Zahra Billoo, executive director of CAIR’s San Francisco office advised her followers that they can express hatred against Zionists in private, but should not write "I hate all Zionists" on their social media profiles, in order to be "strategic."
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A new investigation is raising serious questions about the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) after revealing that California directed more than $40 million in taxpayer funds to the organization’s state chapter despite longstanding allegations tying the group to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
CAIR, which presents itself as a civil rights group focused on advocating for Muslim Americans, was identified by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General as an unindicted co-conspirator in the landmark United States v. Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, as part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee, and an entity formed to support Hamas in the US. According to government evidence, the case “linked CAIR leaders to Hamas, a specially designated terrorist organization.”
A new City Journal report, authored by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher Rufo, found that the California Department of Social Services awarded at least $41 million to CAIR-California over the past five years, much of it originating from federal funding streams.
According to the report, California first awarded CAIR-CA $7.2 million in 2022 through a program providing immigration-related legal services. CAIR-CA claimed the funding would help approximately 1,800 people through its Afghan Legal Services Project. But investigators noted that public records requests failed to verify how many legal cases were actually handled under the grant program.
Despite the scrutiny, California dramatically expanded the funding. In September 2025, the California Department of Social Services approved another $23 million in federal taxpayer funds for CAIR-CA.
The report also alleges that CAIR-CA redistributed millions in taxpayer-funded subgrants to organizations with Islamist ties. In 2024 alone, CAIR-CA reportedly distributed more than $4 million to 39 organizations.
Among the recipients was the Muslim American Society (MAS), which received roughly $185,000 from CAIR-CA. The George Washington University Program on Extremism has identified MAS as a “Brotherhood legacy group” in the United States.
CAIR-CA also reportedly distributed $30,000 to the Islamic Society of Orange County, which the report linked to individuals connected to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and another $117,000 to California chapters of the Islamic Circle of North America, an organization rooted in the Jamaat-e-Islami movement.
The revelations come as Republican-led states move to distance themselves from the organization. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated CAIR a terrorist organization last year, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis followed suit, citing CAIR’s status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case.
CAIR has long denied any ties to extremist organizations, but the report details the group’s origins inside the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Palestine Committee, which a George Washington University Program on Extremism report described as part of “the US-based Hamas infrastructure.”
During the 2007 Holy Land Foundation case, the largest terrorism-financing prosecution in US history, federal investigators uncovered what prosecutors described as a Hamas support network operating in the United States. Though CAIR was never criminally charged, the court found “ample evidence” connecting the organization to Hamas. Former FBI Special Agent Lara Burns, who led the investigation, told City Journal that CAIR functioned as part of a broader network designed to protect Hamas-linked interests from law enforcement and media scrutiny.
Steve Emerson, founder and director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, previously told the Jewish News Syndicate that “CAIR was created as a Hamas front group and still functions as a propaganda arm of Hamas to this day.”
The report also highlighted inflammatory statements from CAIR leaders following Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
Zahra Billoo, executive director of CAIR’s San Francisco office, posted “We are witnessing decolonization” the day Hamas terrorists massacred more than 1,200 Israelis. Months later, she referred to slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a “martyr.” She also advised her followers that they can express hatred against Zionists in private, but should not write "I hate all Zionists" on their social media profiles, in order to be "strategic."
CAIR-CA CEO Hussam Ayloush compared Israel to Nazi Germany and stated that “Israel should be attacked.” National CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad separately sparked outrage after publicly stating he was “happy” to see Palestinians “breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land,” remarks made in reference to Hamas’ deadly October 7 attacks on Israeli civilians that left 1,200 dead and over 240 taken hostage. The comments led the Biden administration to remove CAIR from its White House task force on antisemitism in late 2024.
On Tuesday, Abbott announced what he described as a major legal victory against CAIR after a federal court granted his request seeking donor records and travel details tied to the organization. Last year, CAIR agreed to settle a case with a former employee rather than open its financial books to reveal its sources of foreign funding.
“Progress in my legal fight against CAIR,” Abbott wrote. “I declared CAIR a Foreign Terrorist Organization. They sued to block it. I demanded CAIR give us its donor list, donee list, and details for Nihad Awad’s travel to 9 countries hosting Islamic terror. A federal court granted my request.”
