politics
Rep. Chip Roy Introduces Bill to Designate CAIR as Terrorist Group
Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas has introduced legislation directing the U.S. Treasury Department to label the Council on American-Islamic Relations a specially designated global terrorist. The bill cites CAIR's historical ties to Hamas, including involvement in a 1993 strategy session and convictions of its officials.
Washington ExaminerAudio version
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Washington Examiner reported that H.R. 8236, known as the Designating Hamas Affiliates in America Act, on April 9. U.S. Treasury Department to list the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a specially designated global terrorist.
The bill comes amid ongoing scrutiny of CAIR, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that describes itself as a Muslim civil rights group. In a related state-level action, a Republican governor from Florida issued an executive order sanctioning CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization.
State lawmakers subsequently created a new law establishing a statutory framework for states to designate domestic terrorist organizations.
Historical context includes events from 1993, when the FBI secretly recorded CAIR founders Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad at a Hamas strategy session in a Philadelphia hotel.
CAIR was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation trial. A senior CAIR official was sent to prison for 65 years in the Holy Land Foundation case, convicted for funneling over $12 million to Hamas, according to the Washington Examiner.
Hamas sought to negotiate the official's release in exchange for American hostages held in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, massacres in Israel.
More recently, CAIR-Ohio executive director Khalid Turaani hosted an online panel in October that featured remarks from Majed al Zeer.
