to describe CAIRs view of
Hamas, spokesman Hooper declined to comment.
321
A November 18, 2001 Washington
Post article quoted Hooper as saying, in response to an Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
request to condemn Hamas and Islamic J ihad by name, Its not our job to go around
denouncing, that when they say jump, we say how high.
322
Asked by the Pittsburgh Post-
Gazette in February 2002 to condemn Hamas, Hooper called such questions a game and
declared, Were not in the business of condemning.
323

Asked in a May 27, 2003 deposition, Do you support Hamas, Omar Ahmad responded,
It depends. Qualify support.
324
Similarly, he was asked whether he had ever taken a
position with respect to[Hamas] martyrdom attacks. Ahmad responded, No.
325

In addition to voicing its support for martyrs families and refusing to label Hamas a
terrorist group, CAIR vocally protested the killing of Hamas leaders.
On March 22, 2004, Israel assassinated Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin CAIR Condemns
Israeli Assassination of Religious Leader,
326
the organization announced in a press release
that day. It criticized Israel for killing a wheelchair-bound Palestinian Muslim religious
leader.
327
Similarly, after an Israeli missile killed Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Yassins
replacement as head of Hamas,
328
CAIR issued an April 17, 2004 press release blasting
Israel for killing a political leader.
329

CAIRs 1997 report, The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States,
characterized as an act of discrimination the failure of the U.S. government to respond to
pressure by the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) to investigate and to seek justice
for the death of Ahmed Hamida, an Arab-American terrorist killed in J erusalem.
330
In its
description of the incident, CAIR depicted Ahmed as an innocent Palestinian-American
Muslim visitor gunned down by armed Israelis.
331
CAIR also implied that the shooting

321
Neil Munro, Wild Ride for US Muslim Community, National Journal, October 27, 2001.
322
Hanna Rosin and Thomas Edsall, Bushs Courting of Some Muslims Criticized, The Washington Post,
November 18, 2001.
323
Rachel Smolkin, Muslim Lobbies Fully Mobilized Since Sept. 11, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 10,
2002.
324
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, CA 00C-2905, Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 267 (E.D. May 27,
2003).
325
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, CA 00C-2905, Deposition of Omar Ahmad, 267 (E.D. May 27,
2003).
326
CAIR Condemns Israeli Assassination of Religious Leader, CAIR Press Release, March 22, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1051&page=NR (accessed July 6, 2007).
327
CAIR Condemns Israeli Assassination of Religious Leader, CAIR Press Release, March 22, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1051&page=NR (accessed July 6, 2007).
328
Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 18, 2004,
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-
+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terror+Groups/Abdel+Aziz+Rantisi.htm?DisplayMode=print (accessed July 8, 2004).
329
Muslims will see Bush Green Light for Assassination, CAIR Press Release, April 17, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1066&page=NR (accessed July 7, 2004).
330
The Status Of Muslim Civil Rights In The United States: Unveiling Prejudice, Council on American-
Islamic Relations, 1997, 48.
331
The Status Of Muslim Civil Rights In The United States: Unveiling Prejudice, Council on American-
Islamic Relations, 1997, 48.
41
was committed in retaliation for a Tel Aviv bus bombing that occurred a day prior to
Hamida's killing.
332

CAIR failed to mention that Hamida was shot by civilians while attempting to flee after
deliberately driving his car into a group of Israelis waiting at a J erusalem bus stop.
333
In
the attack, he killed a mother of two and injured 22 other Israelis.
334
The subsequent
investigation left no doubt that the car crash was not an accident, but rather a terrorist
attack. Eyewitnesses heard Hamida yell Allahu Akbar! as he jumped out of his car.
335

Also, he had indicated to friends on the morning before the attack that they would see him
on television that night.
336
Hamas later took credit for the attack.
337

Also of note is the fact that in 1994, IAP posted a CAIR press release that closely mirrored
language in Hamas Covenant. The press release, which discussed the Hussein-Rabin
Summit, was quickly modified to remove this text.
338
The covenant says Hamas believes
that the land of Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf [endowment] throughout the
generations and until the Day of Resurrection, no one can renounce it or part of it, or
abandon it or part of it.
339

CAIRs original release described the Cairo and Oslo peace agreements as a chance for all
those who met secretly with the Zionists behind the scenes to come out in public and take
their masks off.
We have affirmed repeatedly the danger of such agreements
lies in abandoning the basic legitimate Palestinian rights, and
it is a way to penetrate economically, politically, and
culturally the ME region where Arab states are in their worst
conditions. Thus, we affirm the followings:
1. Palestine is an Islamic and Arabic land which no one has
the right to trade, sell, or give up
2. The current situation of the Arab states is at a weakness
stage that must end sooner or later, and rights cant be lost
with signing agreements.

Hamas has itself posted CAIR information and activities updates on its official web site
(http://www.palestine-info.net), including a J une 5, 2001 article in which Nihad Awad

332
The Status Of Muslim Civil Rights In The United States: Unveiling Prejudice, Council on American-
Islamic Relations, 1997, 48.
333
Bill Hutman, Police: J'lem Crash Almost Certainly A Terror Attack, Jerusalem Post, February 28, 1996.
334
Police: Jerusalem Crash Almost Certainly A Terror Attack, Jerusalem Post, February 28, 1996
335
The Truth Must Be Told, Jerusalem Post, March 3, 1996.
336
The Truth Must Be Told, Jerusalem Post, March 3, 1996.
337
HAMAS Claims Bus Stop Killing in J erusalem, Agence France Presse, February 28, 1996.
338
http://web.archive.org/web/20010429224537/http://www.iap.org/politics/peace/cair-jr.html (accessed J uly
11, 2004).
339
Hamas Charter 1988, Part III, Strategies and Methods,
http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html (accessed July 5, 2006).
42
called for a demonstration at the U.S. State Department to protest American support for
Israel.
340


VI. CAIR and Terrorism: Blanket Opposition to U.S. Investigations, Equivocal
Condemnations for Plots Against America
This section assesses CAIRs reaction to direct questions about terrorist acts and American
efforts to crack down on those who facilitate them. CAIR claims that it has unequivocally
condemned 9/11,
341
but a number of its officials openly and repeatedly espoused
conspiracy theories questioning Al Qaedas responsibility for the most devastating terrorist
attacks in American history.
And when it comes to domestic investigations CAIR casts virtually any law enforcement
action as an assault on all American Muslims. Missing is any possibility that a radical
element, unwelcome in its midst, has been exposed.
CAIR hesitated on a number of fronts immediately after 9/11. On Sept. 14, 2001, CAIR-
New York issued a qualified condemnation on its email list: If such attacks were carried
out by a Muslim -- as some biased groups claim -- then we, in the name of our religion,
deny the act and incriminate the perpetrator.
342

Four days later, in an online chat with theWashington Post, CAIR-New York Executive
Director Ghazi Khankan launched a propaganda campaign casting the attacks as part of a
conspiracy to discredit Muslims. It would continue for weeks. A cousin in Saudi Arabia
sent him local newspaper reports that two of the supposed terrorists who hit the Twin
Towers whose names were given showed up (sic) Saudi Arabia, he said during the chat.
Somebody is stealing passports and using them for such horrific acts. I wonder who is
behind this terrorism and who benefits from it. Based on this discovery of these two names
printed in the Saudi newspaper along with their pictures, I believe that many of the names
of the terrorists are people impersonating innocent Muslims and Arabs.
343

Similarly, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper hesitated in condemning Al Qaeda. We
condemn terrorism. We condemn the attacks on the buildings, he told Salon.com in a
Sept. 26, 2001 article. He declined to condemn Bin Laden outright. If Osama bin Laden
was behind it, we condemn him by name.
344
Reporter J ake Tapper asked Hooper why the
if -- why qualify the response?
Hooper said he resented the question.
345


340
Statement, http://www.palestine-info.net, June 5, 2001.
341
Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland
Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003, 7.
342
Muslims Condemn Attacks Against Civilians: Forbidden in Islam, CAIR-New York list-serv,
http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/cair-ny-announce.mbox/cair-ny-announce.mbox.
343
Interview with Ghazi Khankan, Washington Post online discussion, September 18, 2001
http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/01/nation_khankan091801.htm (accessed July 5, 2006).
344
Jake Tapper, Islams Flawed Spokesmen, September 26, 2001,
http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/26/muslims/ (accessed J uly 11, 2004).
345
Jake Tapper, Islams Flawed Spokesmen, September 26, 2001,
http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/26/muslims/ (accessed J uly 11, 2004).
43
CAIR-NY then pushed Khankans conspiracy theory that the hijackers were misidentified.
On Oct. 5, 2001 it encouraged constituents to write letters to The New York Times saying
two of the 19 suspects: Abdulaziz Alomari and Saeed Alghamdi could not have been on
the hijacked planes because they are still alive and are working in Saudi ArabiaLast
week, the father of Mohamed Attawas interviewed on the Egyptian Satellite Arabic
Channel and said that his son, Mohamed Atta, was well and alive working now in the
Untied Arab Emirates!If three of the 19 suspected hijackers are still alive, who were
the other 16? The important questions are: Who is impersonating these three Muslim
Arabs? Why are Muslim Arabs been (sic) implicated in this terrorism? And, who could
benefit from this horrific tragedy?
346

Khankan repeated himself at a CAIR fundraiser in Vienna, Va. two days later, asking
Why is it assumed that Muslims were behind the attack on Sept. 11? We know for sure
at least three (unintelligible) whose names appear as part of the nineteen hijackers, who, in
my opinion, have hijacked Islam. These people are still alive in the Middle East. The
question is, who is impersonating these Muslim names? Who benefits from assuming that
Muslims are behind this tragedy, and who benefits from this tragedy?
347

At no point did CAIR publicly rebuke Khankan or disassociate itself from his statements.
Khankan was at it again in an Oct. 14, 2001 Newsday article. Atta, he said yet again, was
alive and well in the United Arab Emirates, the victim of a stolen passport. Yet the FBI
insists he was one of the hijackers. Why hasn't the media reported this?
348
He insisted at
least two hijackers were in Saudi Arabia in a subsequent Newsday story four days later. I
spoke with the Saudi ambassador recently and he confirmed that. Again, he asked who
really benefits from such a horrible tragedy that is blamed on Muslims and Arabs?
349
It
was not until December 2001, three months after the attacks, that CAIR finally released a
statement acknowledging Bin Ladens role in 9/11.
350
And that was only after Bin Laden
himself claimed credit for the attacks in a videotape aired around the world.

CAIR-Canada Board Members 9/11 Conspiracy Theory
Advisory Board member J amal Badawi, called the 9/11 attacks un-Islamic and I
strongly condemn them, he told the Saudi Gazette. But, he said, it had not yet been
confirmed who was actually behind the attacks. This wasnt weeks after the attack, but in
J une 2005.
To Badawi, terrorists are the ones who occupy others land by force, subjugate people and
take away their rights by killing them and destroying their property.
He applied similar logic to the violence in Iraq, alleging the America government was
behind suicide car bomb attacks killing civilians: "There have been allegations that I cannot

346
True Muslims Cannot Commit Suicide Nor Kill Innocent Civilians: That Is Why Recognized Muslims
Are Not Part Of The WTC Tragic Attack, October 5, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011218024243/www.cair-ny.com/PETITIONS/pet-20011005b.pdf (accessed
July 15, 2004) and http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/cair-ny-announce.mbox/cair-ny-announce.mbox.
347
CAIR Fundraiser, Braving the Storm, Vienna, Virginia, October 7, 2001.
348
Paul Vitello, Attack Consensus is Elusive, Newsday, October 14, 2001.
349
Carol Eisenberg, Defending Their Faith, Newsday, October 18, 2001.
350
CAIR: Video Shows Bin Ladens Complicity in 9-11 Attacks, December 13, 2001,
http://www.islamfortoday.com/cair01.htm (accessed July 11, 2004).
44
confirm that people going to the market to buy vegetables are stopped in the name of
inspecting their cars by [American] forces, their hands are tied and they are blindfolded.
There have been cases and I want a clarification from American officials to these
allegations. After inspecting their cars they are allowed to go and when the car reaches
[the] checkpoint it explodes and they call them suicide bombers, perhaps the occupants of
the car were not even aware that they are carrying a bomb in their car. Such incidents
should be thoroughly probed."
351

CAIR Know Your Rights Speaker Promotes 9/11 Conspiracy Theory, Anti-
Semitism
CAIR tolerated continued 9/11 revisionism at a Know Your Rights workshop it
sponsored in San Diego two months later. Invited speaker and civil rights lawyer Randall
Hamud said he understood an audience members comment that enemies of Islam are
successful at putting Muslims on the defensive. Theres still no evidence that Muslims
carried out 9-11.
A lot of people felt that way, Hamud said. And maybe a hundred years from now well
find that out.
352

At the same event, Hamud dismissed a recent Fatwa Against Terrorism
353
from the Fiqh
Council and endorsed by CAIR as an empty public relations gesture: And this latest one,
if its worded appropriately with the leadership of the various masjids across the country
and they want to sign it, fine. You just need to read it and sign it and decide what you want
to do with it. But its a fatwa I think for popular consumption in the United States. You try
to get the religion off the hook with the media, it isnt gonna work. Because a lot of the
people in the media is controlled by basically Zionists.
354


CAIR Consistently Opposes the U.S. Governments Investigations into Terrorist
Financiers and Supporters
As the following examples show, when the Treasury Department freezes the assets of a
charity which sent money to a terrorist group, its a baseless attack on the Muslim
community. When the FBI raids offices of a suspected terrorist supporter its a fishing
expedition with no proof. And when federal grand juries indict people on charges of
supporting or even planning terrorist attacks, its evidence of a justice system that cant be
fair to Muslims.


351
Irfan Iqbal Khan, Terrorism not rampant in Muslim countries; Cut-and-paste approach to interpreting the
Quran is a dangerous tactic, Saudi Gazette, J une 24, 2005,
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/SGazetteArchive/Data/2005/6/24/Art_235210.XML.
352
Randall Hamud, CAIR-San Diego Know Your Rights Workshop, August 18, 2005, San Diego Islamic
Center.
353
U.S. MUSLIM RELIGIOUS COUNCIL ISSUES FATWA AGAINST TERRORISM, http://www.cair-
net.org/downloads/fatwa-english.txt
354
Randall Hamud, CAIR-San Diego Know Your Rights Workshop, August 18, 2005, San Diego Islamic
Center.
45
CAIR Florida defends Boca Raton doctor accused of conspiring to provide
material support to Al-Qaeda.
Dr. Rafiq Sabir of Boca Raton was charged, along with an accomplice (Tariq Shah of New
York), in May of 2005 with providing material support to al-Qaeda. The government
alleges that Sabir agreed to provide medical assistance to wounded jihadists in Saudi
Arabia, while Shah was to provide them with martial arts and hand-to-hand combat
training.
355

Altaf Ali, the CAIR executive director in Pembroke Pines, attended Sabir's court hearing
on May 31, 2005. He told the Palm Beach Post that Sabir's companion is devastated over
the ordeal and she has remained adamant that Sabir is innocent.
356

Ali told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, We've seen cases where Muslims are charged for
XYZ and then cleared of the charges, so we need to make sure that all the facts are
revealed. ... Muslims, in general, in America are still facing a lot of adversity. ... I
understand that our country has been on a high state of alert since 9-11, but in the
American justice system there's still the presumption of innocence.
357

At his trial, Sabir was shown on video making the bayat, the pledge of allegiance, to Al
Qaeda. Sabir was convicted May 21, 2007. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison on
November 28, 2007.
358
CAIR has yet to issue any statement regarding the conviction.

CAIR warned that the arrest of two Albany men on charges of taking part in
what they thought was a plot to import a shoulder-fired missile and
assassinate a Pakistani diplomat could be used to smear Muslims and to
demonize Islam.
On Aug. 5, 2004, Yassin Aref, the imam of the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, N.Y.,
and Mohammed Hossain, the mosques founder,
359
were indicted after a yearlong sting
operation. The pair allegedly had taken part in what they believed was a money-laundering
scheme connected to the purchase of shoulder-fired missiles and the planned assassination
of the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations.
360

According to the criminal complaint, Hossain told an FBI informant that he was a member
of J amaat-e-Islami (J EI), a group identifiedas an Islamic fundamentalist political party
in Pakistan
361
Additionally, in the summer of 2003, U.S. troops raided an Ansar al-

355
USA v. Shah et al, Complaint, (SDNY May 27, 2005).
356
Larry Keller, Boca Islamic center to raise cash for doctor, Palm Beach Post, June 1, 2005,
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/local_news/epaper/2005/06/01/m1a_sabir_0601.html (accessed
June 1, 2005)
357
Tal Abbady, Arrests of West Boca doctor may signal shift in terrorism tactics, S. Fla. Sun Sentinel, J une
2, 2005, http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-
pterrorarrests02jun02,0,5234139.story?coll=sfla-news-palm (accessed June 2, 2005).
358
News release, Florida Doctor Sentenced to 25 Years for Conspiring and Attempting to Support Al
Qaeda, U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, November 28, 2007.
359
Transcript of Department of J ustice Press Conference, J ames Comey Holds J ustice Department News
Briefing,FDCH Political Transcripts, August 5, 2004.
360
US v. Aref, Cr 04-M-330, Criminal complaint (N.D. N.Y. August 5, 2004).
361
US v. Aref, Cr 04-M-330, Criminal complaint (N.D. N.Y. August 5, 2004).
46
Islam terrorist training camp in northern Iraq and found a notebook that contained Aref's
name along with his former Albany address and telephone number.
362

CAIR issued a press release following the indictment calling the allegations deeply
troubling to the American Muslim communityAll too often, these types of cases are used
by those with political or religious agendas to smear Muslims and to demonize Islam. We
should stick to the facts of the case and avoid generalizations and stereotypes that only
serve to create societal divisions and promote anti-Muslim bigotry.
363

Additionally, Hooper commented, There's always a concern that people may be targeted
for a sting operation like this solely because they are MuslimsIt's a perplexing case, and
the question we have is whether the government got these men to do something they
otherwise wouldn't have done.
364

Aref was convicted of material support in connection with an attack involving a weapon of
mass destruction, money laundering, and conspiracy to provide material support to a
terrorist organization in October 2006 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hossain was
convicted on 27 counts and also sentenced to 15 years in prison.
365


CAIR called the sentencing of three members of a jihad network in Northern
Virginia draconian, and call[ed] on Congress to conduct hearings into the
selective prosecution of Muslims since the 9/11 terror attacks.
In September 2003, 11 men alleged to be part of a Virginia jihad network were charged
with conspiracy to wage war against the United States and conspiracy to provide material
support to Al Qaeda.
366

Three of the men, Masoud Khan, Seifullah Chapman, and Hammad Abdur-Raheem were
convicted on multiple charges the following March. Khan was convicted of conspiracy to
wage war against the United States and providing material support to the Taliban.
367
All
three were convicted of conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a
Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and to attack India in violation of the Neutrality
Act, as well as various firearms-related offenses, for actions during 2000 to 2003.
368


362
Ian Bishop and Kenneth Lovett, Mosquer and Commander, New York Post, August 6, 2004.
363
CAIR Calls Alleged NY Missile Plot Deeply Troubling, CAIR Press Release, August 5, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1150&page=NR (accessed August 10, 2004).
364
Eric Lichtblau and J ames McKinley, 2 Mosque Leaders are Arrested in Plot to Import Missile and Kill
Diplomat, New York Times, August 6, 2004.
365
Two Sentenced To Serve 15 Years In Prison For Terrorism Offenses, DOJ Press Release, March 8,
2007, http://albany.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/terroristsentence030807.htm
366
US Department of Justice News Release, September 25, 2003,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae/ArchivePress/SeptemberPDFArchive/03/royer092603.pdf (accessed April 8,
2004).
367
Randall Todd Royer and Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi Sentenced for Participation in Virginia Jihad
Network, US Department of Justice News Release, April 9, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/April/04_crm_225.htm (accessed July 7, 2004).
368
Randall Todd Royer and Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi Sentenced for Participation in Virginia Jihad
Network, US Department of Justice News Release, April 9, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/April/04_crm_225.htm (accessed July 7, 2004).
47
Six others pleaded guilty to various charges. Two men, Caliph Basha Abdur-Raheem and
Sabri Benkahla, were acquitted.
369

CAIR-Maryland issued a press release decrying the convictions. The groups executive
director stated, Although we pride our legal system on the theory of presumption of
innocence, the perception within the American Muslim community is that Muslims and
Arabs are automatically considered guilty until proven innocent.
370

Abdur-Raheem was sentenced to life in prison, Chapman to 85 years, and Khan to 97
months.
371

It is the near universal perception in the Islamic community that these men would never
have been charged had they not been Muslims, and that once convicted, prosecutors would
never have sought such draconian sentences, CAIR said in response.
372

Under the current administration, the statement continued, we are quickly approaching a
state of affairs in which there is a two-tier prosecutorial system in America; one system for
Muslims, and one for all other Americans. This disturbing trend should be of concern to
everyone who values America's centuries-long tradition of equal justice under the law. We
call on Congress to conduct hearings into the selective prosecution of Muslims since the
9/11 terror attacks.
373


The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development
As noted in the section on The Suspect Ties of CAIR Officials, the U.S. government shut
down HLF on Dec. 4, 2001 for funneling money to Hamas.
374
Money raised by the Holy
Land Foundation is used by Hamas to support schools and indoctrinate children to grow up
into suicide bombers, President Bush explained at the White House. Money raised by the
Holy Land Foundation is also used by Hamas to recruit suicide bombers and to support
their families.
375

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper dismissed the presidents words in interviews
throughout the country. He told the Dallas Morning News the president made political
statements. These are not criminal allegations.
376
He told Cox News the move was ill-
advised and counter-productive. The only specific accusation is that [HLF funds] feed the

369
Jerry Markon, Final 'Va. J ihad' Defendant Acquitted, Washington Post, March 10, 2004.
370
Judge Convicts All 3 Defendants in Paintball Base, CAIR-Maryland Press Release, March 4, 2004,
http://www.cairmd.org/new/links/pressreleases.asp?newsid=44 (accessed July 15, 2004).
371
Jerry Markon, Strict Sentences Meted in Va. Jihad Cases, The Washington Post, J une 16, 2004.
372
CAIR Calls VA Paintball Sentencing Draconian, J une 16, 2004,
http://www.amperspective.com/html/cair_on_harsh_sentence.html (accessed October 15, 2004).
373
CAIR Calls VA Paintball Sentencing Draconian, J une 16, 2004,
http://www.amperspective.com/html/cair_on_harsh_sentence.html (accessed October 15, 2004).
374
President Announces Progress on Financial Fight Against Terror, Remarks by the President on Financial
Fight Against Terror, The Rose Garden, Washington D.C. December 4, 2001,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011204-8.html (accessed March 9, 2004).
375
President Announces Progress on Financial Fight Against Terror, Remarks by the President on Financial
Fight Against Terror, The Rose Garden, Washington D.C. December 4, 2001,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011204-8.html (accessed March 9, 2004).
376
Jeffrey Weiss, Crackdown on Charity Shocks Muslims, The Dallas Morning News, December 5, 2001.
48
orphans of suicide bombers along with hundreds of other children.
377
Interviewed by the
New York Times, Hooper said, This action is really creating outrage in the Muslim
community. The holy foundation has a long history of being a respected Muslim charity
that does good work.
378

CAIR joined seven other Islamic groups in a statement the day HLF was shut down.
379

Their release stated:
American Muslims support President Bushs effort to cut off
funding for terrorism and we call for a peaceful resolution to
the Middle East conflict. These goals will not be achieved by
taking food out of the mouths of Palestinian orphans or by
succumbing to politically-motivated smear campaigns by
those who would perpetuate Israel's brutal occupation.
380

The statement continued:
We ask that President Bush reconsider what we believe is
an unjust and counterproductive move that can only damage
America's credibility with Muslims in this country and
around the world and could create the impression that there
has been a shift from a war on terrorism to an attack on
Islam.
381

Hussam Ayloush, CAIR-Southern California executive director, appeared on CNN the
following day, saying the shutdown sends a very wrong message to the American Muslim
community. Because here we are, were saying this is a war on terrorism. Yet we target the
most trusted and largest Islamic charitable organization in the U.S. It sends a wrong
message to Muslims all over the world, basically, that Israel gets to dictate our foreign
policy.
382

HLF and its key officials were indicted in J uly 2004 for allegedly providing material
support to Hamas. Some of the governments evidence would come from material seized
from Hamas offices by the Israeli military, a fact CAIR used to attempt to de-legitimize the

377
Julia Malone, Bush Expands War Front to Texas Charity, Cox News Service, December 4, 2001.
378
Laurie Goldstein, 8 Groups in US Protest Bush Move against Foundation, The New York Times,
December 5, 2001.
379
Freeze on Group's Assets Questioned by US Muslims, CAIR Press Release, December 4, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011207204405/www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=531&articletype=3
(accessed J uly 15, 2004). The American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American Muslim Council (AMC),
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim American
Society (MAS), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and Muslim Student Association of USA and
Canada all co-issued this statement.
380
Freeze on Group's Assets Questioned by US Muslims, CAIR Press Release, December 4, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011207204405/www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=531&articletype=3
(accessed J uly 15, 2004).
381
Freeze on Group's Assets Questioned by US Muslims, CAIR Press Release, December 4, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011207204405/www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=531&articletype=3
(accessed J uly 15, 2004).
382
Talkback Live, CNN, December 5, 2001.
49
case. The government should not use evidence apparently tainted by foreign intelligence
sources from a nation that has its own political agenda, CAIR argued in a release.
383

J urors deadlocked on all counts in the 2007 trial against HLF and four of the individual
defendants. J urors acquitted Mohammad El-Mezain on all but one count, that of conspiracy
to provide material support to a terrorist group. A second trial is expected in 2008.
CAIR trumpeted the verdicts as a full exoneration of the defendants. The reason it failed is
the government does not have the facts; it has fear," Awad told a reporter.
384

Later, Awad invoked the McCarthy era as a comparison to government investigations of
Muslim charities. "Today's campaign has a different name and a different target," Awad
said. "The campaign is anti-terrorism and the target is the American Muslim
community."
385

