The alleged connection between CAIR and Hamas rests on a specific factual record: FBI wiretaps and seized documents introduced at the 2008 Holy Land Foundation trial placed CAIR’s founders inside a 1993 meeting of a U.S. “Palestine Committee” organized to support Hamas, and a federal judge later found “ample evidence” of an association between CAIR, Hamas, and the Holy Land Foundation. No federal charges have ever been filed against CAIR itself, the U.S. State Department does not classify it as a foreign terrorist organization, and CAIR categorically denies any tie to Hamas or any other militant group.
The 1993 Philadelphia Meeting and CAIR’s Founding
The origin story that drives every subsequent allegation begins in 1988, when the International Muslim Brotherhood tasked its U.S. chapter — then led by Mousa Abu Marzook, who also served as chief of the Hamas Political Bureau — with supporting Hamas from the United States. The U.S. chapter set up a “Palestine Committee” that housed three front groups: the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), and the United Association for Studies and Research.1George Washington University Program on Extremism. CAIR Report
In October 1993, Palestine Committee leaders met at a Philadelphia hotel to discuss how to support Hamas and undermine the Oslo Accords. FBI wiretaps of the meeting, later introduced in federal court, captured participants discussing the creation of a new Washington-based organization that would appear mainstream and lack an overt “Islamic hue,” intended to shield Hamas-affiliated groups from government and media scrutiny. Documents and testimony from the HLF trial identified that planned organization as CAIR.1George Washington University Program on Extremism. CAIR Report
Nihad Awad, one of CAIR’s two co-founders, attended that Philadelphia meeting. Awad had served as the IAP’s public relations director; the other co-founder, Omar Ahmad, had served as IAP’s president.2ADL. Council on American-Islamic Relations The U.S. government later described the IAP as part of the “propaganda apparatus” of Hamas. Meeting minutes from July 1994, seized during an FBI search of Palestine Committee member Ismail Elbarasse’s home, listed CAIR as a fourth organization under the committee’s umbrella. A separate document recovered from the home of Abdelhaleem Ashqar listed both Awad and Ahmad among 35 contacts under “Important phone and fax numbers” for the Palestine Committee.1George Washington University Program on Extremism. CAIR Report
CAIR was formally founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The Holy Land Foundation Trial
The Holy Land Foundation, a Texas-based charity, was the chief fundraising arm of the Palestine Committee. After a 2007 mistrial, five HLF officers were convicted in a 2008 retrial of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas by bankrolling schools and social welfare programs the group controlled.3NBC News. Holy Land Foundation Defendants Sentenced
Among those convicted was Ghassan Elashi, an HLF founder and former chairman of its board, who was also a founding member of CAIR’s Dallas chapter. On May 27, 2009, Elashi was sentenced to 65 years in prison on charges including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, providing funds to a Specially Designated Terrorist, money laundering, and filing false tax returns.4U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Judge Hands Down Sentences in Holy Land Foundation Case Elashi was married to a cousin of Mousa Abu Marzook and had attended the 1993 Philadelphia meeting.5U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. United States v. Holy Land Foundation
The Unindicted Co-Conspirator List
In 2007, the Department of Justice named CAIR on a list of nearly 250 unindicted co-conspirators in the HLF case.2ADL. Council on American-Islamic Relations The designation carried no criminal liability but placed CAIR’s name in a public court filing alongside organizations the government alleged were part of the Hamas support network. In a 2009 ruling made public the following year, U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis found that the government had presented “ample evidence to establish the association” of CAIR with Hamas and the Holy Land Foundation. In the same order, Judge Solis ruled that the government had violated the organizations’ rights by publicly naming them, and the Fifth Circuit later ordered the list re-sealed.6Politico. Judge’s Ruling on Islamic Groups as Unindicted Co-Conspirators Made Public
The FBI Cut Off Formal Contact
In an April 28, 2009, letter to Senator Jon Kyl, the FBI said it had “suspended all formal contacts” with CAIR. The Bureau cited evidence from the HLF trial that “demonstrated a relationship among CAIR, individual CAIR founders… and the Palestine Committee” and a relationship between “the Palestine Committee and HAMAS.” Until the question of a continuing link between CAIR’s leadership and Hamas could be resolved, the Bureau said, it no longer viewed the organization as an “appropriate liaison partner.” The letter added that the suspension was not a “wholesale judgment of the organization and its entire membership,” and that CAIR members were still encouraged to report crimes and suspicious activity.7GovInfo. Congressional Record, April 2009
CAIR’s Response
CAIR rejects the entire framing. Its website states: “CAIR is not and has never been an affiliate, offshoot, chapter, or agent of any foreign movement, organization, political party or government.” The organization says it has issued more than 100 statements condemning terrorism since 1994, and since 2009 has carried a standing statement reading: “We unequivocally condemn all acts of terrorism, whether carried out by al-Qa’ida, the Real IRA, FARC, Hamas, ETA, or any other group designated by the U.S. Department of State as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization.'”8CAIR. Dispelling Rumors About CAIR
On the unindicted co-conspirator label, CAIR argues it carried “no legal meaning” and was “an unproven allegation,” pointing to the Fifth Circuit ruling that the government violated constitutional rights by making the list public. CAIR also cites a letter from then-Secretary of State John Kerry to Awad stating, “The U.S. government clearly does not consider CAIR to be a terrorist organization,” and notes that reviews during the Bush and Obama administrations found no evidence supporting the terrorism allegations.8CAIR. Dispelling Rumors About CAIR The 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum frequently cited against the group, CAIR notes, does not mention CAIR and predates its 1994 founding.