The controversy has also put renewed focus on CAIR’s attempts to run radical candidates against liberal Democrats across the US. Washington state chapter and executive director Imraan Siddiqi, who recently received the endorsement of anti-Israel activist Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in his Washington state House campaign after a history of anti-Israel activism and inflammatory rhetoric surrounding Hamas and the October 7 attacks.
CAIR, which presents itself as a civil rights group focused on advocating for Muslim Americans, was identified by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General as an unindicted co-conspirator in the landmark United States v. Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, as part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee, and an entity formed to support Hamas in the US. According to government evidence, the case “linked CAIR leaders to Hamas, a specially designated terrorist organization.”
A new City Journal report, authored by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher Rufo, found that the California Department of Social Services awarded at least $41 million to CAIR-California over the past five years, much of it originating from federal funding streams.
According to the report, California first awarded CAIR-CA $7.2 million in 2022 through a program providing immigration-related legal services. CAIR-CA claimed the funding would help approximately 1,800 people through its Afghan Legal Services Project. But investigators noted that public records requests failed to verify how many legal cases were actually handled under the grant program.
Despite the scrutiny, California dramatically expanded the funding. In September 2025, the California Department of Social Services approved another $23 million in federal taxpayer funds for CAIR-CA.
The report also alleges that CAIR-CA redistributed millions in taxpayer-funded subgrants to organizations with Islamist ties. In 2024 alone, CAIR-CA reportedly distributed more than $4 million to 39 organizations.
Among the recipients was the Muslim American Society (MAS), which received roughly $185,000 from CAIR-CA. The George Washington University Program on Extremism has identified MAS as a “Brotherhood legacy group” in the United States.
CAIR-CA also reportedly distributed $30,000 to the Islamic Society of Orange County, which the report linked to individuals connected to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and another $117,000 to California chapters of the Islamic Circle of North America, an organization rooted in the Jamaat-e-Islami movement.
The revelations come as Republican-led states move to distance themselves from the organization. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated CAIR a terrorist organization last year, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis followed suit, citing CAIR’s status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case.
CAIR has long denied any ties to extremist organizations, but the report details the group’s origins inside the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Palestine Committee, which a George Washington University Program on Extremism report described as part of “the US-based Hamas infrastructure.”
During the 2007 Holy Land Foundation case, the largest terrorism-financing prosecution in US history, federal investigators uncovered what prosecutors described as a Hamas support network operating in the United States. Though CAIR was never criminally charged, the court found “ample evidence” connecting the organization to Hamas. Former FBI Special Agent Lara Burns, who led the investigation, told City Journal that CAIR functioned as part of a broader network designed to protect Hamas-linked interests from law enforcement and media scrutiny.
Steve Emerson, founder and director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, previously told the Jewish News Syndicate that “CAIR was created as a Hamas front group and still functions as a propaganda arm of Hamas to this day.”
The report also highlighted inflammatory statements from CAIR leaders following Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
Zahra Billoo, executive director of CAIR’s San Francisco office, posted “We are witnessing decolonization” the day Hamas terrorists massacred more than 1,200 Israelis. Months later, she referred to slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a “martyr.” She also advised her followers that they can express hatred against Zionists in private, but should not write "I hate all Zionists" on their social media profiles, in order to be "strategic."
CAIR-CA CEO Hussam Ayloush compared Israel to Nazi Germany and stated that “Israel should be attacked.” National CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad separately sparked outrage after publicly stating he was “happy” to see Palestinians “breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land,” remarks made in reference to Hamas’ deadly October 7 attacks on Israeli civilians that left 1,200 dead and over 240 taken hostage. The comments led the Biden administration to remove CAIR from its White House task force on antisemitism in late 2024.
On Tuesday, Abbott announced what he described as a major legal victory against CAIR after a federal court granted his request seeking donor records and travel details tied to the organization. Last year, CAIR agreed to settle a case with a former employee rather than open its financial books to reveal its sources of foreign funding.
“Progress in my legal fight against CAIR,” Abbott wrote. “I declared CAIR a Foreign Terrorist Organization. They sued to block it. I demanded CAIR give us its donor list, donee list, and details for Nihad Awad’s travel to 9 countries hosting Islamic terror. A federal court granted my request.”
The controversy has also put renewed focus on CAIR’s attempts to run radical candidates against liberal Democrats across the US. Washington state chapter and executive director Imraan Siddiqi, who recently received the endorsement of anti-Israel activist Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in his Washington state House campaign after a history of anti-Israel activism and inflammatory rhetoric surrounding Hamas and the October 7 attacks.
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