Awad has not addressed his presence at the Philadelphia meeting or CAIRs listing on the
Palestine Committee roster.
DePaul University law professor M. Cherif Bassiouni issued a letter through CAIR calling
the case one of the great abuses of the American legal process.
386


BIF/GRF
On the heels of the HLF designation, the U.S. government blocked the assets of the
Benevolence International and Global Relief foundations on Dec. 14, 2001 saying they
gave financial support to Al Qaeda.
387

CAIR issued an alert urging its constituents to contact Attorney General Ashcroft to
demand due process of law.
388
It stated, three of the largest Muslim charities (Holy Land
Foundation, Global Relief Foundation and Benevolence International Foundation) have
been shut down without any judge making a ruling or any jury hearing evidence of criminal
behavior.
389


383
CAIR to Monitor HLF Indictments, CAIR Press Release, July 27, 2004, http://www.cair-
net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1137&page=NR (accessed August 10, 2004).
384
David Koenig, Mistrial for most defendants in Muslim charity trial, The Associated Press, October 22,
2007.
385
Michael Grabell and Jeffrey Weiss, Verdicts Cause Confusion, Then More Deliberation, Finally Joy and
Thanks, Dallas Morning News. October 22, 2007.
386
Dear CAIR Supporter letter from M. Cherif Bassiouni. Oct. 23, 2007.
387
OFAC Designation of BIF and GRF, December 14, 2001,
http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/actions/20011214a.html (accessed May 26, 2004).
388
Contact Attorney General Ashcroft to Demand Due Process of Law, CAIR Action Alert, December 16,
2001, http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=78&page=AA (accessed October 15, 2004).
389
Contact Attorney General Ashcroft to Demand Due Process of Law, CAIR Action Alert, December 16,
2001, http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=78&page=AA (accessed October 15, 2004).
50
CAIR-NY posted on its website a petition to Ashcroft that contended, The funds collected
by these American charitable institutions do not belong to them [the U.S. government] but
to the intended orphans who are waiting for their food and other necessities to survive.
390

BIFs executive director, Enaam Arnaout, was arrested on perjury charges in April 2002 for
stating under oath that BIF did not support terrorism,
391
CAIR spokesman J ason Erb said,
Youre going to be charged with perjury for declaring your innocence? I think it really
makes American Muslims feel that they are not going to get a fair shake in the justice
system.
392
And Hooper accused the government of using backhanded legal
technicalities.
393
In February 2003, Arnaout pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy,
admitted providing items to fighters in Chechnya and Bosnia, and agreed to cooperate with
the government.
394

When the government detained GRF co-founder Rabih Haddad on a visa violation on
December 14, 2001, CAIR-Michigan board member Homam Albaroudi co-founded the
Free Rabih Haddad Committee.
395
In J anuary 2002, CAIR co-sponsored a rally held
outside Haddads court hearing. This is not about one man. It is about defending the
principles that our nation was built on, CAIR-Michigans executive director, Haaris
Ahmad, said.
396

Hooper later criticized the government for bringing Haddads case administratively, rather
than criminally, so evidence does not have to be produced.
397
In November 2002, an
immigration judge denied Haddads application for asylum and withholding of removal,
concluding that he presented a substantial risk to the national security of the United
States.
398
In J uly 2003, he was deported to Lebanon.
399

Additionally, CAIR-NY defended Alaa Al Sadawi, who was indicted in J uly 2002 along
with his son, Hassan, on currency reporting violations.
400
Two months earlier, federal
agents had discovered that Hassan Al Sadawi, a passenger on an Egypt-bound flight

390
We Demand Immediate Due Process of Law for Muslim American Charities, Petition Addressed to
Attorney General John Ashcroft, http://web.archive.org/web/20021120080102/www.cair-
ny.com/PETITIONS/pet-20020104a.html, (accessed J uly 15, 2004).
391
US v. Benevolence International Foundation and Enaam Arnaout, 02 CR 414, Indictment (N.D. Ill April
30, 2002).
392
Michael Higgins, Islamic Charities Chafe at Charges, Chicago Tribune, May 13, 2002.
393
Haddad: I have been Railroaded, United Press International, May 2, 2002.
394
Benevolence Director Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy and Agrees to Cooperate with the
Government, US Department of Justice News Release, February 10, 2003,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/2003/pr021003_01.pdf (accessed July 15, 2004).
395
Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor et al. v. John Ashcroft and Robert Mueller, Statement of
Homam Albaroudi, July 30, 2003, http://www.aclu.org/news/NewsPrint.cfm?ID=13252&c=206 (accessed
October 15, 2004).
396
Lawrence Parker, Detained Muslim Cleric Secretly Moved to Chicago, J anuary 17, 2002,
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jan2002/hadd-j17_prn.shtml (accessed October 15, 2004).
397
Haddad: I have been Railroaded, United Press International, May 2, 2002.
398
Statement of Barbara Comstock, Director of Public Affairs, on the Haddad Asylum Decision,
Department of Justice Press Release, November 22, 2002,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2002/November/02_civ_691.htm (accessed October 14, 2004).
399
Sarah Freeman, Haddad Deported, Family Remains in the US, Associated Press, J uly 16, 2003.
400
US v. Al-Sadawi, 00901-NGG-3 (E.D. N.Y J uly 26, 2002).
51
departing from New Yorks Kennedy Airport, had $659,000 in cash in boxes of Ritz
crackers, Quaker Oats, and baby wipes in his suitcase.
401

In J uly 2003, Hassan Al Sadawi was acquitted, but Alaa Al Sadawi was convicted.
402

During sentencing procedures, prosecutors asserted that between May 2000 and late 2001,
Alaa Al Sadawi had raised money for GRF,
403
and had passed $10,000 to a member of
GRF under a bathroom stall divider at Chicagos O'Hare Airport.
404
The assistant U.S.
attorney also asserted that Al Sadawi had been heard thanking God for the loss of
American lives in Afghanistan.
405

CAIR-NY placed action alerts on its email list asserting that the community stands behind
Ala (sic) Al-Sadawis innocence
406
and urging all people of conscience to support a fair
sentencing hearing Commenting on Sadawis links to GRF, CAIR-NY noted, no one
at the Global Relief Fund has been charged with a terrorism related crime and added, At
the time Al Sadawi was associated with Global Relief Fund, it had not been designated as
an organization which funds terrorism.
407

In December 2003, Alaa Al Sadawi was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
408

General Comments on HLF, BIF, and GRF
CAIR has continued to criticize government actions against terrorist financiers. At a
fundraiser on Oct. 26, 2002, Chairman Omar Ahmad said:
Our Muslimorganizations have been shut down, some of them in the
northern Virginia area, some of them in Dallas, charitable organizations
and they are begging to belong.We [Muslims] are under attackWe
are under the squeeze.
409

At a J anuary 2003 CAIR event in New York, Hooper said, All you have to do is make
some comment oh its security relatedand once thats done, all blinders go on
everyone.Why do you think that all the Muslim charitiesthat were shut down,
nobodys ever brought to trial because they dont have the evidence. All they have to do is
make the accusation and thats sufficient.
410

Awad, CAIRs executive director, voiced similar concerns at a May 2003 forum hosted by
the J ohns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. When an audience member
commented during the ensuing question-and-answer session that the Department of
J ustice had released reams of evidence showing that these organizations, including the

401
Tom Hays, Alleged Smuggler Ordered Held Without Bail, Associated Press, J uly 29, 2002.
402
Man Convicted of Smuggling $600,000, Associated Press, July 23, 2003.
403
John Marzulli, Feds: Cleric was a Terror Money Man, New York Daily News, November 14, 2003.
404
Tom Hays, Feds Link Money Smuggler to Outlawed Muslim Charity, Associated Press, November 27,
2003.
405
John Marzulli, Cleric Gets Max In Terror Case, New York Daily News, December 12, 2003.
406
Sheikh Ala Al-Sadawis Sentencing Hearing Adjourned Until November 18, CAIR Action Alert,
November 14, 2003.
407
CAIR-NY Calls for a Fair Sentencing Hearing for Sheikh Ala Al-Sadawi, CAIR Action Alert,
December 9, 2003.
408
Islamic Fund-Raiser Gets 5 Years for Plot to Smuggle Cash in Cracker, Cereal Boxes, Associated Press,
December 11, 2003.
409
CAIR Fundraiser, Tysons Corner, Virginia, October 26, 2002.
410
CAIR-NY Muslim Leadership Forum, Marriott, La-Guardia New York, New York, January 26, 2003.
52
Holy Land Foundation and Benevolence International, have direct connections and in fact
their leadership was the leadership of Al Qaeda and Hamas, Awad replied:
I am sure if weput under the microscope, every major civic
or political organization in this country, including the Red
Cross, you will see that some dollars went here and there in
some country, but we dont shut down the entire operation of
the Red Cross
411


CAIR Dallas-Fort Worth labeled charges against Ghassan Elashi and his four
brothers an injustice and selective prosecution against Muslims.
As mentioned in CAIRs Origins, Ghassan Elashi was a founding board member of
CAIR-Texas,
412
as well as HLFs chairman
413
and treasurer.
414
He also served as vice
president of marketing for Infocom, a company that exported computers and computer
components primarily to the Middle East.
415
Further links between Marzook, the Elashi
family, IAP, HLF, and CAIR can be seen in terms of Infocoms role in hosting the websites
for a number of Islamic groups, including those of HLF, IAP,
416
and CAIR.
417

In September 2001, the FBI raided Infocoms offices,
418
froze two of its accounts, and
subpoenaed HLFs and IAPs records.
419
CAIR, IAP (led by CAIR incorporator Rafeeq
J aber)
420
and other Islamic advocacy groups held a press conference outside Infocom
headquarters a short time later and issued a statement blaming Israel:
American Muslims view yesterday's action as just one of a
long list of attempts by the pro-Israel lobby to intimidate and
silence all those who wish to see Palestinian Muslims and
Christians free themselves of a brutal Apartheid-like
occupation. We believe the genesis of this raid lies not in
Washington, but in Tel Aviv.
421


411
Bridging the Gap between America and the Muslim World: The Role of Muslim and Arab American
Organizations, Nihad Awad at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, May 13, 2003.
412
CAIR Articles of Incorporation, Texas Secretary of State, September 29, 1998.
413
1999 HLFRD Form 990, Internal Revenue Service.
414
1993 and 1998 HLFRD Form 990,Internal Revenue Service.
415
US v. Elashi, 3:02-CR-052-R, Superseding indictment, (N.D. Tex December 17, 2002).
416
Steve McGonigle, Local Firms Accounts Frozen, The Dallas Morning News, September 26, 2001.
417
Kieren McCarthy, Iraq Domain Owner Convicted, July 9, 2004.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/09/iraq_domain_owner_convicted/ (accessed January 4, 2005).
418
David Koenig, FBI Raids Dallas-Area Internet Business as Part of Terrorism Investigation, Associated
Press, September 6, 2001.
419
Steve McGonigle, Local Firms Accounts Frozen, The Dallas Morning News, September 26, 2001.
420
Steve McGonigle, Grand Jury Pursues Records, The Dallas Morning News, September 7, 2001.
421
PR Newswire, Raid on Texas Business is Anti-Muslim Witch Hunt Say Muslim Leaders, September 6,
2001.
53
Further dismissing the legitimacy of the Infocom raid, CAIR Executive Director Awad
invoked McCarthyism and called it an assault and an insult to Muslims in America...We
don't see that there is a good probable cause for this except stereotypes.
422

The raid led to indictments in December 2002 of Infocom, the Elashi brothers, Mousa Abu
Marzook, and his wife Nadia Elashi. Infocom and the Elashi brothers were charged with
illegally sending computer equipment to Libya and Syria and with engaging in financial
transactions with Marzook, a Specially Designated Terrorist.
423

Marzook and Nadia Elashi live abroad and have never been apprehended in the case.
Mohamed Elmougy, CAIR Dallas-Fort Worth chairman, and Khalid Hamideh, registered
agent for CAIR-Texas, held a press conference to protest the governments action.
424
We
are concerned that these charges result from what appears to be a war on Islam and
Muslims rather than a war on terror,

Elmougy said.
425

And CAIR-DFW Executive Director Tamir Ayad
426
commented, We're hoping that this is
not a case of the government trying to limit people's freedom of speech in their dissent of
U.S. foreign policy by focusing on these people.
427

CAIR and the IAP used their email list servers to solicit donations to the Muslim Legal
Fund of America (MLFA), formed to raise money for Elashis defense.
428
Three current
and former CAIR officials, Waseem Nasrallah,
429
Khalil Meek,
430
and Ghassan Hitto
431

were on MLFAs board of directors in February 2007.
432


422
David McGuire, FBI Raid Severely Disrupted Islamic Net, Newsbytes News Network, September 7,
2001.
423
US v. Elashi, 3:02-CR-052-R, Indictment, (N.D. Tex. December 17, 2002).
424
Press Conference Announcement at the Radisson Hotel in Richardson, TX for December 19, 2002, CAIR-
DFW website. http://web.archive.org/web/20030604225740/www.cairdfw.org/pcnames.shtml (accessed
December 22, 2004).
425
Mary McKee and Bill Miller, Hamas Arrests Called Unfair, The Fort Worth Star Telegram, December
20, 2002.
426
Bryon Okada and Diane Smith, Travelers Face New Screening at Airports, Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
December 1, 2001.
427
Mary McKee, Brothers, Called Good People, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 19, 2002.
428
Steve McGonigle, Aid Push Made for 5 Tied to Hamas, The Dallas Morning News, February 15, 2003.
See also: Liberty Task Force Formed to Defend Elashi Family, January 24, 2003
http://web.archive.org/web/20030210192257/www.muslimlegalfund.org/elashis.html (accessed December
21, 2004).
429
Nasrallah is identified as the Chairman of CAIRs Southwest region in a 1999 press report. See: J ennifer
Packer, Groups Rally Downtown to Show NATO Support, The Dallas Morning News, April 11, 1999. In
addition: Nasrallah is the registered agent for a company called Softx Technology, Inc. A director in the
company is Dallel Mohmed, formerly of HLF. See: Texas Secretary of State, Corporate Record, Softx
Technology, Inc.
430
Meek is identified as a member of CAIR Dallas-Fort Worths Board of Directors in July 2004. See: Kim
Horner, Muslim Leaders Blast Brothers Convictions, The Dallas Morning News, J uly 10, 2004.
431
About CAIR-DFW. Board of Directors,
http://web.archive.org/web/20020208113314/http://www.cairdfw.org/about.shtml (accessed December 10,
2004) and Mary McKee, US Muslim Says Israel Put Her in Cell with Rats, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May
15, 2002.
432
Muslim Legal Fund of America, About Us, http://www.muslimlegalfund.org/about.html (accessed
November 30, 2007).
54
MLFAs website states that the group has built strong alliances with national
organizations such as CAIR
433
and MLFA advertised Omar Ahmad as a speaker at its
first Special Dinner in March 2002.
434

In J uly 2004, Ghassan Elashi was convicted on six counts, and Infocom was found guilty
on 10 at one of the two trials that resulted from the 2002 indictment.
435

CAIR Dallas-Fort Worth issued a statement casting the verdicts as evidence of a growing
disparity and climate of injustice for Muslims, who we feel are being selectively prosecuted
and given unfair sentences precisely because they are Muslim or ArabThis growing trend
of selective prosecution only furthers much of the communitys view that this is nothing
but a witch-hunt against the Muslim communityThe injustice waged against this family,
by which over 20 children were robbed of their fathers for their crime of being Muslims in
America, is only part of this tragedy we witnessed. The other victim in this ordeal is justice
itself.
436

The indictment produced separate trials one in 2004 on the export charges and one in
2005 for money laundering and dealing with Marzook, a specially designated terrorist.
437

On April 13, 2005, Ghassan and Bayan Elashi, and Infocom were found guilty of all 21
federal counts they faced at the second trial resulting from the 2002 indictment, including
conspiracy, money laundering and dealing in property of a terrorist. Basman Elashi, who
faced the same charges, was convicted of three counts of conspiracy but acquitted on the
rest. Ghassan and Basman Elashi were sentenced to 80 months in prison and Bayan Elashi
was sentenced to 84 months in prison.
438
Ihsan Elashi was sentenced to 72 months in
prison; he had already been sentenced to 48 months on other charges and his terms will run
consecutively. Hazim Elashi was sentenced to 66 months in prison and will be deported
upon completion of his term.
439


CAIR Chicagos executive director called the Boim verdict holding IAP and
HLF liable in damages for a Hamas murder a modern day lynching and a
mockery of justice.

433
Muslim Legal Fund of America news release, January 31, 2003.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040201223528/muslimlegalfund.org/newsreleases.html (accessed December
21, 2004).
434
Muslim Legal Fund of America news release, Special Dinner, February 21, 2002.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020729000627/www.muslimlegalfund.org/newsreleases.html (accessed
December 21, 2004).
435
Elashi Brothers Convicted, US Department of J ustice Press Release, J uly 8, 2004,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel04/elashi_conv.pdf (accessed J uly 9, 2004).
436
CAIR Dallas-Fort Worth Press Release, July 9, 2004.
437
Trial begins for men accused of helping Hamas, Associated Press, March 31, 2005,
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/11276670.htm (accessed April 14, 2005).
438
INFOCOM CORPORATION AND ITS OPERATORS SENTENCED IN FEDERAL COURT;
ELASHI BROTHERS CONVICTED FOR DOING BUSINESS WITH TERRORIST, Department of J ustice
Press Release, October 13, 2006, http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/terroristsupport101306.htm;
Michael Grabell, Holy Land group's co-founder sentenced, Dallas Morning News, October 12, 2006,
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/101306dnmetelashi.302f898f.html
439
Elashi Brothers Sentenced Department of Justice press release, January 25, 2006,
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel06/elashi_hazim_ihsan_sen_pr.html
55
In December 2004, a federal magistrate judge in Illinois held three American Muslim
organizations, IAP, HLF, and the Quranic Literacy Institute (QLI), as well as a high level
Hamas operative, Mohammad Salah, liable for $156 million in damages
440
in the 1996
death of David Boim. Boim, a 17-year-old New York native, was shot to death by a Hamas
gunman while waiting at a bus stop in the West Bank town of Beit El.
441

Declaring the verdict a travesty of justice, then CAIR Chicagos executive director, Yaser
Tabbara,
442
commented, We feel that the decision is unfortunate but expected. I think this
will only serve to discourage American Muslims from giving to charity. Tabbara asserted
that there is redress for Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism but no redress for
Palestinian victims of Israeli terrorism, By the same logic, it should be possible for a
Palestinian American to sue a U.S. organisation like the Friends of the Israeli Defence
Force for the unlawful killings they perpetrate.
443

Tabbara disputed the judges finding that Hamas terrorists killed David Boim, observing
that to my knowledge they have never claimed responsibility.
444
In his decision, J udge
Arlander Keys had said, all of the evidence in the record on this issue points to Hamas as
the entity responsible for Davids murder.
445

Previously, Tabbara had taken issue with Keys failure to grant a continuance to QLI,
stating, At the end of the day, what we are witnessing is a modern day lynching and a
mockery of justice.
446

As mentioned in CAIRs Origins, an appellate court overturned the damage award and
remanded the case back to the district court for further proceedings. In its ruling, the
appellate judges found the ample record evidence (particularly taking into account the
classified information presented to the court in camera) establishing HLF's role in the
funding of Hamas and of its terrorist activities is incontrovertible.
447


CAIR endorsed a brochure contending that the case against Mohammed Salah
and the Quranic Literacy Institute was rooted in outrageous complaints.

440
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, Minute Order, (N.D. Ill 00-CV-2905, filed December 8, 2004).
441
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, Memorandum and Order, (N.D. Ill 00-CV-2905, filed November 10,
2004).
442
CAIR Chicago Website: http://www.cairchicago.org/staff.php (accessed J uly 5, 2006).
443
Roshan Muhammed Salih, Muslim Charities Fined for Colony Death, December 9, 2004,
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C79B8542-CF5B-4267-BBF3-25765D081F3C.htm (accessed
December 14, 2004).
444
Roshan Muhammed Salih, Muslim Charities Fined for Colony Death, December 9, 2004,
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C79B8542-CF5B-4267-BBF3-25765D081F3C.htm (accessed
December 14, 2004).
445
Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute, 00-CV-2905, Memorandum and Order, 27 (N.D. Ill November 10,
2004).
446
Muslim Groups Claim Injustice in Boim Trial, December 6, 2004,
http://www.nbc5.com/news/3975923/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65193 (accessed
December 15, 2004).
447
Boim v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development et al.,U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh
Circuit, decided Dec. 28, 2007.
56
On J anuary 25, 1993, Mohammad Salah, a naturalized American citizen and Chicago-area
resident, was arrested in Israel for his membership in Hamas. In J anuary 1995, Salah
pleaded guilty in an Israeli military court to belonging to Hamas and was sentenced to five
years in prison. Also in 1995, the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Asset
Control named Salah a Specially Designated Terrorist. He was released by Israel in
November 1997 and permitted to return to the United States.
448

On J une 9, 1998, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois filed an action for
forfeiture of bank accounts and other properties belonging to Salah, his wife, and the
Quranic Literacy Institute.
449

The affidavit of FBI Special Agent Robert Wright stated, A review of bank records further
indicates that QLI and QLI-related entities or individuals likely were a source of funds for
Salahs Hamas-related expenditures between 1991 and his arrest in J anuary of 1993 and
beyond.
450

A brochure published by the Chicago-based Muslim Americans for Civil Rights and Legal
Defense (whose Treasurer was CAIR incorporator Rafeeq J aber),
451
contended, Properties
of well known and well respected Muslim leaders were seized by the U.S. government with
some outrageous complaints.
452
The brochure listed CAIR and IAP as supporters of this
cause.
453


CAIR defended Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook.
On Aug. 7, 1995, the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)
requested the arrest and extradition to Israel of Mousa Abu Marzook.
454
An investigation
undertaken by the government of Israel had determined that Marzook should be prosecuted
for murder.
455

Marzook was arrested at New Yorks Kennedy Airport on his return from a trip to the
Middle East.
456

On May 7, 1996, J udge Kevin Duffy (SDNY) found probable cause that Marzook
engaged in and intended to further the aims of the conspiracy by his membership in and
support of the Hamas organization. I also find that probable cause exists that Abu Marzook
knew of Hamas' plan to carry out violent, murderous attacks, that he selected the leadership

448
US v. One 1997 E35 Ford Van, Affidavit of FBI Agent Robert Wright, (ND Ill 98-C-3548).
449
US v. One 1997 E35 Ford Van, 98-C-3548 (ND Ill June 9, 1998).
450
US v. One 1997 E35 Ford Van, Affidavit of FBI Agent Robert Wright, (ND Ill 98-C-3548).
451
Muslim Americans for Civil Rights, Muslim Properties Seized Unjustly by the US Government,
distributed by MSA News, September 4, 1998.
452
Muslim Americans for Civil Rights, Muslim Properties Seized Unjustly by the US Government,
distributed by MSA News, September 4, 1998.
453
Muslim Americans for Civil Rights, Muslim Properties Seized Unjustly by the US Government,
distributed by MSA News, September 4, 1998.
454
In the Matter of the Extradition of Mousa Muhammad Abu Marzook, 95 Cr Misc. 1, US District Court
Southern District of New York, (USDC-SDNY, August 7, 1995, Sealed Complaint).
455
In the Matter of the Extradition of Mousa Muhammad Abu Marzook, 95 Cr Misc. 1, US District Court
Southern District of New York, (USDC-SDNY, August 7, 1995, Sealed Complaint).
456
Serge Schmemann, Israel Withdraws Bid to Extradite a Chief of Hamas, The NewYork Times, April 4,
1997.
57
and supplied the money to enable the attacks to take place, and that such attacks were,
therefore, a foreseeable consequence of the conspiracy.
457

As authorities mulled Marzooks fate, CAIR came out in his support. Nihad Awad
organized a press conference three days later where he called the case politically motivated
and part of a campaign to drive a wedge between America and Islamic countries.
458

The following month, CAIR signed an open letter to then-Secretary of State Warren
Christopher that railed against the injustice that has prevailed against Dr. Marzook and
alleged that our judicial system has been kidnapped by Israeli interests. The letter added,
Dr. Abu Marzook is a political leader; no more, no less than any other political leader in
the world
459
Additionally, CAIRs 1996 The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United
States included Marzooks arrest in its list of incidents of anti-Muslim bias and violence.
460

Marzook was deported to J ordan in May 1997.
461

In August 2004 he was indicted for allegedly participating in a 15-year racketeering
conspiracy in the United States and abroad to finance terrorist activities in Israel, the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.
462
The indictment, which for the first time identified Hamas as a
criminal enterprise, alleged that the affairs of the enterprise were conducted through
multiple acts of conspiracy to commit and solicit first degree murder, conspiracy to kill
persons in a foreign country, money laundering, obstruction of justice, providing material
support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations, and hostage taking.
463

Marzook remains abroad.

