The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today responded to Elon Musk’s smear falsely labeling American Muslim and Arab-American groups as “terrorist organizations.”
In reply to a post on X (formerly Twitter) that listed a wide variety of American Muslim and Arab-American groups as “terrorist linked organizations,” Musk falsely claimed: “As many people have said, why pay terrorist organizations and certain countries to hate us when they’re perfectly willing to do it for free?”
In a statement posted on X, CAIR said:
The Muslim American and Arab American organizations smeared in these defamatory posts are duly registered nonprofit organizations that have the same right to apply for federal funding as every other eligible charity. In fact, many of these nonprofits partnered with the government or received federal support during the first Trump administration. Anyone who see the word “Islam” in the name of an American charity and then immediately declares that the charity must be a “terrorist organization” is a hateful person who must know next to nothing about American Muslims and their contributions to our society, including humanitarian work.
When will @elonmusk stop defaming Americans and start calling out the billions in American taxpayer dollars that the Israeli government has used to slaughter tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza?
CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad also posted: “Elon, baselessly labeling law-abiding American Muslim organizations as ‘terrorist’ is reckless and dangerous. This kind of rhetoric fuels Islamophobia, endangers innocent lives, and undermines the values of justice and equality. Do better.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | TikTok | Website | YouTube
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com