(DCNF)—A Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) chapter under investigation for its financial activity says it received more than $7 million in taxpayer funds between 2022 and 2024. Research by watchdog groups suggests the true amount is much higher.
CAIR California documented the funds in the “government grants” section of its tax forms, but a November report by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCIR) and Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN) found that it received at least $26 million in government grants across 2022 and 2023 alone and failed to properly report them, citing public documents they obtained.
IAN previously filed a complaint in March about the self-described Muslim civil rights group’s financial transparency issues and alleged ties to Hamas terrorists, prompting the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate its eligibility for immigration-related grants, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported. California’s Fair Political Practices Commission is also probing the chapter in response to another IAN complaint, a June letter from the agency shows.
“These unfounded allegations are part of a larger defamation campaign targeting American Muslims by fringe anti-Muslim groups who intentionally misrepresent public documents and information to create a false narrative,” CAIR California told the DCNF without addressing specific findings. “All contributions and grants that CAIR-CA receives are reported, accounted for, and subjected to rigorous internal and external auditing and reporting, which is why both private and public funders have worked and continue to work with CAIR-CA.”
The November study found that CAIR California obscured its lavish taxpayer funding in 2022 and 2023 by reporting much of it under “contributions and grants” instead of “government grants.” The chapter reported $7,063,797 in government grants in its 2024 filing — around 37% of its revenue that year — after marking down just $127,269 in 2023 and zero in 2022. The 2024 document with the higher amount was filed in November, months after IAN began publicly criticizing CAIR California’s financial activity.
“Whether what they have declared for 2024 is accurate remains to be seen,” George, the group’s CEO, told the DCNF.
CAIR California also claimed the November report “falsely” accused the chapter of raising “thousands of dollars for students engaged in campus protests” in comments to the DCNF, referencing coverage from The New York Post that it disputes. The original report by IAN and the NCRI highlighted how CAIR California officials posted an outside organization’s link for donating to anti-Israel college protesters, spoke at multiple schools’ encampment protests, encouraged social media followers to provide supplies to campus demonstrators and started an education fund for students “targeted for their pro-Palestine advocacy,” including protesters.
The chapter has also drawn controversy through the years for its leaders’ comments praising or dodging questions about Hamas terrorists.
Hussam Ayloush, who leads CAIR California’s Los Angeles office, accused an interviewer of “bigotry” and “racism” in 2013 for asking if his organization condemns Hamas, stating generally that CAIR condemns violence. Zahra Billoo, the head of CAIR California’s San Francisco Bay Area office, referred to the Islamic group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel as “decolonization” and celebrated a deceased Hamas leader for his “martyrdom” in X posts.
IAN’s March complaint to the DOJ emphasized that the department listed CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 trial of Palestinian activists convicted of providing material support to Hamas. Prosecutors said the terrorist group formed a committee with CAIR and other advocacy organizations to advance its political agenda in the U.S. under the guise of activism. CAIR has long denied ties to terrorism.
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