CAIR defended Hamas operative Abdulhaleem al-Ashqar.
Abdulhaleem al-Ashqar organized the 1993 Hamas meeting in Philadelphia
464
and is the
former executive director of the Al Aqsa Educational Fund.
465
According to the FBI, the Al
Aqsa Educational Fund along with HLF -- was the main American fundraising front for
Hamas in 1994.
466

In February 1998, Ashqar was called to testify before a grand jury in the Southern District
of New York investigating Hamas fund-raising in the United States.
467
He refused to

457
US District Court Southern District of New York (USDC-SDNY), In the Matter of the Extradition of
Mousa Muhammad Abu Marzook, 95 Cr Misc. 1, Memorandum and Order, May 7, 1996.
458
Justice Forum: Newsletter of the Marzook Legal Fund, June 1996.
459
Open Letter of Mr. Warren Christopher, Secretary of State, Signed by CAIR, Reprinted in Justice Forum:
Newsletter of the Marzook Legal Fund, June 1996.
460
The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States, American Muslim Research Center, 1996, 17-18.
461
Neil MacFarquhar, Terror Suspect Freed by US; Flies to Jordan, The New York Times, May 6, 1997.
462
US v. Marzook, (N.D. Ill 03-CR-978, indictment filed August 19, 2004).
463
US v. Marzook, (N.D. Ill 03-CR-978, indictment filed August 19, 2004).
464
Watson Action Memo, 9.
465
IRS Form 990 filed by Al Aqsa Educational Fund for Fiscal Year 1995.
466
Watson Action Memo, 13.
467
In re: Grand Jury Subpoena of John Doe (Abdelhaleem Ashqar), United States District Court Southern
District of New York, May 26, 1998 and Benjamin Weiser, 2 Men J ailed Over Refusal to Aid Inquiry, The
New York Times, April 18, 1998.
58
cooperate
468
and, on February 23, 1998, J udge Denise Cote found him in contempt and
incarcerated him.
469
He subsequently began a hunger strike to protest his detention.
470

CAIR co-sponsored
471
a letter to J udge Cote request[ing] the immediate release of Dr.
Abdelhaleem Ashqar to enable him to continue offering positive contributions to this
society.
472
The letter stated, This respected member of our community is being held for
refusing to cooperate in what they, and we, believe is a politically motivated investigation
prompted by and in the service of a foreign government.
473

Ashqar was indicted along with Marzook in August 2004 on the racketeering conspiracy
charges discussed above.
474
He was acquitted of racketeering but convicted of obstruction
of justice and criminal contempt of court. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison after a
90-minute statement in which he said he refused to give testimony that could help Israel
against the Palestinians.
"It is something I will not do as long as I live," Ashqar said, adding he refused "to live as a
traitor or as a collaborator."
475


CAIR vehemently defended convicted Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader
Sami Al-Arian and alleged that his arrest was based on political
considerations.
After a 10-year investigation, University of South Florida Computer Science Professor
Sami Al-Arian was indicted in February 2003
476
on charges of establishing and operating
the Palestinian Islamic J ihad (PIJ ) network in the United States. In December 2005, after a
six month trial, Al-Arian was acquitted of eight charges, while the jury deadlocked on the
nine other charges,
477
including conspiracy to provide material support PIJ .
The Al-Arian indictment alleged the PIJ allegedly is responsible for the deaths of two
Americans and more than 100 Israelis.
478


468
John Mintz, Michael Grunwald, FBI Terror Probes Focus on US Muslims, The Washington Post.,
October 31, 1998.
469
Benjamin Weiser, 2 Men Jailed Over Refusal to Aid Inquiry, The New York Times, April 18, 1998.
470
John Mintz, Michael Grunwald, FBI Terror Probes Focus on US Muslims, The Washington Post.,
October 31, 1998.
471
CAIR sponsored the letter with the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), the American Muslim Council
(AMC), and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
472
Immigration Case of Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar, CAIR List Serve Email, May 28, 1998. CAIR sponsored
the letter with the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), the American Muslim Council (AMC), and the Islamic
Society of North America (ISNA).
473
Immigration Case of Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar, CAIR List Serve Email, May 28, 1998. CAIR sponsored
the letter with the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), the American Muslim Council (AMC), and the Islamic
Society of North America (ISNA).
474
US v. Marzook, 03-CR-978, Indictment, (N.D. Ill August 19, 2004).
475
Michael Higgins, Palestinian ally given 11 year term, Chicago Tribune, November 21, 2007.
476
USA v. Al Arian, et al, 03-CR-77, Indictment, (MD FL February 20, 2003).
477
USA v. Al Arian, et al, 03-CR-77, Verdict Form, (MD FL December 6, 2005).
478
Members of the Palestinian Islamic J ihad Arrested, Charged With Racketeering and Conspiracy to
Provide Support to Terrorists, United States Department of Justice News Release, February 20, 2003,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/February/03_crm_099.htm (accessed J uly 11, 2004) and Interview with
59
On April 14, 2006, after more than a decade of denying any involvement with PIJ , and five
months after the conclusion of his jury trial, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
make or receive contributions of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of the
Palestinian Islamic J ihad, a Specially Designated Terrorist. Al-Arian agreed to be
deported as part of his plea.
479

He also admitted that he performed services for the PIJ in 1995 and thereafter and that he
was aware that the PIJ achieved its objectives by, among other means, acts of violence.
480

The services Al-Arian performed included filing for immigration benefits for individuals
associated with the PIJ , hiding the identities of individuals associated with the PIJ , and
providing assistance for an individual (Mazen al-Najjar) associated with the PIJ in a United
States Court proceeding, the plea agreement states.
481

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, whose organization insisted upon Al-Arians
innocence for years, did not comment on the plea itself. Rather, he lamented that Al-
Arians family has been inconvenienced by his trial.
We welcome the decision not to retry Professor Al-Arian.
We are concerned however that the price paid for his
freedom is deportation to another country, an additional
burden on a family that has suffered tremendously over the
past few years.
482

The 50-count, 121-page indictment against Al-Arian and seven others was based on years
of painstaking FBI surveillance, during which investigators amassed reams of phone
conversation transcripts, faxes, letters, videotapes and other documents. Those intercepts
showed Al-Arian played a leadership role in the J ihad and worked to keep it together
during a financial crisis during the mid 1990s.
Despite Al-Arians documented history of extremism, CAIR officials have consistently
defended him.
On the day of Al-Arians arrest, Hooper appeared on MSNBCs Buchanan & Press to
suggest that the charges were politically motivated:
I think the problem we're seeing is that the Israelization of
American policy and procedures, the failed tactics of the
Israelis, where, if you just kill a few more people, destroy a
few more homes, seize a few more acres, everything will be
OK. We don't want to take that and translate it into the
American settingThe entire controversy began with the

Ehud Olmert, Israeli Prime Minister, Discussing His Visit to the United States, the Iranian Nuclear Threat and
the Roadmap for Middle East Peace, Federal News Service, May 22, 2006.
479
USA v. Al Arian, et al, 03-CR-77, Plea Agreement, 1563 (MD FL April 14, 2006).
480
USA v. Al Arian, et al, 03-CR-77, Plea Agreement, 1563 (MD FL April 14, 2006).
481
USA v. Al Arian, et al, 03-CR-77, Plea Agreement, 1563 (MD FL April 14, 2006).
482
CAIR Welcomes Resolution of Al-Arian Case, Council on American Relations Press Release, April 15,
2006, http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=2106&theType=NR (accessed May 25,
2006).
60
attack dogs of the pro-Israel lobby going after Sami Al-
Arian
483

CAIR chairman Omar Ahmad issued a press release the same day repeating what Hooper
said on television: This action could leave the impression that Al-Arian's arrest is based
on political considerations, not legitimate national security concerns.
At a news conference outside Tampas federal courthouse the next day, CAIR-Florida
spokesman Ahmed Bedier said Al-Arians arrest was not about Sami as a person. Its
about a situation that could set a precedent for other Muslims across the country. The core
of the judicial system is that all men are innocent until proven guilty. In this case, it seems
like the other way around.
484

Bedier upped the ante later that year, telling the Christian Science Monitor that Al-Arians
arrest was an effective tool to silence anti-Israeli views in the country.
485

Rather than confront the indictments damaging disclosures, Bedier and others in CAIR
tried to turn Al-Arian in to a victim. At a May 27, 2004 news conference, Nihad Awad
protested the inhumane treatment Al-Arian and fellow defendant Sameeh Hammoudeh
received in jail while awaiting trial.
Awad added, we have the feelingthat probably their religion and their ethnicities and
theclimate that we have and we live under has to do a lot with the way they are being
treatedWe just feel that it is discriminatory, its inhumane and it may affect the final
outcome of the judicial ruling towards their cases.
486

As the trial date approached, CAIR joined a coalition of religious, human rights and civil
liberties groups, in support of a defense motion to change the venue.
487
Bedier, the
Central Florida director of CAIR, said As a civil right (sic) organization, we have a
fundamental belief in the right to due process, fairness, and individual's 6th amendment
right to an impartial jury for all Americans We will continue to monitor this trial to
insure that what happens in the court room does not have a negative backlash on the
American Muslim Community.
488
Al-Arians change of venue motion was denied by the
Middle District of Florida two days later, the court citing a relatively minimal amount of
bias in the jury pool.
489

In February 2006, Bedier hosted a fundraiser for Al-Arian titled, J ustice Delayed is J ustice
Denied.
490
In a speech, he said the community hasnt given the case proper attention.
491


483
Buchanan & Press, MSNBC, February 20, 2003.
484
Babita Persaud, Local Muslims Deny Al-Arian Fits Government Description, St. Petersburg Times,
February 21, 2003.
485
Warren Richey and Linda Feldmann, Has Post-9/11 Dragnet Gone Too Far? Christian Science Monitor,
September 12, 2003.
486
Tampa CAIR Press Conference, Tampa Federal Courthouse, Tampa, Florida, May 27, 2004.
487
OfficialWire NewsDesk, Coalition Calls For A Change In Venue In Al-Arian Case, May 21, 2005,
http://news.baou.com/main.php?action=recent&rid=20236 (accessed July 5, 2006).
488
OfficialWire NewsDesk, Coalition Calls For A Change In Venue In Al-Arian Case, May 21, 2005,
http://news.baou.com/main.php?action=recent&rid=20236 (accessed J uly 5, 2006).
489
US v. Al-Arian, Order Denying Motions To Transfer Venue, (MDFL 03-CR-77, 05.23.2005).
490
Americans Against Hate news release, Fundraiser for Sami Al-Arians Release to be held Tomorrow in
Tampa Mosque, February 17, 2006. http://www.americansagainsthate.org/releases/PR-Al-
ArianReleaseFundraiser.htm
61
Especially right after the arrest, many people disassociated themselves from Samis
family, from the mosque, from the school. Understandably so, because theres a lot of
intimidation. And thats what certain people that are in power wanted to create in our
community. They want to scare us; they want to put fear in our hearts so we wont react, so
we wont do anything about it, so they can cherry pick whoever they want, especially
certain leaders are saying unpopular things
492


Al-Arian was sentenced to fifty-seven months in prison on May 1, 2006.
493
U.S. District
J udge J ames Moody stunned Al-Arians supporters with a strongly worded statement,
calling the professor a master manipulator.

You looked your neighbors in the eyes and said you had nothing to do with the
Palestinian Islamic J ihad. This trial exposed that as a lie.... The evidence was clear
in this case that you were a leader of the Palestinian Islamic J ihad...
When Iran, the major funding source of the PIJ , became upset because the PIJ could
not account for how it was spending its money, it was to your board of directors that
it went to demand changes. Iran wanted its representative to have a say in how its
money was spent. To stop that, you leaped into action. You offered to rewrite the
bylaws of the organization...

But when it came to blowing up women and children on buses, did you leap into
action then? Did you offer to form a committee to protect the innocent? Did you
call your fellow [PIJ ] directors and enlist their aid in stopping the bombing or even
to stop the targeting of the innocent? No. You lifted not one finger, made not one
phone call. To the contrary, you laughed when you heard about the bombings, what
you euphemistically call operations. ...


491
CAIR-FL Fundraiser for Sami Al-Arians Release, J ustice Delayed is J ustice Denied
Islamic Community of Tampa Masjid, Tampa, Florida, February 18, 2006.
492
Some unpopular things that Al-Arian has said: The stones today defeat the Uzi, the tanks and the
weapons,'' he said, according to the translation. ``The stones that the boy, who is less than 5 years old, carries,
and this mother, who receives the martyrdom of her children with smiles and trilling cries of joy, because her
son has not died; rather he has been martyred ... ``We see today the intifada, the truth which Muslims gather
round. We say to them, `Come to the Holy Land! Come forward to jihad!' '' ``Despite all difficulties, the
Palestinian people have decided to continue: to continue to confront, to continue to resist, to continue to
endure, to set an example for all people and Muslims around them. Thus is the way of struggle. Thus is the
way of giving. Thus is the way of sacrifice. ... Thus is the way of jihad. Thus is the way of martyrdom.
Thus is the way of blood, because this is the path to heaven.'' Elaine Silvestrini, Tape Shows Al-Arian In
Support Of Jihad, Tampa Tribune, J uly 13, 2005, http://www.tampatrib.com/MGB2GTC13BE.html; At the
ICP's annual conference in 1988, and again in 1990 at an event commemorating the 1,000th day of the
intifada, he used the phrase "Death to Israel." He said, in Arabic: "God is One, Mohammed is our Leader,
the Quran is our Constitution. Struggling in the cause of God is our way. Victory to Islam, death to Israel.
Revolution, revolution until victory. March, march towards Jerusalem. There is no deity but God.
Mohammed is the Messenger of God. God is great. Victory to Islam." At another speech in 1991, a few
weeks after the end of the Persian Gulf War, he said, "God cursed those who are the sons of Israel,
through David and Jesus, the son of Mary. ... Those people, God made monkeys and pigs. (emphasis
added) " Stephen Buckley, The Al-Arian Argument, St. Petersburg Times, March 3, 2002.
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/03/TampaBay/The_Al_Arian_argument.shtml
493
USA v. Al Arian, et al., 03-CR-77, judgment in a criminal case (MD FL May 1, 2006).
62
And yet, still in the face of your own words, you continue to lie to your friends and
supporters, claiming to abhor violence and to seek only aid for widows and orphans.
Your only connection to widows and orphans is that you create them, even among
the Palestinians; and you create them, not by sending your children to blow
themselves out of existence. No. You exhort others to send their children... You are
indeed a master manipulator.
494


Bedier criticized J udge Moodys statement as political and accused the judge of being
biased and unfair.
495


CAIRs support of Al-Arian has not wavered. He has refused to testify before a federal
grand jury investigating terror financing in Northern Virginia, including the International
Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a think-tank that was among the largest donors to Al-
Arians World and Islam Studies Enterprise (see section on CAIRs Funding for more).
This defiance led to a series of contempt orders, which essentially froze his prison sentence
in place.
496


Al-Arian insisted his plea agreement included a promise that he would not have to
cooperate in other investigations, though no such reference appears in the signed plea
agreement or was mentioned during his plea hearing. Courts have rejected this argument at
least three separate times, including an 11
th
Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in J anuary
2008.
497


Al-Arian went on a hunger strike in March 2008 to protest the latest grand jury subpoena.
CAIR issued a call for American Muslims to support his strike by writing letters urging his
release to judges, members of Congress and Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
498
Awad
then led a delegation to visit Al-Arian in prison on March 31, 2008.
499
"He believes in his
just cause and we were there to support him," Awad explained.
500


After Cleveland imam Fawaz Damra was convicted of concealing his
involvement in groups that advocated violent terrorist attacks against Jews
and others on his citizenship application, CAIR-Ohios executive director
defended him as a great interfaith leader.

494
Judge Moody: You are a master manipulator, St. Petersburg Times Online, May 1, 2006,
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/01/news_pf/State/Judge_Moody__You_are_.shtml (Accessed December 8,
2006).
495
Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, Al-Arian receives maximum sentence, Orlando Sentinel, May 2, 2006.
496
Justice Department Taking Steps to Charge Sami Al-Arian, New York Sun, March 4, 2008.
497
USA v. Sami Amin Al-Arian, Appeal from the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11
th

Circuit, January 25, 2008.
498
U.S. Muslims Asked to Support Fla. Prof on Hunger Strike, PR Newswire, March 19, 2008.
499
Keith Morelli, Al-Arian Gets Visitors During Hunger Strike, The Tampa Tribune, March 31, 2008.
500
Ibid.
63
On J une 18, 2004, Fawaz Damra, the Islamic Center of Clevelands imam, was convicted
of unlawfully obtaining his U.S. citizenship through a fraudulent application.
501
The
indictment had alleged that Damra concealed from the INS his affiliation with Al-Kifah
Refugee Center, PIJ and the Islamic Committee for Palestine (ICP).
502
The Al-Kifah
Refugee Center was established as the American-based affiliate of Mekhtab Al-Khidemat,
which after the end of the Soviet-Afghan war became Al Qaeda.
503
PIJ is a designated
Foreign Terrorist Organization
504
and ICP channeled funds to support PIJ activities.
505

Additionally, Damra concealed from INS the fact that he had, before applying for
citizenship, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution
506
of J ews and
others by advocating violent terrorist attacks against them.
507
During the trial, jurors were
shown footage of a 1991 speech in which Damra called J ews the sons of monkeys and
pigs and a 1989 speech in which he said terrorism and terrorism alone is the path to
liberation.
508

Damra was the guybrought in to raise the money for Islamic J ihad federal prosecutor
Cherie Krigsman said after the verdict.
509

J ad Humeidan, CAIR-Ohio executive director, said Damra has been a great interfaith
leader in the Cleveland community.
510
In J anuary 2004, he had called the Damra case
part of a pattern of attacking the Muslim community, its leaders and its institutions.
511

At the start of Damras trial, CAIR spokesman Hooper commented, were concerned that
all of his due process is maintained and evidence be free of religious or ethnic
stereotyping Were always concerned when prominent leaders of the American Islamic
community are charged, or detained or harassed.
512

Damra was sentenced to two months in prison in September 2004
513
and stripped of his
citizenship.
514
He was deported in J anuary 2007.

501
Ohio Imam Convicted of Lying About Associations with Palestine Islamic J ihad After ICE/FBI
Investigation, ICE Press Release, June 18, 2004,
http://www.ice.gov/text/news/newsrel/articles/061804akron.htm (accessed July 8, 2004).
502
US v. Damra, O3-cr-484, Indictment, (USDC December 16, 2003)
503
US v. bin Laden, 98 Cr. 1023, Indictment, (S.D. NY S (9) November 4, 1998).
504
List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, US State Department,
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2003/12389.htm (accessed July 11, 2004).
505
US v. Al-Arian, 03-cr-77-ALL, Indictment, (M.D. Fla. February 20, 2003).
506
US v. Damra, O3-cr-484, Indictment, (USDC December 16, 2003).
507
Ohio Imam Convicted of Lying About Associations with Palestine Islamic J ihad After ICE/FBI
Investigation, ICE Press Release, June 18, 2004,
http://www.ice.gov/text/news/newsrel/articles/061804akron.htm (accessed July 8, 2004).
508
Imam Convicted of Lying About Terrorism Ties on Citizenship Application, Associated Press, June 18,
2004.
509
Imam Convicted of Lying About Terrorism Ties on Citizenship Application, Associated Press, June 18,
2004.
510
Imam Convicted of Lying About Terrorism Ties on Citizenship Application, Associated Press, June 18,
2004.
511
David Briggs, Imam Draws Community Support, Cleveland Plain Dealer, J anuary 17, 2004.
512
Thomas Sheeran, Islamic, J ewish Communities to Watch Imams Trial Closely, Associated Press, J une
14, 2004.
513
Imam Gets 2 Months in Prison for Hiding Ties to Terror Groups on Citizenship Application,
Associated Press, September 20, 2004.
64
After Nuradin Abdi was indicted on charges of conspiracy to provide material
support to Al Qaeda, CAIR-Ohios president said Abdis arrest raises
questions of whether the U.S. government is covering up its troubles in Iraq
and elsewhere by reasserting the threat of domestic terrorism and again using
immigrants and minorities as scapegoats.
On J une 14, 2004, Nuradin Abdi was indicted in Columbus, Ohio on four counts, including
conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda.
515
Abdi allegedly was involved -- with
admitted Al Qaeda member Iyman Faris
516
-- in a plot to blow up a Columbus shopping
mall, received bomb-making instructions from a co-conspirator, and had intended to travel
to Ethiopia to receive training in guns, guerilla warfare and bombs at a military-style
camp.
517

Following Abdis indictment, Ahmad al-Akhras, president of CAIR-Ohio, commented,
This may be one of the cases also that may not have enough evidence or there's no
evidence at all.
518
Akhras added that the indictment raises questions of whether the U.S.
government is covering up its troubles in Iraq and elsewhere by reasserting the threat of
domestic terrorism and again using immigrants and minorities as scapegoats.
519

CAIR-Ohio Executive Director J ad Humeidan sought to minimize Abdis connection with
convicted Al Qaeda terrorist Iyman Faris, noting, I've shaken hands with Iyman Faris.
Does that make me guilty? That doesn't make me guilty and shouldn't make anyone else
guilty. It shouldn't make us afraid with being friends with people
520

In addition, CAIR Ohio board chairwoman Asma Mobin-Uddin, a physician, accused
Abdis jailers of psychological abuse and called for an investigation into his treatment.
521

Those who knew Abdi before he was taken into custody describe him as a friendly
community member who was helpful to others around him, she wrote in a column
published in the Columbus Dispatch. After seeing him in court in J une, they were shocked
at how different he was and described him twitching, laughing inappropriately, banging his
head against the table, making noises, speaking to himself and staring strangely into space.
As a physician, I am extremely concerned that his behaviors might indicate mental and
possibly physical abuse during his detention, and that his mental injuries may be
permanent.


514
Judge Wont Delay Convicted Imam's Loss of Citizenship, Associated Press, September 23, 2004.
515
US v. Abdi, 2:04cr88, Indictment (S.D. OH unsealed J une 10, 2004).
516
Faris was convicted of material support and conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda. He is now
serving a 20-year sentence. See: Iyman Faris Sentenced for Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda, US
Department of Justice Press Release, October 28, 2003,
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/October/03_crm_589.htm (accessed July 9, 2004).
517
US v. Abdi, 2:04cr88, Governments motion to detain defendant and memorandum in support, (S.D. OH
J une 14, 2004).
518
Judge Orders Terror Suspect to Psychiatric Facility, June 17, 2004,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5226147/ (accessed July 9, 2004).
519
Kevin Mayhood and Encarnacion Pyle, Mall-Plot Investigation, Columbus Dispatch, J une 17, 2004.
520
Susanne Cervenka, Mental Examination Ordered for Terror Suspect, Dayton Daily News, June 17, 2004.
521
Asma Mobin-Uddin, Local Muslims treatment in U.S. custody is suspicious, Columbus Dispatch forum
page, June 24, 2004. http://www.asmamobinuddin.com/LocalMuslim.pdf

65
But separate psychiatric evaluations ordered by U.S. District J udge Algenon L. Marbley
found he was competent to stand trial.
522
The original review concluded Abdi was faking
his symptoms when he said Hillary Clinton and Teresa Heinz Kerry would be his attorneys,
showered fully clothed and tore pages for a Quran and put them in a toilet.
523

"We believe such behaviors were calculated attempts to appear severely mentally ill,"
forensic psychologist Andrew Simcox and staff psychiatrist Daniel Shine J r. wrote to the
court.
524

Abdi pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists on J uly 31, 2007, one week
before his scheduled trial.
525
Abdi was sentenced to 10 years in prison after which he will
be deported to his native Somalia.
526


CAIR-Arizonas executive director defended a former U.S. Navy sailor who
praised the attack on the USS Cole and who passed classified information
about his battle-group to an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist.
In August 2004, authorities in England arrested Babar Ahmad on a criminal complaint
issued in Connecticut that charged him with conspiracy to provide material support to
terrorists and conspiracy to support the Taliban.
527
Ahmad was formally indicted in
October 2004 for providing material support to terrorists.
528

While searching Ahmads home, British authorities discovered a floppy disk that set forth
plans for a U.S. naval battle-group operating in the Straits of Hormuz in April 2001.
529
The
document also discussed the vulnerabilities of the naval group to a terrorist attack.
530

They have nothing to stop a small craft with RPG etc. except their Seals' stinger
missiles, one email said.
531

Investigators later discovered a series of email correspondence between an American sailor
and Azzam Publications, a video distribution center Ahmad helped run. Hassan Abu-
J ihaad, a signalman on the U.S. guided missile destroyer, Benfold, in the Middle East in
late 2000 and 2001, ordered violent videos from Azzam Publications. In emails, he called
the attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors a martyrdom operation. He also

522
Kevin Mayhood, Mall plot suspect competent for trial, Columbus Dispatch, J anuary 11, 2005.
523
Kevin Mayhood, Man Feigned Mental State, Analysts Say; Mall-bomb conspiracy suspect accused of
faking his behavior Columbus Dispatch September 6, 2005.
524
Ibid.
525
J odi Andes, Somali man pleads guilty to plot, Columbus Dispatch, August 1, 2007.
526
US v. Abdi, 2:04cr88, Southern District of Ohio, Sentencing hearing, November 27, 2007.
527
British Man Arrested on Several Terrorism-Related Charges, United States Attorney's Office District of
Connecticut Press Release, August 6, 2004, http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ct/Press2004/20040806.html
(accessed August 26, 2004).
528
US v. Ahmad, Indictment,(D.C. CT October 6, 2004).
529
British Man Arrested on Several Terrorism-Related Charges, United States Attorney's Office District of
Connecticut Press Release, August 6, 2004, http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ct/Press2004/20040806.html
(accessed August 26, 2004).
530
US v. Ahmad, Indictment,(D.C. CT October 6, 2004).
531
US v, Hassan Abujihaad, Indictment, 3:07-CR-57, March 7, 2007.
66
expressed anti-American sentiments and praised the men who have brought honorto the
ummah in the lands of J ihad Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, etc.
532

Abu-J ihaad was indicted in March 2007 of providing material support to terrorists and
leaking secret Navy information. At a pretrial hearing, an FBI agent testified that Abu-
J ihaad also had extensive discussions about attacking a San Diego military base with at
least two other men.
533
In court papers, prosecutors say Abu-J ihaad pledged to do
"whatever I can . . . with whatever Allah has instilled me to . . . help out with" the alleged
plot.
534

CAIR-Arizona Executive Director Deedra Abboud served as spokeswoman for Abu-J ihaad
when reports of his e-mails first surfaced. As The Los Angeles Times reported, Deedra
Abboudsaid he [Abu-J ihaad] had done nothing wrong and never mishandled classified
information. According to Abboud, the Times said, Abu-J ihaad was very surprised to
hear he might be connected to anything related to terrorism He's now scared he might get
picked up for something he can't imagine being a part of.
535

Prosecutors say he, in fact, did all of those things. On March 5, 2008, a 12-member jury in
New Haven, CT agreed, convicting Abu-J ihaad on both counts against him. He faces up to
25 years in prison when sentenced in May 2008.
536

After the verdict, Abboud, now with the American Muslim Society, told the Arizona
Republic that Abu-J ihaad had been critical of American policy but didnt express anti-
American sentiments.
"What traditionally happens in our community is we have a lot of complainers, outrage
against the injustices of the world and a lot of victim mentality," Abboud said. "Sometimes,
you get somebody who gets passionate and is a little delusional to begin with.
537

Investigators reportedly found Abu-J ihaad's military e-mail address among the computer
files upon execution of the search warrant involving Ahmad. An FBI affidavit contends
Abu-J ihaads secret security clearance allowed him access to such information.
538
Ahmad
has exhausted his British appeals and could be extradited to the United States at any
time.
539

CAIR Canada defended accused bomb-plot suspect Mohammad Momin
Khawaja, and noted that the struggle for safety and security should not come
at the expense of basic constitutional rights.

