Washington-based Muslim civil rights group says Islamophobic organization collaborated with Israeli intelligence, may have violated law
(WASHINGTON, DC – 12/15/2021) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced that it has uncovered and disrupted a hate group’s years-long effort to infiltrate and spy upon prominent mosques and Muslim American organizations, including the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of CAIR.
[MEDIA ADVISORY: CAIR will host a virtual, private media availability to present additional information and evidence at 10 a.m. ET, on Thursday, Dec. 16. Please email iallison@cair.com to RSVP for the availability and receive an access link.]
Last year, CAIR learned that multiple individuals involved in Muslim community activities were acting as spies for an anti-Muslim hate group, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT). IPT is led by Steven Emerson, who has been described as an anti-Muslim activist by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Emerson faced international ridicule in 2015 after he claimed on Fox News that a British city was a Muslim no-go zone.
According to extensive evidence that CAIR received and authenticated over the past year, CAIR-Columbus executive director Romin Iqbal was sharing private emails, strategic plans, and secretly recorded conversations with the anti-Muslim hate group for years.
In a letter sent to the American Muslim community yesterday, CAIR also revealed that evidence it possesses also indicates that the anti-Muslim hate group had collaborated with Israeli intelligence in the office of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“Civil rights groups, faith-based activists and other advocates for justice have been targeted by infiltrators, informants and saboteurs for decades. From Malcolm X to Dr. King in the 1960s, to anti-apartheid activists in the 1980s, those who stand for justice have repeatedly been targeted by those who stand for injustice.
“We thank those brave individuals who are helping us expose this attempt to spy upon and undermine the American Muslim community. The great irony of this situation is that after years of spying, this hate group and its allies never found any damaging information to use against the Muslim American community. This is a testament to the integrity of our community.
“We thank God for protecting us, and we commend those who are helping us investigate and expose the full extent of this hate group’s activities, which may involve criminal misconduct.”
CAIR has reported the conduct to local and federal law enforcement for investigation and alerted other Muslim organizations that were targeted. CAIR-Columbus Director Romin Iqbal has been terminated by the local chapter.
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.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; (Ohio Media) Whitney Siddiqi, CAIR-Ohio Community Affairs Director, 513-904-6788, wsiddiqi@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com