Nihad Awad’s Statements on Hamas
Awad has been at the center of two long-running disputes about his own words. In 1994, he said he was “in support of the Hamas movement.” In 2006, he said, “I don’t support Hamas today.”9The New York Times. White House Condemns Remarks by CAIR Director
In November 2023, speaking at a Chicago convention, Awad addressed the October 7 Hamas attacks: “The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege the walls of the concentration camp on October 7. Yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their own land.” He added that “the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense.” The White House called the remarks “shocking” and “antisemitic.”10ABC7 Chicago. CAIR Director Nihad Awad’s Remarks on Hamas Attacks
Awad later said his comments had been taken out of context and that he was discussing international law. In a December 2023 statement, he distinguished between “the average Palestinians who briefly walked out of Gaza and set foot on their ethnically cleansed land in a symbolic act of defiance against the blockade” and “the extremists who went on to attack civilians in southern Israel,” calling the latter’s actions outside the bounds of international law.11CAIR. Statement by Nihad Awad on Remarks at Palestine Human Rights Conference
Federal Scrutiny in 2025 and 2026
Congressional pressure intensified after Awad’s 2023 remarks and continued through 2025 and 2026, though none of it has produced a change in CAIR’s federal legal status.
On October 14, 2025, Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Elise Stefanik wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asking for an investigation into CAIR’s funding “to determine if the organization is being funded or directed by Hamas or any other foreign terrorist group.” The letter cited the founders’ IAP backgrounds and the 1993 Philadelphia meeting.12Office of Rep. Elise Stefanik. Stefanik and Cotton Send Letter to Treasury Secretary Bessent No public Treasury response has been reported.
On August 5, 2025, Cotton separately wrote to IRS Commissioner Billy Long asking for an immediate investigation into CAIR’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, citing the group’s alleged ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and Awad’s 2023 remarks.13Office of Sen. Tom Cotton. Cotton to Long: Investigate CAIR for Ties to Terrorists An IRS spokesperson said federal law bars the agency from disclosing whether any taxpayer is under examination.14Religion News Service. Sen. Cotton Urges IRS to Review CAIR’s Nonprofit Status
On June 24, 2025, Representative Randy Fine introduced H.R. 4097, the “Designate CAIR as a Terrorist Organization Act,” which would direct the Secretary of State to review whether CAIR meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization under 8 U.S.C. § 1189.15GovInfo. H.R. 4097 – Designate CAIR as a Terrorist Organization Act The bill’s findings cite CAIR’s unindicted co-conspirator status, the FBI’s suspension of formal contact, and criminal convictions of individuals formerly associated with the organization, including Elashi’s 65-year sentence and former CAIR communications specialist Randall Todd Royer’s 20-year sentence for conspiring to aid al-Qaeda and the Taliban.16Congress.gov. H.R. 4097 Text The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where it remained as of mid-2026.17Congress.gov. H.R. 4097 CAIR has called the various investigative requests “debunked conspiracy theories” and “un-American political stunts.”14Religion News Service. Sen. Cotton Urges IRS to Review CAIR’s Nonprofit Status
State Terrorist Designations in Texas and Florida
With the federal government inactive, two governors moved on their own in late 2025.
On November 18, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a proclamation designating CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations,” and prohibiting both from purchasing or acquiring land in the state.18The Hill. Abbott Designates CAIR Terrorist Two days later, CAIR’s Texas affiliates sued in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, arguing the proclamation violated the First Amendment and due process, and that only the U.S. Secretary of State has authority to designate foreign terrorist organizations.19Courthouse News Service. Muslim Civil Rights Group Sues Over Texas Governor’s Terrorist Group Designation On February 5, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a separate suit in Collin County District Court against the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR-Foundation, and several CAIR-Texas entities, seeking to bar the groups from operating in Texas, owning property, or soliciting members there, citing state bans on terrorism-linked entities and public nuisance statutes.20Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR
On December 8, 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 25-244, designating CAIR a “terrorist organization” and directing state agencies to stop doing business with the group and deny it contracts, funding, and benefits.21Fox 13 News. CAIR Vows Legal Action as Florida Follows Texas CAIR-Foundation and CAIR-Florida sued in the Northern District of Florida on December 15, 2025.22Florida Phoenix. CAIR Florida Files Lawsuit Against DeSantis
On March 4, 2026, U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker granted a preliminary injunction blocking the executive order, finding CAIR was “substantially likely to succeed on the merits.” Judge Walker wrote: “The First Amendment bars the Governor from continuing the troubling trend of using an executive office to make a political statement at the expense of others’ constitutional rights.”23CAIR. CAIR Wins Injunction Blocking Florida Executive Order In April 2026, DeSantis signed a new bill giving state officials statutory authority to issue domestic terrorist designations.21Fox 13 News. CAIR Vows Legal Action as Florida Follows Texas
Why No Federal Action Against CAIR
The distance between what the HLF record shows and what the federal government has done reflects a specific legal ceiling. The State Department, which alone has authority to issue a foreign terrorist organization designation, does not classify CAIR as one.18The Hill. Abbott Designates CAIR Terrorist The First Amendment protects rhetorical support for even designated foreign terrorist organizations, and expressing “objectionable views” is not material support under federal law. The unindicted co-conspirator label, cited repeatedly by governors and members of Congress, is not a legal verdict; the government did not charge CAIR when it charged HLF, and it has not charged the organization since.24American Enterprise Institute. Can CAIR Be Shut Down
That legal ceiling is why the current fight is playing out in state proclamations, congressional letters, and civil suits rather than in federal court. Judge Walker’s Florida injunction suggests state governments will have difficulty getting around it, and CAIR’s parallel challenge to the Texas designation remains active.