532
US v, Hassan Abujihaad, Indictment, 3:07-CR-57, Government Exhibit 5..
533
J osh Meyer, Ex-sailor accused of plotting to attack San Diego base, Los Angeles Times, November 28,
2007.
534
Ibid.
535
H.G. Reza and Richard B. Schmitt, Arizona Man Was Sailor Who Wrote Radicals, The Los Angeles
Times, August 14, 2004.
536
Press Release, Jury Finds Former Member of U.S. Navy Guilty of Terrorism and Espionage Charges,
U.S. Attorneys Office, District of Connecticut, March 5, 2008.
537
Sean Holstege, Phoenix man guilty of aiding terrorists, Arizona Republic, March 6, 2008.
538
Ex-Sailor Accused Of Supporting Terrorism Associated Press, March 8, 2007.
539
Europe to decide Babar extradition, The Muslim News, November 29, 2007.
67
In March 2004, Canadian authorities charged Mohammad Momin Khawaja of Ottawa with
aiding a terrorist group and facilitating terrorist activity in Ottawa and London.
540
Khawaja
allegedly had traveled to England the month before to meet with a cell that planned to
launch a bombing campaign there.
541
At the meeting, he was said to have shown his co-
conspirators images of explosive devices and told themhow to detonate bombs using
mobile phones.
542

On March 30, eight men were arrested in London during anti-terrorist raids in which half a
ton of ammonium nitrate fertilizer was seized. A ninth person was arrested two days
later.
543

CAIR Canada
544
quickly mobilized support for Khawaja. The day that his house was
raided, the organization issued a press release that expressed concern about the
governments action and noted, The reasons and details for the raid have not yet been
disclosed.
545
After Khawaja was charged under the nations anti-terrorism law, a CAIR
Canada press release commented, There have been repeated concerns that the legislation
violates fundamental constitutional liberties and makes a transparent trial difficult.
546

CAIR-Canada Executive Director Riad Salojee added, The struggle for safety and security
should not come at the expense of basic constitutional rights.
547

Five men were sentenced to life in prison by a British court in May 2007 after being
convicted for their roles the bombing plot. Khawajas case in Canada has been slowed by a
series of pre-trial motions by his counsel. He has yet to stand trial.
548


CAIR condemned the detention of two Saudis who may have carried out a dry
run of the 9/11 attack.
On Nov. 18, 1999, Mohammad Al-Qudhaieen and Hamdan G. Al-Shalawi, two Saudi
doctoral students, were detained for trying to gain access to the cockpit of an America West
commercial airliner on a flight headed from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. Qudhaieen
denied having jiggled the handle on the cockpit door, and insisted that he was searching for

540
RCMP lays charges under Sections 83.18 and 83.19 of the Criminal Code, RCMP News Release, March
30, 2004, http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/newsaddition/khawaja_rcmp040330.html (accessed August 26,
2004).
541
Gary Dimmock and Isabel Teotonio, Police Link Khawaja to Bomb Plot, The Ottawa Citizen, April 15,
2004.
542
Isabel Teotonio, He liked his job and girls -- that's it, family says, The Ottawa Citizen, May 3, 2004.
543
Gary Dimmock and Isabel Teotonio, Police Link Khawaja to Bomb Plot, The Ottawa Citizen, April 15,
2004.
544
CAIR Website http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=chapters (accessed July 5, 2006).
545
CAIR-CAN: No Contradiction Between Ensuring Safety and the Presumption of Innocence, CAIR
Canada Press Release, March 30, 2004, http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=A902_0_2_0_M (accessed
August 26, 2004).
546
Transparency and Rule of Law Should Prevail in Khawaja Case, CAIR Canada Press Release,
http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=A903_0_2_0_M (accessed August 26, 2004).
547
Ottawa Raid Community Kit, April 5, 2004, http://www.caircan.ca/aa_more.php?id=A913_0_3_0_M
(accessed August 26, 2004).
548
Ian MacLeod, Khawaja at risk of being wrongly convicted: lawyer, Ottawa Citizen, Oct. 17, 2007.
68
the bathroom at the front of the cabin. Shalawi and Qudhaieen were released and said they
were singled out because of their appearance.
549

CAIR Ohio provided a lawyer for the two men
550
and called for a boycott of America
West.
551

At a press briefing on Capitol Hill, Nihad Awad said the Saudis detention was based on
racial and religious profiling.
552
He told United Press International, The hysteria around
[the crash of] EgyptAir [Flight 990] has created a negative atmosphere that leads to such
incidents. Stereotyping is deeply rooted in the minds of many people, thanks of decades of
Hollywood movies.
553

In an Orange County Register op-ed, CAIR Southern Californias Hussam Ayloush blamed
the incident on the Islamophobia generated by this irresponsible reporting.
554

CAIR Ohio President Ahmad al-Akhras also charged racial profiling, declaring, It seems
like they single out some individuals because of their name, the way they look or their
national origin.
555

In fact, the incident does not appear to have been benign. As The 9/11 Commission Report
documented, Shalawi had trained in an Al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan in November 2000,
receiving instruction in how to conduct Khobar-style attacks that he and a colleague
planned to execute in Saudi Arabia.
556

Further, according to the 9/11 Commission, Shalawi was a friend of Ghassan al Sharbi,
who was captured in Pakistan along with Al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah in March of
2002.
557
Sharbi, who reportedly attended Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and
swore bayat, an oath, to Bin Ladin, attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in
Prescott, Arizona.
558

Neither the 9/11 Commission Report nor media accounts say more about Al-Qudhaieen. He
was arrested on a visa violation in J une 2003 and deported to Saudi Arabia two months
later.
559

Following 9/11, FBI agents in Phoenix considered the possibility that the America West
incident was a dry run for the attacks.
560


549
Kathy Sawyer, 'Suspicious' Saudi Air Passengers Held, Released, The Washington Post, November 21,
1999.
550
Kirk Richards, Bias Fueled Incident, Counsel Says, Columbus Dispatch, November 23, 1999.
551
Kirk Richards, Arabs Say they Face Suspicion, Extra Searches, Columbus Dispatch, November 22, 1999
and CAIR Press Release, America West Airlines Sued by Muslim Travelers Removed from Plane, June 22,
2000.
552
Kathy Sawyer, 'Suspicious' Saudi Air Passengers Held, Released, The Washington Post, November 21,
1999.
553
CAIR Denounces Profiling of Arabs, United Press International, November 21, 1999.
554
Riad Abdelkarim and Hussam Ayloush, EgyptAir Crash Shows Rush to J udgment about Muslims, The
Orange County Register, November 29, 1999.
555
Roger Alford and Kevin Mayhood, Airline Detains, Releases Suspicious Pair at Airport, The
Columbus Dispatch, November 20, 1999.
556
The 9/11 Commission Report, 521.
557
The 9/11 Commission Report, 521.
558
The 9/11 Commission Report, 521.
559
Barbara Ferguson, Two-Month Ordeal of Al-Qudhaieen Ends, Arab News, September 5, 2003.
69
After radical imam Wagdy Ghoneim was arrested on an immigration
violation, CAIR Los Angeles Sabiha Khan assailed his callous treatment.
Wagdy Ghoneim is a radical Egyptian cleric who was denied entrance to Canada after
immigration officials determined he was a member of Hamas and the Muslim
Brotherhood.
561
He also led the audience in a song with the lyrics, No to the J ews,
descendants of the apes,
562
at a CAIR co-sponsored rally at Brooklyn College in New
York in May 1998.
563

A year earlier, Ghoneim defended the practice of suicide bombings and advocated their
continuance.

Palestine will not be liberated by speeches and peaceful means, but through
jihad. The J ews are scared by the word jihad. They came to Sharm el
Shaikh after they were hit by 4 martyrdom [suicide] operations. Those
young people who explode themselves to kill the J ews were not committing
suicide but jihad. They are Mujahideen [holy warriors] because there is no
way to struggle and fight the J ews except that way. Allah bless those
martyrs. We have to prepare ourselves for jihad against J ews and to liberate
Aqsa Masjid. This is a must whether we accept it or not.
564


In November 2004, Ghoneim was arrested on immigration violations and held without
bond, in the words of Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice,
based upon Department of Homeland Security concerns that his past speeches and
participation in fund-raising activities could be supportive of terrorist organizations.
565

CAIR Southern California Executive Director Hussam Ayloush questioned the arrest,
complaining, The whole Muslim community today is under a microscope of scrutiny.
Committing a mistake that would invite a slap on the wrist for anyone else could lead to
prison or deportation for a Muslim.
566

Similarly, Raid Faraj, public relations director for CAIR-Anaheim, said, There is a
perception in the community that there is selective targeting and enforcement, and that is a
widespread perception.
567

When Ghoneim was hospitalized with chest pains, CAIR Los Angeles Sabiha Khan
commented, Such callous treatment of someone who is only charged with minor
immigration violations goes against American values of compassion and justice. We call
for an urgent investigation into Imam Ghoneim's treatment and urge that Immigration and

560
The 9/11 Commission Report, 521.
561
Ellen Van Wageningen, Egyptian Religious Leader Denied Canadian Visa, The Ottawa Citizen, January
10, 1998.
562
IAP Brooklyn Celebration, May 24, 1998.
563
50 Years of Occupation, MSA News, Direct submission from IAP information office, May 23, 1998.
564
Muslim Arab Youth Association Convention, Ontario, CA, December 26-29, 1997.
565
Muslim Leader Agrees to Leave United States, Copley Press, December 29, 2004.
566
Ben Fox, Arrest of Orange County Mosque Leader a Mistake, Supporters Say, Associated Press,
November 9, 2004.
567
Alicia Robinson, Muslims Call On Cox For Detention Aid, Daily Pilot, December 28, 2004.
70
Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security release the Imam on bail
on humanitarian and medical grounds.
568

CAIR-Southern California also met with DHS officials
569
and Congressman Chris Cox (R-
Calif.) to protest Ghoneims detention.
570

Ghoneim agreed to leave the country voluntarily in December 2004. Ayloush called his
departure a dent in our civil rights struggle and lamented the high level of fear in the
community.
571
Addressing the secrecy surrounding Ghoneims removal, Ayloush
commented, This is not the KGB [the former Soviet state security agency] but the
DHS.
572

Subsequent to his departure from the United States, Switzerland also refused to allow
Ghoneim into the country to attend a conference in 2005 but did not offer any public
explanation.
573




VII. CAIR Claims that the War on Terrorism is a War on Islam
The new perception is that the United States has entered a war with Islam itself,
CAIR national board chairman Parvez Ahmed said on J uly 17, 2007 at a National
Press Club Forum.
574
If its a new perception, its not for a lack of effort by
Ahmads organization.

Since the 9/11 attacks, CAIR consistently has accused the U.S. government of targeting
Islam itself in the war on terrorism. CAIR denies the legitimacy of virtually all U.S. anti-
terrorist efforts and claims that almost every prosecution or attack on a terrorist who is
Muslim, or any investigation or prosecution of an alleged terrorist front group, is an attack
on Islam itself.
CAIR Press Releases/Action Alerts
After HLFs assets were frozen in December 2001, CAIR issued a joint statement
with a number of other Muslim groups that stated, We ask that President Bush
reconsider what we believe is an unjust and counterproductive move that can only
damage America's credibility with Muslims in this country and around the world

568
Muslim Cleric Back in Detention after Hospitalization, http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4011050/detail.html
December 20, 2004.
569
CAIR Press Release, CAIR, MPAC Discuss Muslim Concerns with DHS Officials, December 24, 2004.
570
MPAC Press Release, MPAC Facilitates Impromptu Townhall Meeting with Congressman Chris Cox,
December 27, 2004.
571
Kimi Yoshino, Muslims See Imam's Case as an Omen, The Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2004.
572
David Reyes, Islamic Cleric Leaves Country after Lockup, The Los Angeles Times, January 4, 2005.
573
Tamer Abul Einein Preacher Denied Entry, Swiss Muslims Furious, Islamionline.net, September 19,
2005. http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-09/19/article04.shtml
574
Bush office is anti-Muslim, group says Washington Times, July 17, 2007
71
and could create the impression that there has been a shift from a war on terrorism
to an attack on Islam.
575

In December 2001, CAIR issued a press release that stated, American Muslims are
now under a cloud of suspicion produced by a drumbeat of anti-Muslim rhetoric
from those who are taking advantage of the 9-11 tragedy to carry out their agenda
of silencing our community and its leadership once and for all.
576

Following the Elashi arrests, CAIR-Dallas issued a press release that said, We are
concerned that these charges result from what appears to be a war on Islam and
Muslims rather than a war on terror. Recent actions by the Department of J ustice
have brought into question the intention of arrests such as these. We, as American
Muslims are facing an uphill battle in defending our own government's foreign
policy, as well as the, so-called, war on terrorism, while being targeted by our own
law enforcement agencies.
577

Nihad Awad, Executive Director of CAIR National
578

Responding to a Department of J ustice initiative to fingerprint and photograph
nearly 100,000 foreigners who were already in the country in an effort to weed out
suspected terrorists, Awad said, in J une 2002, What is next? Forcing American
Muslims to wear a star and crescent as a means of identification for law
enforcement authorities?
579

In a February 2003 press release, Awad commented, That the FBI is seeking lists
of ordinary, law-abiding American Muslims only serves to confirm the Islamic
community's worst fears of religious and ethnic profiling.
580

In a February 2003 IslamOnline.net live dialogue, Awad remarked, Now we see
extremists, including the Christian Right and the pro-Israel lobby, carrying out a
coordinated campaign against Islam and Muslims. The result of this is clearly
apparent from the racist policies and practices being carried out by some branches
of the U.S. government influenced by these groups, in contradiction to the
assurances President Bush gave us on more than one occasion: that this war is not
against Islam.
581

Referring to the Department of J ustices desire to question 5,000 Muslim
Americans in the wake of September 11, Awad said, in a November 2001 Chicago

575
Freeze on Groups Assets Questioned by US Muslims, CAIR Press Release, December 4, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011205052620/http://www.cair-
net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=531&articletype=3 (accessed July 11, 2004).
576
Contact Attorney General Ashcroft to Demand Due Process of Law, CAIR Action Alert, December 16,
2001, http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=78&page=AA (accessed October 15, 2004).
577
DFW Muslim Leaders Issue Statement Regarding Elashi Family Arrests, CAIR-Dallas Press Release,
December 19, 2002, http://web.archive.org/web/20030603224447/www.cairdfw.org/cgi-
bin/pr/viewnews.cgi?id=1040326553 (accessed July 11, 2004).
578
CAIR Board of Directors, http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=Board (accessed October 22, 2004).
579
Eric Lichtblau, Strict New Visa Rules Outlined Amid Protests, Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2002.
580
FBI Request for Mosque List Condemned by CAIR, PR Newswire, February 20, 2003.
581
Nihad Awad Live Dialogue, Islam in America: National Ad Campaign, February 23, 2003,
http://islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=Z7oSDW (accessed October 30, 2003).
72
Tribune article, This type of sweeping investigation carries with it the potential to
create the impression that interviewees are being singled out because of their race,
ethnicity or religion.
582

After the FBI announced it would interview Muslims and Arabs during the lead-up
to the 2004 elections in an effort to gain information concerning possible terrorist
attacks, Awad said, The way its being done stigmatizes the entire community
and makes Muslims objects of suspicion to their neighbors and co-workers....This
is more politics than securityMuslims should be enlisted in the war on terror, not
blacklisted.
583

In a November 2001 Connecticut Post report, Awad was quoted as saying, The
question [of a cease-fire] is a political one. If this war goes on and the U.S.
continues to bomb Afghanistan, it will lose [credibility] in the Muslim world in
terms of support. It will be seen by Muslims as a war against Muslims. It's a
phenomenon right now in the minds of some Muslims.
584

Commenting on a J ustice Department plan requiring Muslim and Middle Eastern
visa holders to register with the government and be fingerprinted, Awad said, in a
J une 5, 2002 CAIR press release, Policies that single out particular religious and
ethnic groups create a false sense of security and end up further damaging
America's image and reputation around the world.
585
He added:
Recent policies targeting Muslims and Arabs, including the interviewing
of 8,000 legal visa holders, the detention without due process of some
1,200 individuals, the targeting of Muslim and Arab absconders, the use
of secret evidence, the raids on Muslim homes and institutions, and the
new FBI guidelines allowing surveillance of mosques engaged in legal
activities, all failed to result in a single terrorism-related arrest. Law-
abiding residents in this country should not be made the scapegoats for
past intelligence failures.
586

The following is an excerpt from a March 2002 IslamOnline.net article that refers to
the SAAR raids: Nihad Awad, executive director of Council on American Islamic
Relations (CAIR), who was in Saudi Arabia at the time of the raids, described how
he had to defend his government to the Saudis he was meeting with, whose first
reaction to the news of the raids was, This is a war against Islam and Muslims.
Our administration has the burden of proving otherwise, he said.
587


582
Naftali Bendavid, Bush OKs Terror Tribunals; US Seeks 5,000 Foreign Nationals for Questioning in
Investigations, Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2001.
583
Richard B. Schmitt and Donna Horowitz, FBI Starts to Question Muslims in U.S. About Possible
Attacks, The Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2004.
584
Marian Gail Brown, We Pray for Peace Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan Begins, Connecticut Post,
November 16, 2001.
585
Fingerprinting Proposal is Discriminatory Say Muslims, CAIR Press Release, June 5, 2002,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=836&page=NR (accessed J uly 16, 2004).
586
Fingerprinting Proposal is Discriminatory Say Muslims, CAIR Press Release, June 5, 2002,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=836&page=NR (accessed J uly 16, 2004).
587
Ayesha Ahmad, Muslim Community Members Encourage Coalition Building, March 26, 2002,
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2002-04/10/article08.shtml (accessed July 11, 2004).
73
During a September 2001 CNN interview, Awad said, To see myself and my
fellow Muslims and Arabs being stopped in airports because of our look, because of
our feature, because of our names, because of the way that we dress I think speaks
volumes.
588

On J anuary 7, 2006, Awad and other Muslim leaders flew to Tampa to attend a rally
in support of Sami Al-Arian. The Orlando Sentinel reported:
Nihad Awad said Al-Arian was the victim of a politically charged
environment three years ago that resulted in the persecution of Muslims.
"Is this about what we did or what we are?" said Awad, executive director
of the Council on American Islamic Relations civil rights group in
Washington. "Most of these cases are done for political reasons. . . . I
think the government is abusing the system."
589

Omar Ahmad, Chairman Emeritus of CAIR National
590

Speaking at a CAIR fundraiser in October 2002, Ahmad said, These people hated
Islambefore September 11. They are using the opportunity of September 11 to
detain Islam Muslims or find the problem and attack the foundations of IslamWe
are under attack.
591

At a December 2003 CAIR fundraiser, Ahmad said, We should not be blinded by
the few who hated Islam and Muslims before September 11. Theyre exploiting
September 11 for their own political reasons.
592

At the same December 2003 event, he said, Many of our civil liberties have been
taken away since September 11 in the name of fighting terrorism. The process of
marginalizing our community, pushing us to the marginsis ongoing. A lot of
media outlets, especially the right-wing outlets, arehaving a field day attacking
Islam, attacking Muslims
593

Parvez Ahmed, Chairman of the Board of CAIR National
594

In J uly 2007, in an op-ed for the Dallas Morning News, Ahmed wrote, As a nation,
we can ill afford the perception that we are at war with a faith practiced by more
than a billion people accounting for more than a fifth of humanity today,
595
and
argued that Islamophobia was on the rise in America.


588
The Unfortunate Backlash in Terrorisms Wake, CNN, September 22, 2001,
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/22/smn.15.html (accessed October 31, 2003).
589
Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, Al-Arian may avoid new terror trial, Orlando Sentinel, January 7, 2006,
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-alarian0706jan07,0,547457.story?coll=orl-news-
headlines-state (accessed January 10, 2006).
590
CAIR Board of Directors, http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=Board (accessed October 22, 2004).
591
CAIR Fundraiser, Virginia, October 26, 2002.
592
CAIR-Sacramento Valley Area First Annual Fundraising Banquet, Sacramento, California, December 14,
2003.
593
, CAIR-Sacramento Valley Area First Annual Fundraising Banquet, Sacramento, California, December 14,
2003.
594
Parvez Ahmed: U.S. can ill afford the perception that we are at war with Islam, Dallas Morning News,
July 5, 2007.
595
Ibid
74
Ibrahim Hooper, Spokesman for CAIR National
596

Hooper is quoted in a December 2001 Denver Post report as saying, There has
been a demonization of Islam.
597

In a May 2004 New York Times article, Hooper commented, Id be surprised if
theres a mosque in the country that hasnt come under scrutiny these days. It
becomes the whole Kevin Bacon game no Muslim is more than six degrees away
from terrorism.
598

In a J uly 2003 Chicago Tribune article, Hooper said that the Department of J ustice
has a general policy of targeting Muslims because they are Muslims.
599

After FBI Director Robert Mueller announced a heightened threat to U.S. interests
around the world in May 2004 and asked the nation to be on the lookout for seven
Muslim terrorism suspects,
600
Hooper said, Its part of the round up the usual
suspects mentality. When you dont have any other leads, you gather up the
Muslims.
601

After President Bush released a most-wanted terrorist list that included only Middle
Easterners, Hooper responded, This creates a very troubling perception. This list
perpetuates the stereotype that while all Muslims may not be terrorists, all terrorists
are Muslims.
602

Asked about the J ustice Department plan to fingerprint and photograph visitors
from designated Muslim and Arab countries, Hooper told The Chicago Tribune in
J une 2002 that the initiative sends a message that Muslims and Arabs are guilty
until they are proven innocent, that there is some reason to suspect Muslims and
Arab people before anyone else.
603

When the FBIs plan to count the number of mosques in the U.S. was made public
in February 2003, Hooper told Newsweek, Its frightening to hear that this is actual
policy. This just shows how they are viewing every Islamic community in the
country with suspicion.
604

Hooper was interviewed for a September 29, 2003 CNSNews.com story on the
hearings that Senators Charles Schumer and J on Kyl held in J une
605
and September,
2003
606
on Wahhabi influence in America. Hooper commented, elected

596
J ohn Hendren, President Decries Generals Remarks, Los Angeles Times, October 29, 2003.
597
Diane Carman, Crisis of Faiths Imperils Peace, Denver Post, December 20, 2001.
598
Sarah Kershaw and Eric Lichtblau, Spain had Doubts Before US Held Lawyer in Madrid Blasts, The
New York Times, May 26, 2004.
599
Dan Mihalopoulos, Abuse of Post-9/11 Detainees Detailed, Chicago Tribune, J uly 22, 2003.
600
Remarks Prepared for Director Robert S. Mueller, III, BOLO News Conference, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Washington, DC, May 26, 2004.
601
Shannon McCaffrey, US Renews Manhunt for Al Qaeda Suspects, Detroit Free Press, May 27, 2004.
602
Eric Lichtblau, and J osh Meyer, US Unveils Most Wanted Terrorist List, Los Angeles Times, October
11, 2001.
603
Mike Dorning, Critics Attack US Plan for Visa Scrutiny, Chicago Tribune, June 6, 2002.
604
Michael Isikoff, The FBI Says, Count the Mosques, Newsweek, February 23, 2003.
605
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=827 (accessed March 9, 2004).
606
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=910 (accessed March 9, 2004).
75
representatives like Senator Schumer and Senator Kylare jumping on this issue in
order to demonize all Muslim groups and all Muslims in America.
607

Arsalan Iftikhar, CAIR Legal Director
608

Iftikhar wrote in The Kansas City Star in March 2002, It is high time that the
United States proves to the 7 million Muslim-Americans that indeed, this is not a
war on Islam.
609

Riad Abdelkarim, Former Communications Director for CAIR-Western Region
610

Writing in Q-News in 2002, Abdelkarim remarked, On Tuesday 4 December 2001,
the U.S. government effectively declared war on Islam and Muslims in America.
President George Bush accused the country's largest Muslim charity - the Holy
Land Foundation for Relief and Development - of funding Hamas and supporting
terrorism. This witch-hunt of Muslim organizations (sic) is not a precautionary
measure in the war against terrorism - it is a nationwide smear campaign to
undermine Muslims and the institutions that serve them.
611

Abdelkarim co-authored a May 2002 Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
article which stated, One thing, however, is certain: if American Muslims allow
their charities and institutions to be destroyed without defending them with their
words, actions, and funds, those organizations already targeted will not be the only
American Muslim institutions eliminated in this war against American Muslims.
612

Ahmad Al-Akhras, President of CAIR-Ohio
613

Quoted in a September 2003 United Press International article, Al-Akhras said,
Things that we took for granted as Muslims are not forgotten anymore, because
unfortunately Islam is viewed in negative light. (We) are subject to more profiling
and discrimination and that kind of thing. In the past it was under the surface
sometimes. Today unfortunately, it has become institutionalized by government
sponsored agencies whether the Department of J ustice does the profiling through
the Patriot Act.
614

Ahmed Bedier, CAIR-Florida Communications Director
615


607
Jeff Johnson, Investigation of Terrorist Recruitment Concerns Muslims, CNSNews.com, September 29,
2003.
608
American Muslims Sue DHS Over Border Detentions CAIR, CAIR Website, April 21, 2005,
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1549&theType=NR (accessed J uly 10, 2006).
609
Arsalan Iftikhar, Am I Next?, Kansas City Star, March 5, 2002.
610
Calif. Doctor Thanks Supporters for Release from Israel, U.S. Newswire, May 20, 2002.
611
Riad Abdelkarim, American Muslim Charities: A Sacrificial Lamb for Israel, Q-News, January-
February, 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20030605035653/q-news.com/339-340.htm
612
Riad Abdelkarim and Basil Abdelkarim, Islam in America: As American Muslims Face New Raids,
Muslim Charities Fight Back, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May 2002.
613
Hil Anderson, Sept 11: Memories Lurk Close to Surface, United Press International, September 4,
2003.
614
Hil Anderson, Sept 11: Memories Lurk Close to Surface, United Press International, September 4,
2003.
615
Waveney Ann Moore, Devoutly Muslim-and American, St. Petersburg Times, October 16, 2004.
76
In a J une 2004 Associated Press article, Bedier said, From our position, prominent
Muslim individuals are being targeted selectively by the government. The
allegations are overstated and Muslims are facing a double standard.
616

