The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed Harvard University’s rejection of the Trump administration’s efforts to stifle academic freedom, while continuing to urge the university to protect anti-genocide students and faculty.
The Trump administration froze more than $2.2 billion in grants and contracts after the university rejected demands that it change its policies, including cracking down on those students and faculty who speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Trump is now threatening Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
SEE: Trump administration freezes more than $2.2 billion after Harvard rejects its demands – NPR
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We welcome Harvard University’s rejection of the Trump administration’s authoritarian effort to stifle academic freedom, while we continue to urge the university to protect the free speech rights of those students and faculty who bravely speak out against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, which is being carried out with the complicity of our government. We urge all other universities targeted by such tactics of intimidation to stand firm in the defense of constitutionally-guaranteed rights and of the long tradition of academic independence from politically-motivated government control.”
He noted that CAIR recently called on Harvard University to revoke its decision to hire former U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and former White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk, who played key roles in developing, justifying and executing the Biden administration’s weapons transfers to support the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza.
In January, CAIR condemned Harvard University for adopting as part of its antidiscrimination policies the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) highly controversial definition of antisemitism that conflates criticism of the Israeli government with religious discrimination.
In part due to that act, CAIR designated Harvard University as a “Hostile Campus” for targeting anti-genocide protesters and creating a hostile environment by repressing free speech and academic freedoms on campus.
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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