With More Than $105 Million; CAIR Reveals a Mechanism That Funds Anti-Muslim Hate Groups in the United States

A report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on January 11, 2022, revealed that American charities have supported anti-Muslim groups in the United States with approximately $106 million, in order to spread misleading propaganda about Islam and Muslims.

CAIR’s new report showed a close and prominent link between Jewish federations and Jewish families in the flow of tax-deductible donations to anti-Muslim institutions and groups in the United States.

 

Bigotry Against Muslims

CAIR announced in a press conference its report on the Islamophobia network on January 11 that “35 of the 50 largest US anti-Islam institutions transferred $105,865,763 to 26 anti-Muslim hate groups between 2017-2019.”

In obtaining these institutions' financial statements, CAIR relied on the tax documents of publicly available foundations and charities for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019.

However, it is clear that the number is lower than in previous years, but it still points out that the financing of Islamophobia continues to be alarming, according to CAIR.

It is noteworthy that a previous report by CAIR had revealed that 1,096 organizations funded 39 so-called Islamophobia groups between 2014 and 2016 with up to $1.5 billion.

The Islamophobia network is a group of organizations and individuals who distort Islam and Muslims for financial and political gain, among them are politicians, think tanks, scholars, religious groups, and activists. They work together to negatively influence public opinion and government policy regarding the Muslim community in the United States.

On his part, Huzaifa Shahbaz, CAIR's National Research and Advocacy Coordinator and author of CAIR’s new report on the Islamophobia Network revealed in his report that “the Islamophobia network that spreads misleading propaganda about Muslims and Islam in the United States is well funded, which drives it to operate actively.”

“Today, the donor community must put in place clear policies to prevent money from going to hate groups and implement training initiatives for staff and board members to help them understand the extent of anti-Muslim bigotry,” Shahbaz said.

In turn, CAIR Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in an interview with ABC on January 11: “It is very important that we track not only the people who commit religious hate crimes in the United States, but also the people whose money is contributing to the increase in these crimes.”

“Some donors don't know that their money is being used to perpetuate Islamophobia, as the contributors to these funds are often anonymous, which makes it more difficult to trace donations,” Mitchell added.

 

 

 

Jewish Funds

What is remarkable about CAIR’s new report is that most of the funders on the list are outspoken Jews, while many other foundations are private family foundations also known for their support of Jewish causes and the Zionist entity.

In its report, CAIR emphasized that “the proliferation of financiers with ties to Jews is linked to their support for some extremist and right-wing groups with a pro-Israeli agenda, which portray Muslims as a community of terrorists.”

Among the donors are major Wall Street firms such as Fidelity and Schwab, in addition to religious associations such as: The Jewish Community Fund and the National Christian Relief Foundation.

Information was also shared about private family foundations such as: the Adelson Family Foundation, which contributes millions of dollars to support anti-Muslim activities, as well as the Irving Moskowitz Foundation, the Helen Diller Family Foundation and other entities focused on the American Jewish community.

Anti-Muslim hate groups included in the American Council's report include: The Gatestone Institute, the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS), the Middle East Forum, the Clarion Project, and the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

Other examples include: the David Horowitz Center for Freedom (FC), which engages in media lobbying and anti-Muslim disinformation, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), led by activist Pamela Geller and known for its racist advertising campaigns, and the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which portrays Muslims and Arabs as they are irrational and violent by nature, according to CAIR report.

The report also clarified some of the financial flows received by some of these groups, including: The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which received more than $60 million from Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism Inc between 2017-2019, the Committee for Accuracy in America's Middle East Reporting (CAMERA), which has received more than $4 million in grants, and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which works to advance the anti-Islam war on terror narrative and associated policies and practices, has received nearly $10 million in grants between 2017 and 2019.

CAIR concluded its report by repeating calls for tighter controls on where donations can go, noting that “the charitable community should put in place clear policies to prevent funds from going to religious hate groups, and implementing educational initiatives to help people understand the extent of anti-Muslim bigotry.”

It is reported that in 2015 a research paper published by the American Journal of Johns Hopkins University revealed that “approximately 70% of the funding for US institutions hostile to Islam comes from American Jewish institutions or supportive of the Zionist entity and its settlement policies in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”

 

Prevalent Phenomenon

In this regard, CAIR’s new report, which was issued on January 11, indicated that “48% of Muslim students in American schools have experienced some form of bullying, including verbal insults and physical abuse due to these donations.”

The report monitored anti-Muslim news that was published on the Internet by 40 officials in institutions in different US states.

It also revealed 16 attacks on mosques across the country during 2019 and 2020.

“This shows how Islamophobia has become so prevalent that trusted leaders in our institutions feel it is acceptable to publish anti-Muslim comments about societies they promise to serve as equals,” the report said.

“Despite Islamophobia in the United States, 181 Muslims ran for public office in 28 states In 2020, including 23 Muslims also ran for the US Congress in 14 states in 2020,” the report also said.

In this regard, Samir Falah, head of the Council of European Muslims (CEM) said in a statement to Al-Estiklal: “Islamophobia and hate campaigns against Muslims in America and in European countries are a fact, not a claim, and they are documented by numbers and reports.”

“The authorities and civil society institutions must take this matter seriously, not only to protect Muslims, but also to protect society as a whole. No one will emerge as a winner from spreading hatred and inciting groups of society against each other,” he added.

“On the other hand, just as Islamic institutions are asked for transparency in their financial transactions, this matter must be applied to other institutions alike, otherwise we will fall into discrimination, racism and targeting Islamic institutions only,” Falah pointed out.

On his part, Dr. Nihad Awad, Executive Director of CAIR, explained in a television interview with Al-Jazeera Mubasher on January 11, that “one of the highlights of the report is that despite the rise of the Islamic trend in the United States at the social and political levels, the phenomenon of Islamophobia still persists and enters the popular and political public space.”

“Hate is being broadcast by the most powerful political figures in the United States, along with social media platforms that influence the American public,” he said.

“CAIR is trying to dry up the sources of hate in the United States by putting pressure on charities that fund hate groups, whether they are aware of it or not,” Dr. Awad pointed out.

In December 2021, the US House of Representatives approved a bill submitted by Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar by a simple majority (219 deputies supported, 212 deputies opposed), in order to combat the phenomenon of Islamophobia.

The bill, which is awaiting Senate approval, provides for the establishment of a special office within the State Department to combat Islamophobia and monitor it worldwide.

It is unclear whether the Senate will be able to adopt the bill due to opposition from the Republican Party, this was evident in the vote in the House of Representatives, as all Republican members voted against it.