Helal Omeira, Executive Director of CAIR-San Francisco Bay
617

In a September 2003 SFGate.com report, Omeira said, [Immigration] issues have
upset the community tremendously and show that this is a target on our community
and that this whole war on terrorism, at least domestically, does not apply to
everybody equally.
618

Based on intelligence of an Al Qaeda strike to be carried out before the 2004
elections, the FBI announced it would interview U.S. Muslims and Arabs to find
terror operatives before they could act.
619
Omeira is quoted in a J uly 2004
Associated Press article as saying, When will the suspicion end? Weve been so
open, and three years later everyone is still a suspect...Its a loss of credibility for
the Department of J ustice to focus on the Muslim community when there are so
many other things going on out there.
620

Responding to the INS registration program for male visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya,
Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Syria, Omeira said, You can't just detain people
and keep it a secret and all these Gestapo tactics. This is not my America. My
America wouldn't treat people like this.
621

Omeira responded to the government shutdown of HLF by declaring, There are
some opportunistic elements in the international scene, primarily Israel, that see
[9/11] as an opportunity to further put their stranglehold on the Palestinians by
removing the most prominent and respectable relief organization in the region.
622

Deedra Aboud, Executive Director of CAIR-Arizona
Referring to FBI interviews of Muslims, Aboud said, in J uly 2004, Its just little
things like this that gives us the perception that somehow Muslims are second-class
citizens.
623

Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of CAIR-Southern California
In May 2004, Ayloush said that the war on terror had become a war on Muslims,
the Associated Press reported.
624
Ayloush added that the United States had become

616
Mike Schneider, Businessman: I am being Prosecuted for Supporting Palestinians, Associated Press,
June 9, 2004.
617
CAIR SFBA Receives NAACP Award, CAIR California Website, May 1, 2004, http://www.cair-
california.org/?cls=News&sbcls=Archived_News&id=23 (accessed J uly 10, 2006).
618
Tenderloin Mosque Finds its Place, SFGate.com, September 11, 2003, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/09/11/BA298905.DTL (accessed October 31, 2003).
619
Larry Margasak, FBI will Expand Interviews in Arab/Muslim Communities Arab American News, J uly
16, 2004.
620
Larry Margasak, FBI will Expand Interviews in Arab/Muslim Communities Arab American News, J uly
16, 2004.
621
Michele Marcucci, Protests fail to stop new INS detentions, The Oakland Tribune, J anuary 11, 2003.
622
Jodi Enda and Ken Moritsugo, Muslims in Bay Area Protest Move to Freeze Charitys Assets, San Jose
Mercury News, December 5, 2001.
623
Gary Nelson, Questions on how Free We are Linger for Some, East Valley Tribune, July 5, 2004.
77
the new Saddam and should end this hypocrisy, this hypocrisy that we are better
than the other dictator.
625

At an Oct. 4, 2003 CAIR fundraiser in Anaheim, California, Ayloush stated:
Those hate-mongers want to tell us that it is OK to target
someone because of his race, his color or the religion he or
she follows. These people attacked our religion, attacked our
holy book the Koran, attacked our prophets, all of our
prophets, attacked our leaders, religious and political leaders,
our organizations and every day average Muslims. And
those attacks, believe me, have not stopped.
626

In December 2001, Ayloush said, As we see one charitable organization after the
other having its assets frozen and its offices closed, you know, the shift from
fighting terrorism is slowly happening towards a fight against symbols of Islam or
Islamic activism in the U.S.
627


Christina Abraham, CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Coordinator
Abraham wrote an op-ed on CAIR-Chicagos website entitled, The Malicious
Prosecution of Muslims, in which she writes, Muslims in America worry every
day about being singled out because of their religion. They fear that their religious
ties will make them targets of law enforcement, employers, colleagues, or hate-
filled criminals. For many Muslims, this fear has been actualized. One phenomenon
recently observed by CAIR-Chicago is the malicious prosecution of Muslims. It
begins when federal law enforcement investigates a Muslim for purported ties to
terrorism. Then, when nothing can be found against them, other unrelated charges
are brought. Many times, the charges are tenuous. Often, the charges are eventually
dropped or the individuals are cleared through a trial, but not without an emotional
and financial toll.
628












624
Ben Fox, American Muslims Shamed by Prison Photos, Associated Press, May 8, 2004.
625
Ben Fox, American Muslims Shamed by Prison Photos, Associated Press, May 8, 2004.
626
CAIR Fundraiser, Anaheim, California, October 4, 2003.
627
Marketplace Morning Report, Minnesota Public Radio, December 26, 2001.
628
Christina Abraham, The Malicious Prosecution of Muslims, CAIR-Chicago, January 23, 2007.
78
VIII. CAIR Has Participated in and Co-Sponsored Islamist Conferences Within the
United States

CAIR co-sponsored a rally at which Jews were referred to as descendants of
the apes.
On May 24, 1998, CAIR co-sponsored a rally with IAP, MAYA and other groups at
Brooklyn College in New York where speakers spewed anti-J ewish rhetoric.
629
Featured
speaker Wagdy Ghoneim, a radical Egyptian cleric who has been arrested eight times in
Egypt for opposition activities,
630
told his listeners that Allah says he who equips a
warrior of J ihad is like the one [who] makes J ihad himself. Ghoneim also led the audience
in a song with the lyrics: No to the J ews, descendants of the apes.
631
Earlier in the year,
Ghoneim had been denied entrance to Canada after immigration officials determined he
was a member of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
632

The May 1998 rally was co-organized by IAP and co-sponsored by HLF.
633

Despite the fact that the program lists it as a co-sponsor,
634
CAIR denies co-sponsoring this
rally. In September 2003 Senate testimony, Nihad Awad said, As Executive Director of
CAIR, I had never heard of this event, let alone authorize sponsorship for it.
635
Ibrahim
Hooper went even further. After denying CAIRs sponsorship of the event, he commented,
I don't even know if that [rally] happened.
636
And in December 2006, CAIR Southern
California Executive Director Hussam Ayloush proclaimed, CAIR has no connection,
direct or indirect, to the [1998] event he referred to in New York.
637

The denial came during an exchange of correspondence with Investigative Project on
Terrorism Executive Director Steven Emerson in the Jewish Journals Reader Forums.
Ayloush accused Emerson of trying to defame CAIR by linking it to some New York
event that CAIR did not organize, nor sponsor, nor participate in. CAIR was not even in
existence in New York at the time of that event.
638

CAIR may not have had a New York chapter in May 1998, but the national organization
had been operating for four years when the event took place.


629
50 Years of Occupation, MSA News, Direct submission from IAP information office, May 23, 1998.
630
Ben Fox, Arrest of Orange County Mosque Leader a Mistake, Supporters Say, Associated Press,
November 9, 2004.
631
IAP Brooklyn Celebration, May 24, 1998.
632
Ellen Van Wageningen, Egyptian Religious Leader Denied Canadian Visa, The Ottawa Citizen, January
10, 1998.
633
50 Years of Occupation, MSA News, Direct submission from IAP Information Office, May 23, 1998,
http://www.investigativeproject.org/IAP-50-Years-of-Occupation-New-York-Evening-Program.pdf
634
See above url.
635
Supplemental Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and
Homeland Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 17, 2003, 10-11.
636
Joel Mowbray, Preaching Violence, The Washington Times, March 17, 2004.
637
The Jewish Journal Reader Forums, Hussam Ayloush, 2006-12-01
http://www.jewishjournal.com/forum/main/read.php?f=1&i=11307&t=11307
638
The Jewish Journal Reader Forums, Hussam Ayloush, 2007-01-01
http://www.jewishjournal.com/forum/main/read.php?f=1&i=11307&t=11307.
79
In October 2000, CAIR sponsored a Washington D.C. rally at which the crowd
cheered enthusiastically in support of Hamas and Hizballah.
On October 28, 2000, CAIR co-sponsored an anti-Israel rally
639
in which participants
marched from Freedom Plaza to Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. singing Victory
comes from Allah and Hizballah is our model and Oh dear (Hizballah Chief Sheikh)
Nasrallah, we are allied with you in liberation.
640

At the rally, Abdurahman Alamoudi said, I have been labeled by the media in New York
to be a supporter of Hamas. Anybody supports Hamas here? [crowd cheers]Hear that,
Bill Clinton? We are all supporters of Hamas. Allahu akbar! [crowd cheers]I wish they
would have added that I am also a supporter of Hizballahanybody supports Hizballah
here? [crowd cheers]
641

As noted in the section, The Suspect Ties of CAIR Officials, Alamoudi pleaded guilty to
engaging in prohibited transactions with a foreign country
642
and admitted his involvement
in a plot, masterminded by Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi, to assassinate Crown Prince
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
643
He was sentenced to 23 years in jail in October 2004.
644

A range of groups co-sponsored this rally with CAIR, including IAP, ISNA, IANA, the
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), and the Muslim Student Association (MSA).
645

CAIR sponsored the 1994 U.S. tour by Jordanian Islamist leader Bassam
Alamoush
The September 1994 issue of CAIR News said that CAIR coordinated a series of meetings
for Bassam Alamoush with U.S. government officials.
646

At the MAYA conference in Chicago in December 1994, Alamoush called the killing of a
J ew a good deed.
647

In that speech, Alamoush said: Somebody approached me at the mosque [in Amman] and
asked me, if I see a J ew in the street, should I kill him? After pausing a moment with a
dumbfounded face, Alamoush answered the question to a laughing crowd: Dont ask me.
After you kill him, come and tell me. What do you want from me, a fatwa [legal ruling]?
Really, a good deed does not require one. Later in the speech, Alamoush was interrupted
by an aide with a note carrying word of a suicide bombing against Israelis. The aide called
the report good news.
648


639
CAIR Action Alert #273, Muslims Nationwide Asked To Rally For Jerusalem Oct. 28,
http://web.archive.org/web/20010405052505/cair-net.org/aa.asp?alert=273 (accessed J uly 5, 2006).
640
Rally in Lafayette Park, Washington D.C., October 28, 2000.
641
Rally in Lafayette Park, Washington D.C., October 28, 2000.
642
US v. Alamoudi, 03-513-A, Plea Agreement, (D.C. VA).
643
US v. Alamoudi, 03-513-A, Plea Agreement, (D.C. VA) and Patrick Tyler, Two Said to Tell of Libyan
Plot Against Saudi, The New York Times, J une 10, 2004.
644
Abdurahman Alamoudi Sentenced to J ail in Terrorism Financing Case, Department of J ustice Press
Release, October 15, 2004, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/October/04_crm_698.htm (accessed June 30,
2006).
645
Rally in Lafayette Park, Washington D.C., October 28, 2000.
646
CAIR News, September 1994.
647
Muslim Arab Youth Association Conference, Chicago, Il, December 24, 1994.
648
Muslim Arab Youth Association Conference, Chicago, Il, December 24, 1994
80
CAIR Austin planned a picnic featuring the rabidly anti-Semitic and Hamas-
supporting band, Al Nojoum.
CAIR Austin scheduled an October 2002 picnic featuring entertainment by Al Nojoum, a
band based in Dallas.
649

Al Nojoum, previously known as the Al-Sakhra band,
650
frequently performed at IAP
conventions. According to the HLF indictment, Al-Sakhras skits and songsadvocated
the destruction of the State of Israel and glorified the killing of J ewish people.
651

Mufid Abdulqader, who is a half-brother of Hamas leader Khalid Mishaal, was a member
of the Al-Sakhra band.
652
Abdulqader, an HLF fundraiser and 1993 Philadelphia meeting
attendee,
653
was among the defendants jurors deadlocked over in the 2007 trial.
654



















649
http://www.cair-austin.org/files/CAIR_MVP_PRESSRELEASE.doc (accessed February 28, 2005)
650
Todd Bensman and Robert Riggs, Former City Engineer Lived Secret Double Life as Singer, Actor at
Hamas Fundraisers, November 20, 2004.
651
US v. Holy Land Foundation, (N.D. TX J uly 26, 2004) and Todd Bensman and Robert Riggs, City
Engineer Sings, Acts at Hamas Fundraisers.
652
US v. Holy Land Foundation, (N.D. TX J uly 26, 2004) and Todd Bensman and Robert Riggs, City
Engineer Sings, Acts at Hamas Fundraisers, November 20, 2004.
653
FBI Memorandum Regarding the Philadelphia Conference, October 27, 1993, submitted as an exhibit in
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development v. Ashcroft, 02-442 GK, Exhibit 14 255 (D.D.C).
654
US v. Holy Land Foundation (N.D. TX, J uly 26, 2004).
81
IX. CAIR Intimidates and Censors Muslim Moderates
CAIR attacked Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani.
On J an. 7, 1999, Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, speaking as chairman of the Islamic
Supreme Council of America (ISCA), spoke at the State Departments Open Forum. ISCA
is a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization that says it supports peace wherever it
existssupports the precept of justice for all, condemning all violations of human rights
and commits to strengthening the values of charity, family love, education and public
responsibility in American life.
655

During his talk, Kabbani condemned radical Islamists and charged that extremists
dominated the leadership of more than 80% of U.S. mosques.
656

CAIR attacked Kabbani, co-sponsoring a statement that read:
657

Mr. Kabbani has put the entire American Muslim community
under unjustified suspicion. In effect, Mr. Kabbani is telling
government officials that the majority of American Muslims
pose a danger to our society The issue is not that of a mere
difference of opinion within an American religious
community, but involves the irresponsible act of providing
false information to government officials. This false
information can jeopardize the safety and well-being of our
community and hurt America itself by damaging its values of
inclusiveness, fairness, and liberty.
658

In response, ISCA issued a press release accusing CAIR and the six other organizations
that issued the statement as unifying to stifle the First Amendment rights of Shaykh
Hisham Kabbani, chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA), and have
instigated a modern day Muslim lynch mob.
659
False statements in the CAIR statement
create hysteria amongst American Muslims. Death threats, harassment and acts of
discrimination ensue, the ISCA release said.
660


The release cited several explicit threats of death and violence against Kabbani. ISCA
General Secretary Hedieh Mirahmadi was quoted as saying:
The carefully orchestrated and calculated plot to intimidate
Shaykh Kabbani into retracting his statements only goes to
prove the unwillingness to tolerate differences of opinion and
belief; as well as the extent to which they would go to silence
the voice of opposition. These organizations have recklessly

655
Mission Statement, Islamic Supreme Council of America Website
http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/bin/site/wrappers/mission_statment.html (accessed July 10, 2006).
656
Richard H. Curtiss, Dispute Between U.S. Muslim Groups Goes Public, Washington Report on Middle
East Affairs, April/May 1999, p. 71. See also: Stephen Schwartz, Wahhabis in America, The Weekly
Standard, November 5, 2001.
657
CAIR released a statement in conjunction with the American Muslim Council (AMC), the Muslim Public
Affairs Council (MPAC), and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
658
MSA News web posting by CAIR, February 25, 1999.
659
Press release, Islamic Supreme Council of America, March 2, 1999.
660
Press release, Islamic Supreme Council of America, March 2, 1999.
82
endangered the lives of our officers and members by unjustly
provoking the community against us
661


CAIR attacked Khalid Duran
In 2001, Khalid Duran, a journalist and author who has taught at a number of U.S.
universities
662
and who edits TransIslam Magazine, prepared to release a book, Children of
Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for Jews, that was being published by the American
J ewish Committee (AJ C) to deepen understanding and mutual respect between Muslims
and J ews.
663

On April 4, 2001, CAIR issued a press release attacking Duran and his book. The release
noted that Duran had a mysterious identity. It quoted Omar Ahmad as saying, Any
effort to deepen mutual respect between faiths must, at a minimum, avoid the kind of
conspiracy theories that are Duran's stock-in-trade. A sincere attempt to build bridges of
understanding would not focus on 'hot-button' issues that have so often been used to
stereotype Islam and Muslims.
664

Nihad Awad also wrote a letter to the head of the AJ C, in which he said:
Given the AJ Cs stated intent of promoting understanding
and mutual respect, it is puzzling as to why your
organization would first of all engage an author who has little
credibility in the Muslim community and then add insult to
injury by using a cover image that many Muslims will find
offensive. This book has the potential to do more harm than
good in terms of interfaith relations.
665

CAIR called for a committee of trusted Muslim scholars to examine the book and correct
its distortions, Muslims in the Middle East took note.
666
Shortly afterward, Sheik Abdel
Moneim Abu Zant, a radical Muslim cleric in J ordan, declared Duran an apostate and
called on U.S. Muslims to unify against him.
667

CAIR sought to minimize the import of Abu Zants comments, issuing a J uly 2, 2001 press
release titled, J ewish Groups Phony Fatwa Slammed as Publicity Stunt.
668
Hooper
commented, it is not a fatwa, it is just some guy in a party newspaper in J ordanThis isn't

661
Press release, Islamic Supreme Council of America, March 2, 1999.
662
Richard Ostling, A Book on Islam for American Jews Provokes an Interfaith Furor, Associated Press,
May 2, 2001.
663
'Children of Abraham' Books Aim to Advance Muslim-J ewish Understanding, PR Newswire, March 22,
2001.
664
Muslims Question Choice of Author for Book on Islam, CAIR Press Release, April 4, 2001.
665
Muslims Ask Jewish Group to Delay Release of Book on Islam, CAIR Press Release, May 1, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011005235657/www.cair-net.org/nr.asp?date=2001/05/01 (accessed October
21, 2004).
666
Al-Wafd Columnist Views Book Allegedly Defaming Islam, Al-Wafd Cairo, May 4, 2001, translated
by BBC Monitoring.
667
Dean Murphy, Jordanian Muslim Cleric Calls for Death of Author in US, The New York Times, J une 30,
2001.
668
Jewish Groups Phony Fatwa Slammed As Publicity Stunt, CAIR Press Release, July 2, 2001.
83
about a death edict, it is about the American J ewish Committee going around pressing
Islamaphobic hot buttons trying to get publicity for their deceitful book.
669

On J uly 22, Abu Zant again called Duran an apostate and declared it lawful (halal) to shed
his blood.
670

As Duran later wrote, CAIRs attack snowballed into a campaign of personal vilification,
which eventuated in a J ordanian political leader calling me an apostate (murtadd). Neither
CAIR nor Sheikh Abd al-Munim Abu Zant of J ordan's Islamic Action Front had ever read
or even seen my book, but the CAIR attack prompted the latter to issue an appeal to
Muslims, asking them to unite to kill me.
671

CAIR dismissed an October 2004 conference held by moderate Muslims as
unrepresentative of the community.
In October 2004, a coalition of national Muslim groups, including the Free Muslim
Coalition Against Terrorism and the American Islamic Congress, met in Washington D.C.
to speak out against terrorism and Islamic radicalism and for the creation of a more
pluralist Islamic faith.
672

CAIR, which was not invited, said groups such as the Free Muslim Coalition Against
Terrorism and the American Islamic Congress did not represent mainstream American
Islam. They're free to reflect their viewpoint, Hooper said. We have our views, and we
believe our views reflect the mainstream of the American Islamic community.
673

CAIR attacks founder of American Islamic Forum for Democracy

The Philadelphia Inquirer carried this report on founders of the American Islamic Forum
for Democracy and other newly-formed U.S. Muslim groups:

M. Zuhdi J asser still gets worked up when he recalls what
some Muslim Americans said after the 9/11 attacks. "Their
criticism of America was just unbelievable," said J asser, an
internist who describes himself as a pious Muslim. J asser saw
it differently. He grew up in Wisconsin, where his parents
settled after escaping Syria's dictatorship. He was raised an
observant Muslim, and he prays five times daily. He served
11 years in the U.S. Navy. He has a Bush-Cheney bumper
sticker on his black Corvette convertible. "I cannot sit idly
silent," said J asser, 37. "I have an obligation to do what I can
to create a world where my children can grow up, and there's
no conflict in their hearts between being American and being
Muslim. Two years ago, J asser and a few like-minded
Muslims in Arizona founded the American Islamic Forum for

669
Dean Murphy, Jordanian Muslim Cleric Calls for Death of Author in US, The New York Times, J une 30,
2001.
670
Khalid Duran, How CAIR Put My Life in Peril, Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2002.
671
Khalid Duran, How CAIR Put My Life in Peril, Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2002.
672
Jon Ward, Muslim Groups Press for Pluralism, The Washington Times, October 1, 2004.
673
Jon Ward, Muslim Groups Press for Pluralism, The Washington Times, October 1, 2004.
84
Democracy. This Phoenix organization was one of the first
created by Muslims to promote a tolerant form of Islam
compatible with a secular, democratic nation. The leaders of
the new organizations say the established national Islamic
groups promote a political strain of Islam that creates
sympathy for the extremists - a charge the national groups
deny. "Until we as Muslims admit we have some illness in
our religion that needs to be cured, we won't go anywhere,"
said Ali Homsi, a civil engineer who joined the Phoenix
organization's board.

The Inquirer story included a dismissive comment by Hooper:
Indeed, Hooper said criticism from Muslims such as J asser
was "providing others with an opportunity to advance an
agenda that is hostile to the American Muslim
community."
674


674
Andrew Maykuth, A call for moderation sparks tension; There is a civil war going on," says a US
Muslim critic of more established groups, Philadelphia Inquirer, J anuary 3, 2006,
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/13537233.htm (accessed on January 3, 2006).
85
X. CAIRs Propaganda Minimizes Terrorism
CAIR refuses to condemn Islamic terrorists.
Although Nihad Awad claimed in September 2003 Senate testimony that CAIRs
principled position on terrorism has always been evident, CAIR, in fact, refuses to
condemn terrorists.
675

As documented in Section V, CAIR and Hamas, Awad is obscuring reality when it
comes to attitudes toward that terrorist group.
Moreover, CAIR issued a press release offering condolences on Yasser Arafats death.
676

Ignoring the fact that he had overseen countless terrorist attacks by the PLO and stolen
perhaps billions of dollars,
677
CAIR noted, President Arafat was the embodiment of the
Palestinian struggle for justice and freedom.
678

In an appearance on MSNBCs Buchanan & Press program on Feb. 20, 2003, Ibrahim
Hooper downplayed the actions of PIJ , a terrorist group responsible for over 100 deaths
(including those of two Americans):
Well, obviously, I'm not going to support some tactics of the
Islamic J ihad, but they're in a world apart from al Qaeda.
They've never threatened anyone outside of Israel and the
occupied territory.
679

At the May 27, 2004 CAIR-Tampa press conference in support of Sami Al-Arian, CAIR
Florida spokesman Ahmed Bedier was asked, Do you agree with the government
designation of the Palestinian Islamic J ihad as a terrorist organization? He responded,
We are not here to discuss the Palestinian Islamic J ihad or any other terrorist organization
or any other group. We are here strictly to discuss the confinement conditions of this
individual who is not in Palestine or in Israel. You are here is right here in Florida.
680

When later pressed on the issue, asked if CAIR has a position on the Palestinian Islamic
J ihad, Bedier dismissively said, We havent published one, and was ushered away by
Nihad Awad and other colleagues.
And rather than condemn attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, CAIR
Research Director Mohamed Nimer affirmed Muslims right to self-defense and noted
that CAIR criticized American bombing in Afghanistan and Iraq when the conduct of
warfare contradicted Islamic values.
681


675
Testimony of Nihad Awad Before the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland
Security, Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003, 5. And: In a September
2004 op-ed, CAIR National Board Member Parvez Ahmed wrote, CAIR has always taken a principled
position on terrorism. See: Parvez Ahmed, Accusations of Terrorist Support are Wrong, Divisive, The St.
Petersburg Times, September 27, 2004.
676
CAIR Press Release, CAIR Offers Condolences on Death of Yasser Arafat, November 11, 2004.
677
Steven Erlanger, Arafat Mystery: The Hidden Cash, The New York Times, November 11, 2004.
678
CAIR Press Release, CAIR Offers Condolences on Death of Yasser Arafat, November 11, 2004.
679
Buchanan & Press, MSNBC, February 20, 2003.
680
Tampa CAIR Press Conference, Tampa Federal Courthouse, Tampa, Florida, May 27, 2004.
681
Islam Online Dialogue with Dr. Mohamed Nimer, Bushs Second Term: Four More Years of
Islamophobia? November 8, 2004,
86
Even when four American civilian contractors were ambushed in Iraq in March 2004 and
their bodies were burned, mutilated, dragged, and finally hung from a bridge, CAIR
condemned only the mutilation of [the] bodies, not the murders themselves and the
terrorist murderers.
682

CAIR criticizes any reference to militant Islamic activity as stereotyping all
Muslims and uses intimidation tactics to harass anyone who criticizes Islam in
any fashion.
While professing to serve as a watchdog group promoting fair and balanced reporting,
683

CAIR criticizes any articles that expose or detail Islamic extremism, discuss terrorism, or
involve other issues deemed offensive to CAIR -- regardless of accuracy.
CAIR officials have attacked as anti-Muslim a wide range of publications, including The
New Republic, US News & World Report, The Atlantic Monthly (it had an article about the
militant Islamic rule and oppression in Sudan), The Dallas Morning News (it exposed the
Hamas infrastructure in Texas), The Readers Digest (it published an article exposing the
repression of Christians by Communist regimes and Islamic extremists), The Tampa
Tribune (it exposed the Islamic J ihad infrastructure in Tampa), The Weekly Readers
Current Events (it featured a story on international terrorism) and even The Journal of the
American Medical Association (for an article about the victims of terrorism).
CAIR has also attacked a wide variety of other media outlets for their reporting or
presentation of Muslim issues.
For example, CAIRs Southern California branch issued a press release on Oct. 28, 1998 to
protest the existence of billboards in the Los Angeles area that featured pictures of Osama
Bin Laden with the headline the sworn enemy.
684
CAIR argued that the billboards, which
were displayed by Los Angeles-based KCOP Television, Inc., were offensive to, and
negatively stereotypical of, all Muslims.
685

CAIR says it has similarly succeeded in defending Muslim rights and Islam in cases
involving NPR, Paul Harvey News, Seneca Foods, the House of Representatives,
Adirondack Transit Lines, Dennys, 20
th
Century Fox and Connecticut University.
686

CAIR attacked former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore for
using the word jihad, and New York Times columnist Abe Rosenthal for praising the
documentary Jihad in America.

Gore had referred in 1996 to a jihad against environmental protection. In response, Awad
wrote: If this type of casual stereotyping is used by the administrations top decision-

http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=5w1av9 (accessed November 15,
2004). Note: He added that Islam doesnt permit the targeting of non-combatants.
682
CAIR Condemns Mutilation of Bodies in Iraq, CAIR Press Release, March 31, 2004, http://www.cair-
net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1055&page=NR (accessed July 19, 2004).
683
According to CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, one of the organizations major functions is that
[w]e criticize the media when they are biased and therefore we are obligated to show appreciation for fair,
accurate and balanced reporting. CAIR Press Release, March 25, 1999.
684
CAIR Press Release, October 28, 1998.
685
CAIR Press Release, October 28, 1998.
686
CAIR Press Release, March 25, 1999.
87
makers, what does that say about the objectivity of policies impacting upon the Muslim
community in America and around the world. We call upon the vice president to re-affirm
the positive statements about Islam he made in the recent past and to clarify his position on
the stereotyping of religious minorities.

After The New York Times published an article entitled Cry of Muslim Women for Equal
Rights is Rising,
687
which was critical of the state of womens rights under Quranic law in
Morocco, Awad protested the authors reporting as unprofessional and labeled the writer
Islamophobic and biased.
688

In the October 1997 issue of First Things, Father Richard J ohn Neuhaus reviewed The
Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: from Jihad to Dhimmitude, by Bat Yeor. He
favorably reviewed the book and commented about the growing threat of militant Islam.
CAIR responded with a press release calling upon the Catholic Church to investigate
Neuhaus because he:
portrayed Islam as a permanent threat to Western society,
used racial and ethnic slurs against Arabs, offered inaccurate
and offensive information about the spread of Islam, seemed
to agree with those who think Muslim immigration is a low-
level jihad and suggested Christian-Muslim dialogue might
be a delusion....
689

In a letter to the general secretary of the National Council of Catholic Bishops, Awad
called for an investigation to determine whether Neuhaus article reflected authentic church
doctrine, and demanded appropriate actions to bring him into conformity with these
teachings.
690

Following CAIRs statement, Neuhaus received a flood of hostile communications,
including terms such as venomous diatribe, hateful xenophobia, doing the work of
Adolph Hitler, agitating for a new Crusade and obviously mentally ill. Neuhaus
commented:
The attack initiated by CAIR produced dozens and dozens of
letters from as far away as Australia, some of them
accompanied by hundreds of signatures of Muslims who
claimed to be deeply offended by the review...The campaign
obviously had the aim of intimidating into silence anyone
who dares to say anything less than complimentary about
things MuslimMy best judgment is that the critics of CAIR
are credible and that CAIR is less than candid about its

687
Marlise Simons, Cry of Muslim Women for Equal Rights is Rising, The New York Times, March 9,
1998.
688
Nihad Awad, unpublished letter to the editor, The New York Times, quoted in American Muslim Media
Watch, February 1, 1999.
689
Islamic Advocacy Group Calls on Church to Investigate Priests Anti-Muslim Remarks, CAIR Press
Release, October 16, 1997.
690
Islamic Advocacy Group Calls on Church to Investigate Priests Anti-Muslim Remarks, CAIR Press
Release, October 16, 1997.
88
connections with the politics of the Middle East. Confidence
in CAIR is not enhanced by its ham-fisted efforts to
intimidate and silence its critics.
691

CAIR similarly attacked columnist Nat Hentoff, a consistent advocate of human rights and
free expression, for two columns criticizing Louis Farrakhan, J esse J ackson and others for
failing to speak out against slavery in Sudan and Mauritania. Hooper wrote, Perhaps this
hesitancy results from a reluctance to indulge in politically and religiously motivated
sensationalism that plays on and amplifies existing Islamophobic tendencies in Western
society. Mr. Hentoff demonstrated the nastier aspects of this trend with his use of offensive
terms such as Islamic enslavement...
692

CAIR also takes on movies, sometimes even before they are produced. The organization
launched a two-year campaign to have Paramount Pictures ensure that Muslim terrorists
did not set off a nuclear bomb in the film, The Sum of All Fears.
693
Before we had typed
a word on paper, producer Mace Neufeld told Slate, I was getting complaints. Due in
large part to CAIRs protests, the terrorists in the movie were subsequently changed from
Arabs to neo-Nazis.
694

More recently, CAIR has expanded its intimidation campaign by filing lawsuits.
Ayloush sued National Review in 2003, when a guest article by Shawn Steel on National
Review Online stated that the CAIR official had co-hosted an event at which an Egyptian
Muslim leader called J ews the descendants of apes.
695

Ayloush did not, in fact, co-host the event, and was not present at it. However, it was
sponsored by another branch of CAIR and the offending remarks were made.
696

The National Review acknowledged its error but Ayloush continued his lawsuit. CAIR-LA
Communications Director Sabiha Khan said, We hope this action will deter hate-mongers
from undermining the character and work of those who do not share their extremist views.
National Review stated, We viewed this as an attempt to intimidate and punish NR.
697

In February 2004, the court found that Ayloush failed to prove that the article was false or
defamatory and failed to produce evidence showing NRO acted recklessly in publishing
it.
698
Still, the suit cost National Review $65,000 in legal fees.
699

In April 2004, David Harris, a former Canadian Security and Intelligence Service agent,
charged on radio station CFRAs morning show, Madeley in the Morning, that the U.S.
CAIR group had links to terrorism and called on the Canadian group to clarify its own

691
Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Islamic Encounters, First Things, February 1998.
692
Columnist's Lazy Assumptions Breed Islamophobia, CAIR Press Release, January 17, 1998.
693
CAIR Worked for Two Years on Potential Stereotyping, CAIR Action Alert, January 26, 2001,
http://web.archive.org/web/20010404233436/cair-net.org/aa.asp?alert=282 (accessed October 21, 2004).
694
J onathan V. Last, Taste: War? What War? The Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2003.
695
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/appeal200409130736.asp (accessed October 7, 2004).
696
IAP Brooklyn Celebration, May 24, 1998.
697
To: National Review Supporters, September 13, 2004.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/appeal200409130736.asp (accessed October 7, 2004).
698
Ibid.
699
Ibid.
89
position. CAIR-Canada sued him for libel,
700
eventually settling for no damages and
without an apology or retraction issued by Harris.
701
In November 2004, CAIR-Canada
also sued David Frum and The National Post for libel for accusing CAIR of being an
unscrupulous, Islamist, extremist sympathetic group in Canada supporting terrorism.
702

CAIR also has sued anti-cair-net.org for defamation
703
and threatened the Cornell
University newspaper and a student reporter with a defamation lawsuit.
704

CAIR Chicagos executive director refused to label Hamas and Hizballah as
terrorist groups.
In an interview with the BBCs Stephen Sackur on the program Hard Talk, Ahmed
Rehab refused to label Hamas and Hizballah as terrorist groups, only describing some of
their actions as terrorist activity. The fact that they run hospitals and schools makes it
inaccurate to characterize them in their entirety as terrorist groups, he argued.
705

SACKUR: So you would entirely condemn a group like Hamas, would
you?

REHAB: Well, Hamas definitely has an arm that engages in terrorist
activity and I would condemn terrorism if it were at the hands of Israelis
or at the hands of Palestinians. So I do condemn that

SACKUR: But that wasnt exactly straight-forward

REHAB: Well, I will finish and then you may feel that it is straight-
forward

SACKUR: Do you condemn Hamas straight-forward, yes or no?

REHAB: Do I condemn the hospitals run by Hamas, or the schools that
help children learn, in Hamas? No, I dont condemn that. But do I
condemn the blowing up of Tel Aviv pizzerias or cafes. Definitely, I
condemn that. Thats a straight-forward answer.

SACKUR: Then you agree with the American government that Hizballah
for example is a terrorist organization?

REHAB: Well, once again the militant arm of Hizballah because of the

700
COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS CANADA and SHEEMA KHAN Plaintiffs and DAVID
HARRIS, INSIGNIS STRATEGIC RESEARCH INC. and CFRA/CKLL-FM, A DIVISION OF CHUM, LTD.
Defendants, , 04-cv-28016-SR, Statement of Claim, Ontario Superior Court of J ustice J une 24, 2004, and
Should We Care About CAIR-CAN? The Western Standard, August 2, 2004.
701
David Frum, The Truth About Hamas and Its Followers, Institute for Canadian Values, April 26, 2005,
http://www.canadianvalues.ca/issues.aspx?aid=173.
702
David Frum, The Question of CAIR, The National Post, November 23, 2004.
703
http://www.anti-cair-net.org/Law1.html (accessed October 20, 2004).
704
Fax to the Editors of The Daily Sun from Arsalan Iftikhar, CAIR Legal Director, October 19, 2004.
705
Rehab on BBC's HardTalk, BBC World, November 9, 2006,
http://www.cairchicago.org/inthenews.php?file=hardtalk_11092006
90
acts they have done against civilians would qualify them as terrorists, but
as far as the schools and the hospitals

SACKUR: Its not so easy for you, is it? Its not so simple.

REHAB: Well, to me that is a pretty simple answer. I mean, I would be
hard-pressed to condemn a school or a hospital where no one else is
helping these individuals empower themselves. Theyre living in ghettos
with high unemployment rates, no electricity for many hours of the day,
no food or running water and when a certain group attempts to educate
these individuals or create hospitals to help them our when theyre sick or
injured; for me to turn and say these are terrorists - not that particular
group of individuals.

A 2004 class-action lawsuit brought in New York federal court in the name of J ohn. P.
ONeill, Sr., a former FBI international terrorist operations chief killed in the 9/11 attacks
at the World Trade Center challenges the conduct of CAIR and CAIR Canada among other
organizations. The complaint accuses the defendants of hav[ing] aided, abetted, and
materially sponsored al Qaeda and international terrorismCAIR and CAIR-Canada have,
since their inception, been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism.
706


The two organizations manipulate the legal systems of the United States and Canada in a
manner that allows them to silence critics, analysts, commentators, media organizations,
and government officials by leveling false charges of discrimination, libel, slander and
defamation, the lawsuit says. In addition, both organizations have actively sought to
hamper governmental anti-terrorism efforts by direct propaganda activities aimed at police,
first-responders, and intelligence agencies through so-called sensitivity training. Their goal
is to create as much self-doubt, hesitation, fear of name-calling, and litigation within police
departments and intelligence agencies as possible so as to render such authorities
ineffective in pursuing international and domestic terrorist entities.

The role of CAIR and CAIR-Canada is to wage PSYOPS (psychological warfare) and
disinformation activities on behalf of Whabbi-based (sic) Islamic terrorists throughout
North America. They are the intellectual shock troops of Islamic terrorism.
707


The litigation, with CAIR as a defendant, remains active.


706
Estate of John P. ONeill Sr. et al. v. Al Baraka Investment, et al., (S.D. N.Y. 04 CV 01923,December 30,
2004).
707
Estate of John P. ONeill Sr. et al. v. Al Baraka Investment, et al., 04 CV 01923, (S.D. N.Y. December
30, 2004).
91
XI. CAIRs Hate Crimes
CAIR has created a niche for itself in the American-Muslim community by documenting
what it perceives as anti-Muslim incidents,
708
challenging the stereotyping of Muslims
and connections between Islam and terrorism on grounds that these depictions make
Muslims vulnerable to harassment and hate crimes. As Awad wrote in his 2003 testimony
before a U.S. Senate panel, there hasbeen an astonishing increase in the volume of anti-
Muslim rhetoric in the media and politics today.
709

Each year, CAIR bemoans the anti-Muslim hysteria that has turned Muslim-Americans
into second-class citizens. For example, in its 2004 report, The Status of Muslim Civil
Rights in the United States 2004: Unpatriotic Acts, CAIR states, Last year marked the
highest number of Muslim civil rights cases ever recorded by CAIRs annual
reportReports of harassment, violence, and discriminatory treatment increased nearly 70
percent over 2002.
710

But CAIR considers law enforcement investigations involving Muslims to be anti-Muslim
acts. It has repeatedly included such investigations in its annual report on alleged civil
rights abuses and discrimination against Muslims.
711

In its 2002 report, CAIR included the closure of HLF, GRF, and BIF and wrote, Those
who oppose the government closure of the charities believe the government violated the
Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
712
The report also included the 2002 SAAR
raids. CAIR wrote, No criminal charges were filed and no evidence was produced to back
up the governments actions.
713
The report later stated, In the view of many Muslims,
what transpired was a form of collective punishment targeting Arabs and Muslims.
714

In the Anti-Muslim Agitation section, the 2002 report also listed the following: Senator
Gordon Smith (R-OR) made a public statement that Oregon has been a hub of terrorist
fund-raising activities. Smith, citing unclassified information he learned in confidential
security briefings, said terrorism-related fundraising has occurred in Corvallis and at
Portland State University.
More generally, the report tries to persuade American citizens that government policy has
resulted in an undeserved backlash against ordinary Muslims. By doing so, CAIR hopes to
muster opposition to the anti-terror laws it finds objectionable. A J une 2003 US News and
World Report column elaborates on CAIRs motives:
Why do CAIR and other groups push the bias button so
hard? Well, the victim stance works. It attracts press attention

708
http://www.cair-net.org/ireport/ (accessed October 20, 2004).
709
Nihad Awad , Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. Terrorism: Two
Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003, 4.
710
The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2004, CAIR Research Center, 2004.
711
Rush to Judgment: A Special Report on Anti-Muslim Stereotyping, Harassment and Hate Crimes
Following the Bombing of Oklahoma Citys Murrah Federal Building April 19, 1995; The Price of
Ignorance: The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States, 1996; Unveiling Prejudice: The Status of
Muslim Civil Rights in the United States, 1997.
712
The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2002, CAIR Research Center, 2002.
713
The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2002, CAIR Research Center, 2002.
714
The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2002, CAIR Research Center, 2002.
92
and has made the bias against Muslims article a staple of
big-city dailies. It encourages Muslims to feel angry and non-
Muslims to feel guilty. It raises a great deal of money,
garners a lot of TV time, and gets the attention of Congress.
And by pre-positioning all future criticism as bias, it tends to
intimidate or silence even the most sensible critics. From a
lobbying point of view, who would want to give up a set of
advantages like this?
715

As US News and World Report indicates, there are serious problems with CAIRs claims of
a growing Islamophobic prejudice.
716
The Weekly Standard blasted CAIR after it released
its 2004 report for its shoddy information gathering and its politicized interpretation of
the data.
717
The article added that CAIR clearly has an axe to grind,
718
that it relies
entirely on self-reporting, and that it makes molehills become mountains.
719
The
Washington Times notes that CAIR unashamedly exaggerates the number of such
incidents and that the data is phony.
720

Responding to CAIRs 2003 report, the J ustice Department called the groups claims
irresponsible: We're talking about unfair criticism based on a lot of misinformation and
propaganda, a department spokesman said.
721

CAIR allows people to file complaints online, or download the complaint form and mail it
in with optional supporting documents, such as photos and police reports. The group urges
the complainant to file a report, even if you believe it is a small incident.
722

CAIR impedes federal rights investigations to further promote its agenda of Muslim
as victim.
According to the FBI, CAIR purposefully ignores the request of its agents to keep quiet
about ongoing investigations.
Ross Rice, a spokesman for the Chicago FBI, cited the 2005 case of a local Muslim family
who received telephone death threats from an unidentified individual. The FBI was
investigating the complaint and the caller, if found, could face felony charges, Rice said.
Rice told the Chicago Tribune that the FBI had asked CAIR not to publicize the case. But
CAIR issued a release anyway, which drew local media coverage. By failing to heed the
FBIs wishes, he said, CAIR compromised or impeded our investigation.
Yaser Tabbara, then executive director of CAIRs Chicago office, said his organization
issued a statement to make the FBI and other agencies "more responsive" and to put the

715
John Leo, Pushing the Bias Button, US News and World Report, June 9, 2003.
716
Arsonist Torches Muslim Store in Washington, CAIR Press Release, July 10, 2004, http://www.cair-
net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1107&page=NR (accessed October 14, 2004).
717
David Skinner, Behind CAIRs Hate Crimes Report, The Weekly Standard, May 6, 2004.
718
David Skinner, Behind CAIRs Hate Crimes Report, The Weekly Standard, May 6, 2004.
719
David Skinner, Behind CAIRs Hate Crimes Report, The Weekly Standard, May 6, 2004.
720
Reporting Hate Crimes Against Muslims, The Washington Times, May 15, 2004,
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040514-083300-9056r.htm
721
DOJ Calls Allegations of Anti-Muslim Discrimination Unfair, Associated Press, July 16, 2003.
722
http://www.cair-net.org/ireport/ (accessed October 20, 2004).
93
matter "under spotlight." He added, "That makes them take this as seriously as we would
want them to take it.We believe we did this in the best interest of the victim."
723

Other incidents that CAIR has labeled hate crimes have turned out to be dubious.
On J uly 9, 2004, a fire caused $50,000 in damage at the Continental Spices Cash & Carry,
a Pakistani-owned grocery store in Everett, Washington, specializing in Pakistani, Indian
and Middle Eastern foods. After putting out the fire, Everett police and firefighters found a
gasoline can and a derogatory message directed toward Arabs spray-painted on a wall. A
white cross was spray-painted on a refrigerator in the back of the store.
724

Police cautioned against hastily labeling the incident a hate crime. The department
spokesman, Sgt. Boyd Bryant, said, we need to give the detectives time to do their job.
725

Rejecting that advice, CAIR issued a press release the following day that called on local
and national leaders to address the issue of growing Islamophobic prejudice following an
arson attack on a Muslim-owned business in Washington State.
726

But on August 19, police arrested the stores owner, Mirza Akram, on a federal arson
warrant. He was accused of setting fire to the store to collect insurance on the building and
its contents. The U.S. attorney alleged that mounting financial losses led Akram to stage
the arson and then make it look like a hate crime.
727

J urors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction at Akrams 2006 trial. He subsequently was
convicted of food stamp fraud and is scheduled for release in March 2008.
Similarly, CAIR issued a press release on August 13, 2004 titled, Texas Muslim Store
Torched, NY Muslim Beaten. The release stated:
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today
called on the FBI to investigate an intentionally-set fire at a
Muslim store in McAllen, TexasAccording to the Texas
grocery store owner, a U.S. resident of J ordanian origin, the
fire occurred late last week and followed two separate
incidents in which unknown parties painted the phrase Go
Home on the door of the store that sells halal meat and other
itemsJ ewelry kept in the store was reportedly stolen.
728


723
J ennifer Skalka, Threatening calls to Muslim couple spark FBI probe, The Chicago Tribune, April 9,
2005, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearnorthwest/chi-
0504090167apr09,1,3150349.story?coll=chi-newslocalnearnorthwest-hed (accessed April 11, 2005).
724
Jennifer Sullivan, Police Unsure About Fire Motive at Pakistani-Owned Market, The Seattle Times, J uly
10, 2004.
725
Jennifer Sullivan, Police Unsure About Fire Motive at Pakistani-Owned Market, The Seattle Times, J uly
10, 2004.
726
Arsonist Torches Muslim Store in Washington, CAIR Press Release, J uly 10, 2004, http://www.cair-
net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1107&page=NR (accessed October 14, 2004).
727
Christopher Schwarzen and Jennifer Sullivan, Attorneys: Owner Set Stores Fire to Collect Insurance,
The Seattle Times, August 21, 2004.
728
CAIR Press Release, Texas Muslim Store Torched, NY Muslim Beaten, August 13, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1165&page=NR (accessed October 14, 2004).
94
CAIRs Hooper added, If whoever set this fire was motivated by anti-Muslim bias, that
person needs to be brought to justice before he or she can strike again.
729

In September 2004, Amjad Abunar, the owner of the store, was arrested and charged with
setting the fire himself.
730
The case remains open Abunar disappeared shortly before his
December 2005 trial date and a bench warrant for his arrest remains in effect.
731


XII. CAIRs Extremism and Anti-Semitism
CAIR national spokesman Ibrahim Hooper supports Saudi financial assistance
to the families of martyrs.
In April 2002, United Press International reported on $33 million dollars that Saudi Arabia
had paid to the families of Palestinians killed or injured during the Intifada. The Saudis had
also set aside an additional $50 million for these payments, which went to, among others,
the families of suicide bombers:
732

According to Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the
Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations,
the Islamic faith enjoins Muslims to take care of widows and
especially orphans. The families of suicide bombers are just
as needy as those killed by military attacks, he said.
They want to make it sound like [all the money is for] the
families of suicide bombers, Hooper told United Press
International.
733

Hooper is further quoted in the UPI story challenging critics to find a list of Palestinian
orphans who shouldn't be fed. Give us a list of Palestinian widows and orphans so Muslims
can comply with dictates of not feeding the wrong people. Are you supposed to penalize
some child, some widow, because of what their father did or did not do?
734

Criticism of the Saudi financial support plays very well [in the United States] when you
have this hysteria fed by the far right,
735
Hooper said.
Director of CAIR-Southern California Hussam Ayloush has used the term
zionazi to describe Israeli Jews.
In e-mail correspondence, Ayloush has compared Israelis to Nazis, writing: Indeed, the
zionazis are a bunch of nice people; just like their nazi brethren! It is just that the world
keeps making up lies about them! It is so unfair.
736

CAIR has claimed that Jews control U.S. policy.

729
CAIR Press Release, Texas Muslim Store Torched, NY Muslim Beaten, August 13, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1165&page=NR (accessed October 14, 2004).
730
Hate-Crime Accuser Charged with Arson, The New York Times, September 30, 2004.
731
The State of Texas v. Amjad Ahmad Abunar, CR-1592-05-H, 389
th
District Court, Hidalgo County, Tex.
732
Pamela Hess, Saudi Arabia Sets Aside $50M for Martyrs, United Press International, April 9, 2002.
733
Pamela Hess, Saudi Arabia Sets Aside $50M for Martyrs, United Press International, April 9, 2002.
734
Pamela Hess, Saudi Arabia Sets Aside $50M for Martyrs, United Press International, April 9, 2002.
735
Pamela Hess, Saudi Arabia Sets Aside $50M for Martyrs, United Press International, April 9, 2002.
736
Email from CAIR_SCA@cair-california.org, dated Monday, March 18, 2002 11:25 AM.
95
CAIR officials routinely turn criticism of American foreign policy into canards about
J ewish control over the American government. For example, Awad told a Georgetown
University Muslim Students Association audience in 1998 that the J ewish origin of many
Clinton administration officials helps drive U.S. policy.
Among Clinton advisors, he asked, Who is opposing the latest agreement with Iraq? Look
at their names. Look at their ethnic, their ethnic or religious or racial background. You
will see that these are the same groups that belong to the same interest groups in the
Administration, Awad said. These are the same people who are pushing the United
States to go to war on behalf of a third party, and they are the same people who are
opposing the peace process
737

Following President George W. Bushs election, CAIR made almost the identical claim
about his administration. CAIR officers sent the new president a letter warning him to
beware of the penetration of Zionist voices in U.S. decision-making, Al-Arab al-Yawm
reported J an. 29, 2001.
738

At CAIRs Meet Your Congressman event two months later, Omar Ahmad told the
audience that Muslims in the U.S. are willing to be a catalyst to unite the Muslim world
with Washington. It is the Israeli lobby that is demonizing Islam.
739

Similarly, Al-Lewaa newspaper reported on August 30, 2000 that Awad said, The J ews
plan to distort Islams image and have succeeded in their plans. This J ewish plan had
borne hostility towards Islam and deforming its image.
740

On Aug. 8, 2001, CAIR-NY circulated a letter to the editor of theNew York Daily News
complaining about Zionists' Attempts to Intimidate Muslims or Block their Political
Rights in America:
All of the 1.3 billion Muslims of the world, 7 million of
whom are American citizens, and all fair-minded people,
oppose the Israeli brutal apartheid policies and support the
right of the expelled Palestinians to return to their own homes
under international law. We also categorically reject any
attempt by the ADL or extremist Zionists like Dov Hikind to
impose a pro-Israel litmus test on Americans exercising
their political rights in the election process.
741

A week later, on August 15, CAIR-NY circulated an open letter addressed to President
Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell calling on them to condemn Israels ongoing
campaign of political assassination. The document stated, Political intimidation by the

737
Shaun Tandon, Muslim group sponsors controversial speaker; Jews Control U.S. Policy, Awad Says,
The Georgetown Voice, March 5, 1998. Evan Kohlmann, A few minutes of research, The Georgetown
Voice, April 2, 1998
738
Al-Arab Al-Yawm, J anuary 29, 2001.
739
Pat Twair and Samir Twair, ADCs Khalil J ahshan Urges Bush Administration to Set Parameters,
Reassess Mideast Policy, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May/June 2001, 61.
740
Al-Lewaa, August 30, 2000.
741
Zionists' Attempts to Intimidate Muslims or Block their Political Rights in America, CAIR-NY Petition,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011218024308/www.cair-ny.com/PETITIONS/pet-20010806a.pdf (accessed
July 16, 2004).
96
domestic Zionist and pro-Israeli lobbying groups should never prevent the U.S., a
superpower, from upholding the basic standards of international law and human
rights.
742

When votes approached in May 2002 on congressional resolutions supporting Israeli
actions against terrorist strongholds in the West Bank, CAIR issued a press release stating
that the move amounted to American elected officials pledging allegiance to a foreign
government.
743

Awad added, It is truly disturbing to see American elected officials falling over
themselves in an unseemly attempt to 'pledge allegiance' to a foreign government and its
domestic lobby. Perhaps these same politicians should be reminded that they were elected
by American, not Israeli voters.
744

Following the April 2004 assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a CAIR press
release, which referred to Rantisi merely as a Palestinian political leader, stated, Until
our leaders act in America's interests, and not just those of a foreign state or its domestic
lobby, we will continue to be viewed worldwide as a party to oppression, not as a force for
freedom or justice.
745

In a J uly 9, 2004 press release, CAIR asked, How long will Americas international image
and interests be held hostage by a domestic lobby for a foreign government?
746

CAIR-Chicago executive directors college web page defends Holocaust denial,
asserts Jews control the media
As a DePaul University graduate student in the mid 1990s, Ahmed Rehab published a web
page. It featured personal information such as his interests in music and film, his favorite
athletes and entertainers and even his pet peeve: Having to repeat what I just said.
747


It also served as an outlet for his essays. In one, entitled Double Standardism: The Case
of the Two Books, Rehab challenges Holocaust history, calling it the established
opinions of the able J ewish historians regarding the details of the holocaust.
748

It was written just after a May 1996 Charlie Rose show that featured a debate about St.
Martins Press withdrawal from a contract to publish a biography of Nazi propaganda

742
The US Must Condemn Israel Assassination Campaign, CAIR-NY Petition,
http://web.archive.org/web/20011218024302/www.cair-ny.com/PETITIONS/pet-20010814a.pdf (accessed
July 16, 2004).
743
US politicians pledge allegiance to Israel say Muslims, CAIR Press Release, May 2, 2002,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=797&page=NR (accessed J uly 11, 2004).
744
US politicians pledge allegiance to Israel say Muslims, CAIR Press Release, May 2, 2002,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=797&page=NR (accessed J uly 11, 2004).
745
Muslims will see Bush Green Light for Assassination, CAIR Press Release, April 17, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1066&page=NR (accessed July 7, 2004).
746
Muslims Applaud Courts Condemnation of Israeli Wall, CAIR Press Release, July 9, 2004,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1105&page=NR (accessed J uly 16, 2004).
747
Interests and Favorites, Ahmed Rehab Personal Home Page,
http://web.archive.org/web/20021113210413/http://arehab.tripod.com/ahmed/interests.html
748
Double Standardism: The Case of the Two Books, Ahmed Rehab Personal Home Page,
http://web.archive.org/web/20060215092446/http://arehab.tripod.com/ahmed/rose.html

97
minister J oseph Goebbels.
749
Rehab, now CAIR-Chicagos executive director,
750
contrasted
western reaction to David Irvings book to that of Salman Rushdies novel The Satanic
Verses.
751

In doing so, Rehab rewrote history to cut the Nazi death toll of J ews in half.
Rushdie targeted a world-wide religion, 1300 years of history, and one billion people,
Rehab wrote. Irving targeted a historical event, 2 years of history and three million
people.
752

Rehab distanced his views from the fatwa calling for Rushdies death, but said the book
never should have been published. But he defended Irvings book as merely presenting an
alternative and perhaps more sober - viewpoint.
If the J ewish historians have the right to research the history of the Holocaust and dictate
it for schools and Universities, why cant other historians do the same even if their findings
are different? arent they less likely to be biased and non-objectively sympathetic?
753

Rose stayed mostly out of the fray as guests Christopher Hitchens and Eric Breindel
debated St. Martins decision. But at the end, he asked Hitchens whether he was persuaded
by Irvings conclusions about the Holocaust. Hitchens said he wasnt.
754

By that, Rehab wrote, Rose confirmed the J ewish control over the media.
755

CAIR has invited neo-Nazi William Baker to speak at several conferences, and
attacked those who pointed out Bakers history.
CAIR invited the Rev. William Baker to speak at multiple events, including a Sept. 7, 2002
CAIR New York event at which he was the keynoter
756
, a CAIR-Florida meeting Aug. 12,
2003,
757
a November 29, 2003
758
dinner in Northern Virginia, and an Oct. 18, 2003 CAIR
New J ersey conference.
759

Baker was chairman of the Populist Party -- founded by neo-Nazi Willis Carto in 1984,
and organized its national convention that year.
760
Carto, a founder of the American Nazi

749
Christopher Hitchens on Charlie Rose 08-May-96 (Part 1), http://youtube.com/watch?v=QMxleCC5VVg
750
http://www.cairchicago.org/staff.php
751
Ahmed Rehab, Double Standardism: The Case of the Two Books, May 1996.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060215092446/http://arehab.tripod.com/ahmed/rose.html
752
Ibid., http://web.archive.org/web/20060215092446/http://arehab.tripod.com/ahmed/rose.html
753
Ibid., http://web.archive.org/web/20060215092446/http://arehab.tripod.com/ahmed/rose.html
754
Christopher Hitchens on Charlie Rose 08-May-96 (Part 2) http://youtube.com/watch?v=yMAAiS5Ljsw
755
Ahmed Rehab, Double Standardism: The Case of the Two Books, May 1996.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060215092446/http://arehab.tripod.com/ahmed/rose.html
756
Daniel Pipes, CAIR Promotes and Hosts William W. Baker, Neo-Nazi, March 9, 2004,
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/195 (accessed November 13, 2007).
757
Palestine Chronicle Column on Weekly Events, Monday August 4, 2003,
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=2003080518061564 (accessed November 13, 2007).
758
CAIRs Ninth Annual Fundraising Banquet; Muslims in America: A Defining Moment, Sheraton
Premiere at Tysons Corner; Saturday, November 29, 2003.
759
Daniel Pipes, CAIR Promotes and Hosts William W. Baker, Neo-Nazi, March 9, 2004,
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/195 (accessed November 13, 2007).
760
Stan Brin, Das Boot!; Crystal Cathedral Evicts preacher with neo-Nazi ties, O.C. Weekly, May 17-23,
2002, http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/02/37/news-brin.php (accessed April 19, 2002).
98
party, also started the Southern California-based Institute for Historical Review, a group
whose central purpose is to deny the Holocaust.
761

Baker has attempted to reinvent himself, seeking to jettison his past as a member of a neo-
Nazi party and become known as a pro-Palestinian Middle East expert. He authored Theft
of a Nation, a stridently pro-Arab, anti-Israel and anti-J ewish book, published in 1982.
762

Baker has written that achievement of "true justice and real conciliation" in the Middle East
requires that "all J ews who entered Palestine during the British Mandate from 1917 to 1948
and after the establishment of the state of Israel should return to the various countries of
their origin" and also that the "Zionist state of Israel . . . should be dismantled and
eventually eliminated."
763

After the Anti-Defamation League wrote letters complaining of CAIRs association with
Baker, CAIR countered with a press release attacking the ADL for attempts to defame
Muslims.
764

CAIR has repeatedly defended Muslim Brotherhood leader Yusuf al-
Qaradawi.
Qaradawi is a prominent and vehemently anti-Semitic leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in
Qatar. The Muslim Brotherhood is the ideological underpinning for all modern Islamic
terrorist groups, including Hamas and Al Qaeda.
765

In response to the critically acclaimed 1994 PBS documentary, Jihad in America, which
showed Qaradawi at a 1989 conference in Kansas City predicting On the hour of
judgment, Muslims will fight the J ews and kill them, CAIR claimed that he actually had
often spoken out against religious extremism.
766
In fact, however -- as documented below
-- Qaradawi defends suicide bombings, is hostile to J ews, and has called for attacks on U.S.
civilians in Iraq.
In J anuary 1998, the Associated Press quoted Qaradawi as writing, There should be no
dialogue with these people [Israelis] except with swords.
767
And in April 2001,
commenting on suicide bombings, he said, They are not suicide operationsThese are
heroic martyrdom operations.
768


761
Stan Brin, Hour of White Power; Reverend Robert H. Schuller relies on a man with ties to Neo-Nazis to
build religious understanding, O.C. Weekly, February 15-21, 2002,
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/02/24/cover-brin.php (accessed April 19, 2005).
762
Stan Brin, Hour of White Power; Reverend Robert H. Schuller relies on a man with ties to Neo-Nazis to
build religious understanding, O.C. Weekly, February 15-21, 2002,
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/02/24/cover-brin.php (accessed April 19, 2005).
763
Stan Brin, Hour of White Power; Reverend Robert H. Schuller relies on a man with ties to Neo-Nazis to
build religious understanding, O.C. Weekly, February 15-21, 2002,
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/02/24/cover-brin.php (accessed April 19, 2005).
764
CAIR News Release, ADL Attempts To Defame Florida Muslims, August 19, 2003, http://www.cair-
net.org/?Page=articleView&id=1021&theType=NR (accessed April 19, 2005).
765
Richard Clarke, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, October 22, 2003.
766
CAIR Press Release, `Jihad in America Not Worthy of PBS Sponsorship, November 22, 1994.
767
Leading Muslim Cleric Under Fire for Meeting Israeli Chief Rabbi, AP Worldstream, January 7, 1998,
quoting a January 6, 1998, article by Qaradawi in the Arab newspaper Al-Shaab.
768
Al Raya, April 2001, quoted in Michael Slackman, Islamic Debate Surrounds Mideast Suicide Bombers,
The Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2001.
99
And yet, at the 2002 Orange County CAIR fundraiser, Hussam Ayloush referred to
Qaradawi as a scholar:
Several people were asking about the eligibility claim for
CAIR. And according to many scholars including Yusuf
Qaradawi, basically this is one of the venues of Zakat for
your money as vis a vis basically educating about Islam in
America and the West.
769

On J uly 26, 2005, in an interview on MSNBC,
770
CAIRs legal director
Arsalan Iftikhar said:
For example, if you look at Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the --
one of the most famous Muslim scholars in Cairo, Egypt, he
has said unequivocally that people who commit suicide
bombings and -- and acts of terror are completely outside the
bounds of Islam.
In September 2004, Qaradawi ruled it a religious duty for Muslims to fight
Americans in Iraq, including U.S. civilians.
771

CAIR officials have expressed their ultimate desire for an Islamic government
in the United States.
In the April 4, 1993 Minneapolis Star Tribune, Hooper is quoted as saying, 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.
772

CAIR Chairman Ahmad was bolder during a J uly 1998 gathering of California Muslims.
Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant, Ahmad
said, according to the San Ramon Valley Herald. The Koran . . . should be the highest
authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.
773
Although CAIR
denied that Ahmad made the remark and claimed that it was seeking a retraction,
774
the
paper was never contacted and the reporter sticks by her story.
775

And current CAIR board member Ihsan Bagby was quoted in Steve A. J ohnsons Political
Activities of Muslims in America as saying, Ultimately we can never be full citizens of

769
CAIR Fundraiser, Orange County, California, October 19, 2002.
770
MSNBC, The Situation with Tucker Carlson, July 26, 2005, transcript.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8728122/ (accessed July 27, 2005).
771
Prominent Muslim Cleric Says Fighting American Civilians In Iraq Is A Duty For Muslims, Associated
Press, September 2, 2004.
772
Lou Gelfand, Reader Says Use of Fundamentalist Hurting Muslims, Minneapolis Star Tribune, April
4, 1993.
773
Lisa Gardiner, American Muslim Leader Urges Faithful to Spread Islams Message, San Ramon Valley
Herald, July 4, 1998.
774
Readers of Right-Wing Web Site Threaten Muslims, CAIR Action Alert, April 29, 2003,
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1010&page=NR (accessed October 21, 2004).
775
Art Moore, Should Muslim Quran be USAs Top Authority? WorldNetDaily.com, May 1, 2003.
100
this countrybecause there is no way we can be fully committed to the institutions and
ideologies of this country.
776

CAIR undertakes the free distribution of a Saudi-approved version of the
Quran that has been banned for blatant anti-Semitism.
After subsequently discredited reporting by Newsweek had sparked riots in Afghanistan,
777

CAIR offered to distribute free Qurans to anyone who requested a copy, as a response to
those who would defame and desecrate the holy book of Muslims without full knowledge
of its teachings.
778
CAIRs website further stated, False and uninformed accusations
have been leveled against the Quran for some time. But now, this initiative places the
sacred text directly in the hands of the American people and encourages all people of
conscience to discover the truth about Islam.
However, the version of the Quran (The Meaning of the Holy Quran) being distributed by
CAIR was one that has been banned by the Los Angeles School district, which deemed it to
be anti-Semitic.
779

This versions commentary and index shows that the Quran sometimes describes J ews as
apes and pigs. An assistant professor of religious studies at San Diego State
University, Khaleel Mohammed, says the Saudi-approved edition was first published by
Abdullah Yusuf Ali in 1934 at a time both of growing Arab animosity toward Zionism
and in a milieu that condoned anti-Semitism. According to the professor, Ali designed this
version of the Quran as a "polemic against J ews." And despite various revisions since its
initial publication in 1934, Mohammed stated that the footnoted commentary about J ews
"remained so egregious" that in April 2002 the Los Angeles school district banned its use at
local schools.
780

CAIR continued its use of the same version in its free Quran distribution project.
781

CAIR chairman supports blasphemy laws.
At a CAIR-sponsored event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., titled
Religious and Political Perspectives on the Cartoon Controversy, CAIR Chairman
Ahmed called for the U.S. government, and those around the world, to adopt blasphemy
laws to ensure that cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed like those originally published by
the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, could not be published again.
At the event, Ahmed stated:

776
Steve A. J ohnson, Political Activities of Muslims in America, in The Muslims of America, ed. Yvonne
Yazbeck Haddad (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 115.
777
Howard Kurtz, Newsweek Retracts Guantanamo Story; Item on Koran Sparked Deadly Protests,
Washington Post, May 17, 2005, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2005/05/16/AR2005051601262.html (accessed November 13, 2007).
778
Explore the Quran, CAIR web page, http://www.cair.com/explorethequran/default.asp (accessed
November 13, 2007)
779
Art Moore, CAIR Distributes Quran Banned as Anti-Semitic, World Net Daily, June 2, 2005,
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44543 (accessed June 3, 2005).
780
Art Moore, CAIR Distributes Quran Banned as Anti-Semitic, World Net Daily, June 2, 2005,
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44543 (accessed June 3, 2005).
781
Explore the Quran, CAIR Website, https://www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/request.asp (accessed J uly
12, 2006).
101
I think the next steps would be to broaden the scope of anti-
hate laws and even contemplate about passing blasphemy
laws, because blasphemy with such sacred icons, like the
Prophet Muhammad, like the Quran, or the cross, or other
religious symbols So governments, legislatures,
international bodies must contemplate about what are the
ways in which an anti-blasphemy law can be passed that can
protect the right to exercise freedom of religion.
782


CAIR Florida official spreads misinformation about stoning in Iran.

Ahmed Bedier, executive director of CAIRs Tampa chapter, appeared on a local public
television forum in August 2007 to rebut the findings of the documentary Islam vs.
Islamists, which chronicled the efforts of moderate Muslims to minimize the influence of
radicals over their faith.
783


Part of the discussion focused on video the documentary included of a veiled woman
apparently being stoned to death. The panelists, including Bedier, criticized the
documentary for not providing specific information about where and when the video was
shot. Bedier then portrayed stoning as a part of all monotheistic traditions. It is nearly
impossible to have stoning as a punishment for adultery, he said, because four eyewitnesses
to the act are required.

So you have to be like a porn star to get convicted, he said.
784


Asked whether he, as a Muslim, would sanction stoning or lashing someone, Bedier evaded
the question. Its definitely not government sanctioned, he said, that punishment is not
carried out these days. You never hear about it.
785


In fact, an Iranian woman was reported stoned to death a month earlier.
786
Amnesty
International routinely monitors nations that sentence people to punishments of stoning. In
October 2005, the human rights group issued a statement expressing its horror that Iran
continues to pass sentences of stoning despite having announced a moratorium on such
executions.
787



782
Parvez Ahmed, Religious and Political Perspectives on the Cartoon Controversy, National Press Club,
February 16, 2006.
783
Panel Discussion, WEDU-TV in Tampa, August 23, 2007.
784
Ibid.
785
Ibid.
786
Amnesty International outraged at reported stoning to death and fears for victims co-accused, Amnesty
International, J uly 9, 2007.
787
Iran: Death Sentences of juvenile offenders and stoning sentences continue to be passed, Amnesty
International, October 20, 2005,
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGMDE130632005
102
In September 2006, the organization identified seven Iranian women it said were at risk of
execution by stoning.
788
In addition, the organization said a man and a woman had been
stoned to death in May 2006.
789


XIII. CAIR Denies the Challenges Posed by Radical Islamists


CAIR officials have denied that jihad is the motivating ideology underlying
Islamic terrorism.
In an apparent effort to sanitize Islamic fundamentalism, Nihad Awad redefined jihad in
an August 23, 1998 interview with Liane Hansen on NPRs Weekend Sunday:
You know, holy war is like fatwa, its become a buzz word.
And I think theyre severely misunderstood. I dont see holy
war as a concept in Islam, it is not, it does not exist. There is
a word jihad. J ihad is severely misunderstood. J ihad means
legitimate struggle.
The United States army, when it goes to defend innocent
people, thats a form of jihad. Whenever a conductor (sic)
tries to save the life of a baby, is a -- is a jihad. A mother to
raise her children is jihad. You know, an honest person who
wants to get good life is jihad. And also to struggle against
injustice is jihad.
All these things are noble meanings of jihad in Islam. It
never means holy war. It does not exist in the Arabic or
Islamic literature, it is not in the Koran, it is not in the
prophetic tradition. It is a misnomer, it is a mis-translation of
a noble concept in Islam which is jihad.
790

Similarly, Hussam Ayloush, director of CAIR-Southern California, said in a J anuary 2004
talk, jihad definitely does not mean holy war. Actually, the term holy war does not exist
in Islamic terminology.
791
He repeated this view during an April 2005 lecture at Chaffey
College in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., saying J ihad is the Arabic word for strive. Any
struggle in a person's life, not just a Muslim's, is a jihad. He added, Being a student is a
jihad because you are striving to learn.
792

And CAIR New Yorks Ghazi Khankan commented, The term holy war is of non-
Islamic origin. It was used by the crusaders in the 10th centuryThere is no such two

788
Iran: Death Penalty/Stoning report, Amnesty International, Sept. 28, 2006.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/alfresco_asset/474ea178-a495-11dc-bac9-0158df32ab50/mde131132006en.html
789
Ibid.
790
Interview with Nihad Awad by Liane Hansen, Weekend Sunday, National Public Radio, August 23, 1998.
791
MSA-UCLA Islamic Awareness Week, Los Angeles, California, January 28, 2004.
792
Aime Gutierrez, Lecture addresses misconceptions of jihad, The Chaffey Breeze, April 25, 2005,
http://www.chaffeybreeze.com/news/2005/04/25/CampusNews/Lecture.Addresses.Misconceptions.Of.J ihad-
935226.shtml (accessed April 29, 2005).
103
words in Al-Quraan, the holy bookSome media unfortunately translate the word jihad
incorrectly as holy war.
793

Those benign definitions are for public consumption. In contrast, when CAIR Chairman
Omar Ahmad spoke at the 1999 IAP convention, he defined jihad as, in part, to fight in
the Way of Allah. To make war.
794

CAIRs denial of jihads militant meaning has continued as recently as early 2004, when
several teams participating in a Muslim football tournament in California chose names such
as Intifada, Mujahedeen and Soldiers of Allah, creating considerable controversy.
As an article in The Washington Post described the teams uniforms: Intifada featured a
man wearing a military helmet, his face -- save his eyes -- covered by a bandana. The
Soldiers of Allah emblem showed a masked man in the act of firing a slingshot, and
Mujahedeen's depicted a horse-borne figure in flowing robes, bearing a weapon on his
shoulder.
795

Despite community protests that the names were offensive, Sabiha Khan, communications
director of the Southern California chapter of CAIR, asserted:
These terms are basically very positive terms within the
Muslim community and historically speakingThe popular
definitions . . . are twisted. They're no longer what they
mean, Islamically speaking.
796

CAIR officials protested the use of the term Islamist terrorism in the 9/11
Commission Report.
Following the release of the 9/11 Commission Report, Ibrahim Hooper criticized the use of
the term Islamist terrorism, arguing that it appears to unfairly attack Islam as a whole.
Hooper remarked, Islamist is one of those hot-button terms that are ill-defined or not
defined at allTheyre basically saying this is a label for Muslims we dont like or agree
with.
797

Arsalan Iftikhar, CAIR Legal Director, said the commission seems to stigmatize anyone
with ties to Islam.
798
In a guest column published by the Dallas Morning News, Iftikhar
said the term Islamist terrorism is nothing more than an oversimplification of our
complex and kaleidoscopic national security paradigm.
799

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper has said that Wahhabism is a term
invented to scare people about Muslim bogeymen.
When asked about Wahhabism in J uly 2003, Hooper said, Its one of those terms which is
invented to scare people about Muslim bogeymen. Its just all part of the extremely

793
Interview with Ghazi Khankan, Washington Post online discussion, September 18, 2001.
794
IAP Convention, Chicago, Illinois, November, 26, 1999.
795
David Neiman, Flag Football in a Political Arena, The Washington Post, J anuary 12, 2004.
796
David Neiman, Flag Football in a Political Arena, The Washington Post, J anuary 12, 2004.
797
Hope Yen, US Muslim Groups Decry Sept. 11 Report Input, Associated Press, July 28, 2004.
798
Arsalan Iftikhar, Constant Use of Islamist Overlooks Real Threats, Dallas Morning News, August 3,
2004.
799
Arsalan Iftikhar, Constant Use of Islamist Overlooks Real Threats, Dallas Morning News, August 3,
2004.
104
powerful right wing and their agenda right now to demonize Saudi Arabia and demonize
anything associated with Saudi Arabia.
800

Wahhabism is a made-up word by those who don't want to appear to be attacking Islam,
Hooper said in a separate interview two months later.
801

CAIR officials downplayed the significance of a report documenting the
presence of Saudi hate literature in U.S. mosques and a Saudi school in
Virginia.
A Freedom House report issued in J anuary 2005 exposed the Saudi governments
dissemination of hate literature in the United States. Many of the documents cited by
Freedom House advocated jihad, taught hatred of J ews and Shiite Muslims, or condemned
democratic societies.
802

After arguing that most American Muslims could not read the documents because they do
not understand Arabic, Hooper told The Christian Science Monitor, we can rely on the
good judgment and common sense of Muslims to reject such thinking if they come across
it.
803

CAIR board member Nabil Sadoun also challenged the Freedom House report in a Dallas
Morning News op-ed. Sadoun, a member of the Dallas Central Mosque -- where Freedom
House had found a document declaring, We consider ourselves to be in a continuous war
against the Zionist enemy in every way until we achieve the hopes of the Arab nation
driving the occupier out
804
-- condemned the researchers methodology. He wrote, The
study has a sample size of 15, too low in my estimationMoreover, the study does not cite
how the materials were obtainedThe authors did not offer any process by which
independent verification could be made of the materials and the translation's accuracy of
those materials from ArabicThe Freedom House report fails to rise to the level of an
objective, unbiased and academically worthy study.
805

In the same Dallas Morning News issue, Legal Director Iftikhar wrote, there may be more
hysteria than substance in what Freedom House would want us to believe. Instead of
addressing the radicalism within the American Muslim community, Iftikhar changed the
topic, urging Freedom House to write a report on hate speech levied against Islam and
Muslims by some of America's most notable evangelical leaders.
806


800
David Staples, Local Mosque Denies Links with Controversial Group, Edmonton Journal, J uly 28,
2003.
801
Jeff Johnson, Investigation of Terrorist Recruitment Concerns Muslims, CNSNews.com, September 29,
2003.
802
Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques, Freedom House,
http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/pdfdocs/FINAL%20FINAL%20Saudi.pdf (accessed February 25,
2005).
803
Jane Lampman, Matters of Faith, Christian Science Monitor, February 10, 2005.
804
Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques, Freedom House,
http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/pdfdocs/FINAL%20FINAL%20Saudi.pdf (accessed February 25,
2005).
805
Nabil M. Sadoun, Visit Dallas Central Mosque, and You'll Find Tolerance and Faith, Dallas Morning
News, February 20, 2005.
806
Arsalan Iftikhar, Think Tanks Report is Built on Flawed Thinking and Hypocrisy, Dallas Morning
News, February 20, 2005.
105
Similarly, CAIR downplayed the J uly 2004 revelation that textbooks at the Islamic Saudi
Academy in Virginia were teaching first graders that J udaism and Christianity were false
religions.
807
Hooper told the Associated Press, The fact that one sentence in one book, out
of an entire curriculum, needs to be changed or clarified hardly justifies sweeping charges
of extremism.
808

In September 2005, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes,
while on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, told a group of Saudi journalists that the Bush
administration was concerned about a study (Freedom House) that identified anti-Christian
and anti-Semitic literature, connected to Saudi religious organizations, found in American
mosques. She told the reporters, "We are concerned that literature has been found in
American mosques that has a message that is not tolerant, and we hope the people of Saudi
Arabia will work with us as we try to deal with this issue. CAIR attacked both her
comments and the initial Freedom House report, charging that her remarks were based on a
faulty study with an "inherent bias." Hooper said, We don't agree that there is widespread
literature of that kind in mosques in America.
809

Most recently, Hooper has tried to downplay the May 2007 Pew Research Center survey
showing 26 percent of American Muslims under age 30 justify suicide bombings in defense
of Islam. Appearing on MSNBC with host Tucker Carlson May 23, 2007, Hooper
dismissed questions about suicide bombing and the 60 percent of respondents who didnt
believe Muslims carried out the 9/11 attacks.
810

Theyre not against al Qaeda in the numbers that most people are, judging by these
numbers. And they dont believe that Muslims were behind 9/11, Carlson said. You
know what, objectively, that is a problem. But you dont see it as one.
811

Muslim American attitudes in general mirrored the views of people of all faiths in
America, Hooper said. Work hard to get ahead, send your kids to school. He accused
Carlson of cherry picking a handful of negative responses from among hundreds of
questions.
812

That seemed to set Carlson off, prompting this exchange:

807
Report: Saudi School in Virginia Disparages Christianity and Judaism, July 13, 2004,
http://www.saudiinstitute.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=136&Itemid=28 (accessed February
25, 2005).
808
Mathew Barakat, Islamic Group Says Saudi Academy Teachings Breed Hatred, Associated Press,
August 3, 2004. Note: The previous day in The Washington Times Hooper had struck a different tone: I
would suggest either removing the textbook or inserting a notation that something is being changed in the
textbook. See: Christina Bellantoni, Islamic Groups Hit Curriculum at Saudi School, The Washington
Times, August 2, 2005.
809
Holly Lebowitz Rossi, US Envoy Raises Alarm on Inflammatory Literature in Mosques, Religion News
Service, September 28, 2005, http://www.beliefnet.com/story/175/story_17595_1.html (accessed September
29, 2005).
810
Tucker, MSNBC, May 23, 2007
811
Tucker, MSNBC, May 23, 2007
812
Tucker, MSNBC, May 23, 2007
106
CARLSON: I have thesome of the questions right here. They are not hundreds. And I
thought those were the most telling and you are not concerned, but I am. But I appreciate
your coming on.
HOOPER: Im concerned that you would pick on only negative.
CARLSON: Right! Youre a victim! Of course! I totally forgot! Its always the medias
fault, right. no one in the community is unreasonable. It is always the media. Im sorry,
I forgot my talking points.
813



813
Tucker, MSNBC, May 23, 2007
107
XIV. CAIRs Rejection of an Arab-Israeli Peace
CAIR is vehemently opposed to both the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and to the
normalization of relations between Israel and the Palestinians. For example, in a 1999
interview, Omar Ahmad rejected the peace process as a security arrangement in which the
stronger party (Israel), backed by the U.S., is getting the most and the weaker party
(Palestinians) are forced to accept whatever is thrown at them.
814
And in a statement
given to the London-based Al-Awsat newspaper, Nihad Awad said that a bias in favor of
countries like Israel has brought the United States nothing but losses, an absence of a
sense of justice, and an erosion in its international credibility.
815

Despite claims to the contrary, CAIR officials have rejected a two-state solution and
justified violence as a means to a legitimate end.
In the J uly 2001 Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Awad said, Our preference is
peaceful negotiationbut if the peace process is flawed, then resistance is necessary.
816

At a Right of Return rally in front of the White House on September 16, 2000, Awad
rejected coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, stating, they [the J ews] have been
saying next year to J erusalem, we say next year to all Palestine.
817

The U.S. and Israel are the true terrorists, he said at an Oct. 7, 2000 rally outside the Israeli
Embassy in Washington, D.C.:
Israel receives more than $6.3 billion every year (from the
United States)more than $50 billion have financed
terrorism against the Palestiniansmore than $50 billion
have been given to soldiers acting in the name of Israel but in
reality they were acting in the name of the United States
who is the real terrorist? Isnt it the Israelis? The Israelis have
been maiming children, have been killing innocent people,
have been bombing cities, no objection by the United
Statesall these things are happening, are happening in the
name of the United States.
818

During the rally, spectators chanted, Khaibar, Khaibar, Ya Yahud, J aysh Muhammed
Safayood (Khaibar, Khaibar, O J ews, the Army of Mohammed is coming for you), as
well as the Hamas slogans, With our blood and soul we will liberate Palestine, and with
our blood and soul we will sacrifice our life on your behalf, martyr.
819

And, as noted earlier, CAIR founders Omar Ahmad and Nihad Awad participated in a 1993
meeting called by Hamas members and sympathizers to discuss ways to derail the Oslo
Accords. The groups conversation emphasized that a successful peace deal could boost the

814
Cited in Riad Abdelkarim, Why American Muslims Dont Jump Onto the Peace Train, MSA News,
November 30, 1999.
815
Muhammad al-Shafi'i,UK Islamist Group Addresses 'Warning Message' to US Embassies, Bases, Al-
Sharq al-Awsat, October 14, 2000.
816
Ziad Homayra, Muslim Leaders Hold State Department Sit-In, Washington Report on Middle East
Affairs, July 2001.
817
Palestinian Right of Return Rally, Washington, D.C., September 16, 2000.
818
Palestinian rally, Washington DC, October 7, 2000
819
Ibid.
108
secular Palestine Liberation Organization and marginalize the Islamist movement. In
addition, Ahmad and others acknowledged that their objective was the 48 territories,
meaning all of what is now Israel.
820


XV. CAIR Supports Totalitarian Islamic Regimes in Iran and Sudan
CAIR is silent regarding human rights violations committed by Islamists, failing perhaps
most notably when it comes to the plight of women under fundamentalist regimes in Iran
and Sudan. In fact, CAIR has attacked critical reports on this subject by The New York
Times, CBS and anti-slavery groups and activists. Whenever any such issues are brought
to light in the media, CAIR launches campaigns attacking those who report these atrocities
as being biased against Islam.
CAIR supports the totalitarian regime in Iran
CAIR has consistently lobbied to normalize U.S. relations with the Islamic Republic of
Iran. When the U.S. government hinted at a change in policy in early 2000, the
organization declared Secretary of State Madeleine Albrights effort an attempt to heal the
wounds of the past, and declared that the change in official policy could be the beginning
of a new chapter in relations between America and the Muslim community.
821

Anisa Abd El Fattah, who served as a member of CAIRs board of directors, has led its
campaign to rehabilitate Iran in the United States. In a series of articles and interviews in
1998-2000, she portrayed Iran as a moderate, democratic, and unfairly demonized nation.
For example, in a J une 1998 letter to the editor of the Washington Times, she wrote:
The United States has only one strategic asset in the Middle
East, namely Israel. This is ludicrous when the region
consists of nearly 25 other countries, mostly Arabian. Iran,
though not Arabian, is by far the most prosperous and stable
of them all. It is also the only one of these countries that is
truly democratic. In fact, an Iranian representative chairs the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, a representative
body of the Muslim world.
822

Abd El Fattah co-hosted a panel sponsored by UASR at the 1999 AMC convention in
Crystal City, Virginia. The panel, entitled U.S. and Iran, Time to Talk, was scheduled to
feature Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Sayyid Hadi Najad Hossenian, but he
was barred from the event by the State Department.
823
Advising the audience that
Hossenian would not appear, Abd El Fattah spoke out against the pro-Israel pundits who
she claimed were responsible for Hossenians exclusion. I dont know about you, but what

820
US v. Holy Land Foundation, 3:04-CR-240-G, Government Exhibit 16-71.
821
Easing of Sanctions Welcomed By American Muslims, CAIR Press Release, March 17, 2000,
http://web.archive.org/web/20010423101904/cair-net.org/nr.asp?date=2000/03/17 (accessed November 29,
2004).
822
Anisa Abd El Fattah Why the United States Should Improve Relations with Iran, Washington Times,
J une 25, 1998.
823
Donna Bourne, UASRs Session on Iran Carried by C-Span, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs,
August 1999.
109
that tells me is that I have a challenge; and that challenge is to speak louder than them [the
pro-Israel groups], be more active than they are. They love Israel. We love America, and
we also love Iran, she said.
824

CAIR as an organization also has backed Iran. In December 1997, it condemned the Simon
Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance for the museums inclusion of Ayatollah
Khomeini among other totalitarian leaders such as Adolf Hitler. CAIR, along with MPAC
and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, sent a letter to Wiesenthal Center
founder, Rabbi Marvin Hier, stating:
The museum contains several displays that could raise the
existing level of intolerance toward Muslims and Islam. For
example:
a) The Wall of Demagogues contains a very offensive
juxtaposition of Hitler and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
Whatever one thinks of Khomeini, to place his image
alongside that of Hitler can only serve to equate Islam with
Nazism.
b) Both images of Ayatollah Khomeini show his hand
extended in a Nazi salute.
825

It is noteworthy that CAIR and its supporters have themselves frequently compared
Zionism to Nazism, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Hitler.
In a March 1, 1999, Internet posting, CAIR attacked a February 28, 1999 New York Times
article titled Trip of Discoveries, Some Unhappy, in Iran, written by Elaine Sciolino.
826

The article criticized Iranian practices of discrimination against women, including foreign
visitors. Without specifically instructing its readers what to say, the CAIR posting asked
them to contact Sciolinos supervisor or send a letter to the editor.
827

CAIR supports Sudan despite its human rights violations and endemic slavery.
CAIR has been outspoken in its support for Sudan, a country also included on the U.S.
State Departments list of state sponsors of terrorism.
828
Specifically, the U.S. government
has condemned Hasan al-Turabi, the head of the National Islamic Front, for supporting
terrorism (including giving sanctuary to Osama bin Laden),
829
launching a genocidal war in
southern Sudan, and committing continued human rights violations.
830


824
US & Iran, Time to Talk, AMC Convention, Crystal City, VA, May 9, 1999.
825
American Muslims Say Museum Associated with Wiesenthal Center Promotes Intolerance Toward
Islam, CAIR Press Release, December 3, 1997.
826
Elaine Sciolino, Trip of Discoveries, Some Unhappy, in Iran, The New York Times, Feb. 28, 1999.
827
CAIR American Muslim Media Watch, March 1, 1999.
828
The Department of States Patterns of Global Terrorism Report: Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism,
April 29, 2004, http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2003/31644.htm
829
The 9/11 Commission Report, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), 57.
830
Concurrent Resolution 75, 106
th
Congress, 1
st
Session, Committee on Foreign Relations June 15, 1999
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:H.CON.RES.75.RFS (accessed November 19, 2004).
110
One of the pivotal human rights issues in Sudan is the presence of a thriving slave trade.
CAIR denies the existence of such a slave trade and considers any reference to slavery in
Sudan an affront to Islam, because Sudan is governed by Islamic law.
In 2000, CAIRs Hussam Ayloush attempted to gloss over the presence of the Sudanese
slave trade and also to distort the basis for the conflict in Sudan: Its really stretching the
situation away from the truth if we call them slavery raids by Muslims to enslave
Christians. This information had been coming out from certain groups from clear political
agendas.
831
Ayloush argued that the civil conflict in Sudan was based on factors beyond
religion such as ethnic and tribal rivalries and land and water resources.
832

In 2001, the U.S. Congress approved the Sudan Peace Act, barring foreign companies
operating in Sudan from listing on U.S. stock exchanges unless they fully disclosed their
activities in Sudan. The law also put $10 million at the disposal of the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA), the umbrella opposition group that included the main armed opposition
force, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
833

Responding to the congressional action, Awad commented, American Muslims have
grown increasingly concerned that the issue of Sudan is being used by those with anti-
Islamic political or religious agendas to stereotype Islam and Muslims worldwide.
834

Moreover, in J uly 2004, despite solid evidence that Arab militiamen were carrying out a
genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign against the African Fur, Massaleit, and Zaghawa
ethnic groups,
835
Hooper stated, We dont have enough knowledge of the situation to
make judgments.
836

Even when CAIR added its name to a unity statement calling for action in Sudan,
Hooper cautioned against allowing exploitation of the suffering to promote political or
religious agendas.
837

CAIR later complained about a rally sponsored by the group that organized the unity
statement, stating in a press release that the lack of speakers from the major American
Muslim groups, demonstrated that the organizers had an ulterior agenda:
(WASHINGTON, DC, 4/30/2006) -- The Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today questioned why
no representatives of major American Muslim groups are
listed as speakers at the Save Darfur Coalition "Rally to Stop
Genocide" this afternoon in Washington, D.C.

831
Teresa Watanabe, Sudan's Abuse of Religious Freedom Assailed, The Los Angeles Times, May 13,
2000.
832
Teresa Watanabe, Sudan's Abuse of Religious Freedom Abroad, The Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2000.
833
http://www.house.gov/international_relations/107/72977.pdf (accessed January 3, 2005).
834
Gamal Nkrumah, New Law, Old Enemies, http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001/539/re8.htm, June 21-27,
2001.
835
Emily Wax, In Sudan, Death and Denial, The Washington Post, J une 27, 2004.
836
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, In Sudan Crisis, a Duty to Intervene, The Christian Science Monitor, J uly 21,
2004.
837
CAIR J oins Call to Action on Darfur Crisis, CAIR Press Release, August 3, 2004, http://www.cair-
net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1147&page=NR (accessed August 11, 2004).
111
CAIR and other American Muslim groups, including the
Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of
North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the
Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, are
members of the coalition. But no representative from these,
or any Muslim coalition member, is listed on the latest rally
program. (Several Muslims will speak, but they do not
represent Islamic groups that are coalition members.)
It is unfortunate that the Save Darfur Coalition chose not to
list any mainstream American Muslim groups in the rally
program," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "This
disturbing omission calls into question the coalition's true
agenda at the rally."
838



838
CAIR Asks Why No Muslim Groups To Speak At Darfur Rally; Lack of Muslim speakers calls into
question rally's 'true agenda', CAIR Press Release, April 30, 2006, http://www.cair-
net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=2127&theType=NR (accessed May 3, 2006).

112
XVI. What Others Say about CAIR
Steven Pomerantz, former assistant director and former chief of the
Counterterrorism Section, FBI
It is clear from a review of CAIRs statements and
activities that one of its goals is to further the agenda of
radical Islamic terrorist groups by providing political
support. By masquerading as a mainstream public affairs
organization, CAIR has taken the lead in trying to mislead
the public about the terrorist underpinnings of militant
Islamic movements, in particular, Hamas
Any objective assessment of the materialleads to the
conclusion that CAIR, its leaders, and its activities,
effectively give aid to international terrorist groups.
Unfortunately, CAIR is but one of a new generation of new
groups in the United States that hide under a veneer of
civil rights or academic status but in fact are tethered to
a platform that supports terrorism. The degree to which
these groups are able to deceive the American public and
intimidate writers and counter-terrorist officials will be a
significant ingredient in whether this country will be
rendered more vulnerable to terrorism in future years.
839

Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Speaking during the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland
Securitys September 10, 2003 hearing, Schumer said to a witness: You point out that
the Islamic Development Bank has given large sums of money to CAIR, which we know
has ties to terrorism.
840
At the same hearing, Schumer also stated, prominent members
of (CAIRs) current leadership, who you, Mr. Chairman, invited to the hearings today,
they declined to testify, also have intimate connections with Hamas, and that is another
terrorist group that has received funding from Saudi Arabia and supports in many ways
the tenet of Wahhabism.
841

Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)
At the same September 10, 2003 hearing, Durbin said, I would hope that if there was a
future hearing involving this, Mr. Chairman, that other than the CAIR organization,
which apparently from what I have read is unusual in its extreme rhetoric and its
association with groups that are suspect[T]here are many mainstream groups of

839
Steven Pomerantz, Counterterrorism in a Free Society, Journal of Counterterrorism & Security
International, Spring 1998.
840
Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. Terrorism: Two Years After
9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003.
841
Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. Terrorism: Two Years After
9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003.
113
Muslim Americans who fully support this war against terrorism and I would hope that
they would be invited to speak to their heartfelt beliefs about this effort
842

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.)
In December 2006, Senator Boxer rescinded an award issued to Basim Elkarra, a CAIR
official in Sacramento. Boxer said she was unaware the award had been issued and that
her staff had failed to investigate CAIRs background sufficiently.
To praise an organization because they havent been indicted is like somebody saying,
Im not a crook, Boxer says. Im going to take a lot of hits for this. But Im just doing
what I think is right.
843


Khalim Massoud, president of Muslims Against Sharia
So-called "civil rights" groups, i.e. , CAIR, MPAC, ICNA, MAS, etc. that comprise
Muslim establishment are nothing more than offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood and
fronts for Hamas and al-Qaeda. They are very well financed and are extremely skillful
manipulators of the media. And most of the people in government and media truly
believe that those groups are moderate, because they are either too lazy to do research or
they choose to ignore terrorist ties.
844


Ibrahim Abdul Mumin, New York chapter president of Free Muslim
Coalition Against Terrorism
In February 2005, Abdul Mumin wrote, I denounce the so-called Islamic organizations
such as CAIR (The Council on American-Islamic Relations), which constantly tells
Muslims in America that they are in danger from some sort of non-existent plot to
defame Islam. These fear-mongering organizations succeed because their followers are
too ignorant of their own religion and history to see them as liars and hypocrites.
CAIR should be helping Muslims to become part of the American Fabric, to co-
operate, and integrate into our society. Instead, CAIR pushes Muslims into a kind of
emotional helplessness, trying to force upon them the unpleasant gratification of feeling
themselves victims, and then filling them with a sort of lurking, sardonic consciousness
that the victim is stronger than the victimizer. In the end they want the victims to pull
down their victimizer like a pack of hyenas on an unwary lion America. The
victimization by America, however, is false. The real victimizer is CAIR itself. Expose
their Wahabbi (sic) Saudi backed agenda. Muslims are not in danger from or in America.
America and Muslims are in danger from CAIR.
845


842
Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. Terrorism: Two Years After
9/11, Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003.
843
Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, CAIR Play? Newsweek, December 19, 2006.
844
Khalim Massoud interview with J amie Glazov, Front Page Magazine, November 13, 2007.
845
Ibrahim Abdul Mumin, A Muslim Against Terror, February 28, 2005,
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/research_topics/research_topics_show.htm?doc_id=263292&attrib_id=7
372.
114
Tashbih Sayyed, editor-in-chief of Pakistan Today, a
California-based weekly newspaper, president of Council for
Democracy and Tolerance and adjunct fellow of Hudson
Institute
In J anuary 2004, Sayyed wrote, CAIR, to many Muslims, is a front for the Arab terrorist
groups like HAMAS and Hizballah. The fact that CAIR has never condemned HAMAS
and Hizballah leadership or the imams who defy Quraa'n's teachings by preparing young
and innocent Muslims to become homicide bombers, supported this impression.
CAIR is always on the lookout for an opening to condemn U.S. policies, has never used
its influence to condemn Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Aiman al Zwahiri and their ilk.
CAIR has never used its control over the hearts and minds of the American Muslims to
refute the Muslim belief that the United States of America's war on terror is not a crusade
against Islam.
846

Jamal Hasan, Council for Democracy and Tolerance
The voices of all the Islamic groups resonate as one. That is, "Spread
Islamic hegemony the world over by hook or by crook". CAIR in many
cases had been dubious about its assessment of Islamic terrorism on US
soil. Starting from First WTC bombing to its view on Osama bin Laden
before WTC II bombing, CAIR failed to come up clean. Paradoxically,
CAIR's burden of history pushed it into the pile of those entities, which
needed a closer scrutiny.
847


Kamal Nawash, founder of the Free Muslim Coalition Against
Terrorism
Discussing CAIR and similar groups in an October 2004 Washington Times article,
Nawash said, Almost all of their members are theocratic Muslims who reject secularism
and want to establish Islamic states. The heart of the extremism and terrorism in the
Muslim world is the idea of political Islam. ... Terrorism and extremism is a natural result
of theocratic rule.
848

Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi, director of the Cultural
Institute of the Italian Islamic Community and Muslim co-
chairman of the Islam-Israel Fellowship
In a March 2003 interview with WorldNetDaily.com, Palazzi called CAIR the U.S.
section of Hamas. He added, Nihad Awad is a leader of Hamas in the same way that

846
Tashbih Sayyed, The Islamist Agenda, Pakistan Today, J anuary 9, 2004,
http://www.muslimworldtoday.com/agenda.htm (accessed July 12, 2006).
847
J amal Hasan, J amal Hasan on CAIR, J uly 31, 2003. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-
mona/message/12189 (accessed November 13, 2007).
848
Jon Ward, Muslim Groups Press for Pluralism, The Washington Times, October 1, 2004.
115
Sami Al-Arian was a leader of Palestinian Islamic J ihadWhy is the same standard not
applied?
849

Palazzi also wrote, CAIR is an organization that was created and is controlled by the
[Muslim] Brotherhood; it works in the United States as a lobby against journalists, media
operators, movie producers, etc. who dares [sic] to write things that do not fit their
limited interpretation. Their level of intolerance is quite extreme
850

Tarek Fatah, host, The Muslim Chronicles on CTS-TV in Toronto
In October 2001, Fatah stated, It saddens me that CAIR Canada has become one of the
leading organizations speaking on behalf of MuslimsAnd they won't even come out
and formally denounce the people we know are behind the terrorism, because they have
indirect support from the same groups. This nonsense of condemning the act and then
wriggling out of their responsibility needs to be confronted.
851


Seif Ashmawy, publisher, Voice of Peace
In J anuary 1996, Ashmaway wrote:
Both organizations [CAIR and AMC] champion extremists whose views
do not represent Islam. They do not represent moderate Muslims such as
myselfThose Muslims, who defend extremists who promote the hatred
of the non-Muslim as well as moderate Muslims undermine our own
image.
The real challenge to moderate Muslims like myself is to prevent my
Muslim brethren from being deceived by extremist groups that pretend to
represent their interests. The difficulty in [this] job is compounded when
the deception is perpetrated by American journalists who should know
better.
852

It is a known fact that both the AMC and CAIR have defended, apologized
for and rationalized the actions of extremists groups and leaders such as
convicted World Trade Center conspirator Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman,
Egyptian extremists, Hassan al-Turabi, the Sudanese National Islamic
Front, and extremist parliamentarians from the J ordanian Islamic Action
Front
CAIR in its position claiming that imprisoned Hamas leader Musa Abu
Marzuk and convicted World Trade Center leader Sheik Omar Abdul
Rahman were denied their civil rights because of religious discrimination

849
Art Moore, Trouble in the Holy Land, March 12, 2003, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-
friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31479 (accessed July 11, 2004).
850
Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Antizionism and Antisemitism in the Contemporary Islamic Milieu,
http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/amislam/racism.htm (accessed J uly 8, 2004).
851
Sam Grewal and Rick Madonik, Muslims Face Hostility Within, Toronto Star, October 13, 2001.
852
Seif Ashmawy, A CAIR-Free Muslim, Pittsburgh Newsweekly, J anuary 16-22, 1996.
116
is not correct. The imprisonment of these two has nothing to do with
religion and does not pertain to Islam.
853

Dr. Khalid Duran, publisher, TransIslam Magazine
In an October 1995 letter to the President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Duran
wrote, What I find galling -- and very harmful -- is the publicity Awad/Hooper get as
CAIR, that is, as self-proclaimed spokesmen of a community that does not want them.
They do not have the interest of the community at heart, their sole concern is self-
promotion which then is used for party purposes. Whatever publicity they get helps them
obtain the legitimacy they would never get through honest means. With their fraudulent
ways they have been singularly successful and soon there will be many in the community
who, not knowing the background of this team will simply assume that these are our
spokesmen, because that is what we hear all the time in the news.
854

Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, director of the American Islamic Forum
for Democracy
An April 2004 Washington Times piece on J asser noted, What is especially disturbing to
him is the hate-filled rhetoric emanating from Muslim groups like the Council on
American Islamic Relations, whose executive director has declared he is in support of
the Hamas movement.
855

Ahmed Nassef, editor-in-chief of MuslimWakeup.com
In J une 2004, Nassef wrote, CAIRs questionable research methodology holds the key to
unraveling the myth of an overwhelmingly conservative American Muslim
populationIt all comes down to an inescapable reality that CAIR and the other ultra-
conservative Muslim organizations just refuse to face -- the vast majority of American
Muslims are not connected with mosques at all and are not politically conservative.
856

Matthew Levitt, former FBI terrorism analyst and senior
fellow in terrorism studies with the Washington Institute for
Near East Studies
In September 2003 Senate testimony, Levitt stated:
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which says it was
established to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in
America, was co-founded by Omar Ahmed, the same person who co-
founded the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) -- the Hamas front
organization which first published the Hamas charter in English -- together
with Hamas leader and Specially Designated Terrorist Mousa Abu
Marzouk. CAIR's pro-Hamas and pro-Hizballah positions should not

853
Moslem Students Association Website, January 17, 1996, quoted in Moshe Kohn, View From Nov:
Moderate Moslems, The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 1999.
854
Letter to President of the Council on Foreign Relations by Khalid Duran, Editor, TransState Islam,
October 6, 1995.
855
Muslim and American Patriot, The Washington Times, April 24, 2004.
856
Ahmed Nassef, The Myth of a Conservative Muslim Majority: How CAIR Plays with the Numbers to
Serve its Narrow Agenda, June 30, 2004, http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000922.php
(accessed J uly 22, 2004).
117
surprise, given that it regularly rises to the defense of terrorism suspects
and openly supports designated terrorist groups.
857

Yigal Kahana, a North Miami attorney who leads Jews and
Muslims and All, a local interfaith group that promotes
peaceful coexistence
In J uly 2004, Kahana told a newspaper reporter, CAIR? We stay away from them with a
10-foot pole. Frankly it's my opinion that they're funded by the Saudis, and they have the
attitude that creates the environment in which terrorist stuff is taken as normal.
858


David Keene, Chairman, American Conservative Union
"Osama bin Laden and the terrorists who attacked the West in the name of Islam may
represent no one but themselves, but those who represent Islam have an obligation to
themselves and to the faith they profess, to condemn them, lest they suffer inadvertently
for their crimes.If CAIR wants respect as representing the best of Islam to the West it
must shun the role of enabler by siding with the enemies of terror and intolerance,
wherever theyre from.
859

Stephen Schwartz, founder of the Center for Islamic Pluralism
I believe that like the Stalinists of the 1930s and 1940s, CAIR represents an alien
ideology without roots in our society. But also like the Communists, I see in CAIR an
organization adept at confusing and otherwise dealing with most of its opponents.
CAIR appears to seek subordination of the whole of Sunni Islam in the U.S. to its
control. The organizations outsized ambitions are reflected in its very name as if it has
authority for all relations between the U.S. as a society and the entirety of Islam.
860


Imam Muhammad Shakoor, Irving, Texas
In a September 2006 letter to the editor, Imam Shakoor wrote, I've been a Muslim for 30
years, and I have never been followed, harassed or stopped by the FBI or CIA or at the
airport just because I'm a Muslim. Our scriptures say, Be fair and just in our dealing,
and Stand up for what is right regardless of whom it is against. For someone on the
Council on American-Islamic Relations to say, Every Muslim has been the victim of
suspicion, is ignorance. Neither CAIR nor any other group speaks for all Muslims. Some
Muslims have to stop thinking that Americans are unintelligent. As an imam, I will never

857
Mathew Levitt, Senior Fellow in Terrorism Studies, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy,
Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11,
Connecting the Dots, September 10, 2003.
858
Tanya Weinberg, Islamic Council Battles For J ustice; Critics Suggest Group Has Links To Terrorism,
Sun Sentinel, J uly 5, 2004.
859
CAIR news conference, National Press Club, July 17, 2007
860
Stephen Schwartz, CAIR Feels the Heat, Family Security Matters, May 10, 2007,
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=960668.
118
say that I represent all Muslims because I know we have some bad ones and some who
need to be checked out. I'm all for that. I will not stand up for bad people.
861




861
Stand for what is right, Letters for Monday, Dallas Morning News, September 18, 2006,
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-
monletters_18edi.ART.State.Edition1.3e73c40.html, accessed September 18, 2006.