Over the past year, a tremendous amount of effort and government resources were expended to remove an anti-Israel extremist from a state board that monitors hate crimes and discrimination. Zainab Chaudry, who posted antisemitic comments on social media, was finally ousted in May from Maryland’s Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention but only after legislation was adopted that completely restructured the commission and replaced all of its sitting members.
Now, however, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has nominated a new commissioner to replace Chaudry, who leads extremist groups and voices antisemitic and homophobic views. Nominated on July 31, Ayman Nassar makes the disgraced commissioner he is set to replace look like an angel in comparison.
As with Chaudry, Nassar was a member of the Maryland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Hamas-linked Islamist group that lawmakers and activists sought to permanently ban from serving on the commission. However, Nassar also leads a nonprofit that advocates for convicted terrorists, and he founded a youth group that employed an instructor who celebrated Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. Most alarmingly, the new commissioner’s social-media page is filled with hate speech and offensive commentary.
Ayman Nassar leads a nonprofit that advocates for convicted terrorists, and he founded a youth group that employed an instructor who celebrated Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
The entire affair, which began last November with Chaudry’s temporary suspension, is an exercise in gross government incompetence. Countless hours were devoted to drafting legislation, holding public hearings, questioning expert witnesses, and hiring new members of the commission—only to substitute Chaudry with a commissioner whose extreme rhetoric and affiliation with pro-terror groups should have disqualified him from consideration.
The months-long campaign to replace Chaudry began after she compared Hamas to “freedom fighters” and Israel to Nazi Germany on social media. Attorney General Brown suspended Chaudry and reinstated her just over two weeks later, explaining that he lacked “the authority to remove a commissioner before the expiration of their term.”
A backlash followed. State lawmakers objected, and a petition gathering more than 11,000 signatures demanded that CAIR—the national “pro-Hamas lobby” that employs Chaudry—should lose its representation on the commission, a permanent seat mandated by a 2023 law establishing the hate-crimes panel.
In the end, Maryland’s legislature settled on an act that completely restructured the commission, removing any institutional representation from the private sector. CAIR was out, but so were the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Jewish-led Anti-Defamation League and other respected groups. It was an imperfect bill, but those who fought for it were at least happy to see CAIR and Chaudry removed.
After a lengthy search, Brown’s office announced the new members of the Commission on Hate Crimes on July 31. Nassar, who was picked to replace Chaudry and represent the Muslim American community, is described as “the CEO of the Islamic Leadership Institute, where he works with youth to help them be the leaders of tomorrow ... .”
Yet Nassar is much more than a humble youth counselor. When he isn’t inspiring and developing young minds, the Howard County resident serves as the chairman of the Aafia Foundation, a radical advocacy group that seeks to free “Lady Al Qaeda” Aafia Siddiqui from serving an 86-year prison sentence on charges of attempted murder.
An FBI “Most Wanted Terrorist,” Siddiqui was arrested in Afghanistan in 2008 with bomb-making materials and plans to attack U.S. targets on behalf of Al-Qaeda. Under questioning by U.S. authorities, she managed to get her hands on a rifle and shoot at her interrogators. Nassar’s group alleges that her prosecution was all part of a grand Zionist plot, joining ISIS, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in bargaining for her release.
The official Aafia Foundation Facebook page is filled with pro-Hamas screeds and includes statements glorifying the Taliban and deploring the killing of Al-Qaeda terrorists. The terrorist support group also advocates for Hamas operatives and is close to convicted Palestinian Islamic Jihad member Sami Al-Arian.
Furthermore, the Islamic Leadership Institute (ILI) that Nassar founded for youth engagement has also faced recent allegations of extremism. Lecturing at a local mosque, ILI instructor Mahmoud Abdel-Hady called Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks a “great victory” and promised that Muslims “will be the ones in control” and “have the final say” around the world due to their expanding population.
This is not merely a case of guilt by association. Nassar’s own social-media history shows that he adheres to the same radical antisemitic views that cost his predecessor her seat on the commission. His favorite platform for spreading these hateful opinions is the professional networking website LinkedIn; his profile page is teeming with examples.
First, Nassar echoes antisemitic tropes that have been used to justify violence against Jews. Referring to the Israeli military arrest of a Palestinian youth, Nassar reflected: “Same kidnappings that happened to Africans, [the] only difference [is that] Africans were taken as slaves; Palestinians are taken as body organ donors then murdered.”
In a May LinkedIn post, he insisted that the Gazan floating pier used to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians was built with the “rubble & body parts of the natives” or collected from bombed civilian infrastructure in Gaza that contained human remains. He also referred to Israel as “the colonized portion” of Palestine or the “apartheid land,” and shared posts calling the war in Gaza a “Holocaust” and “genocide.”
Nassar reserves equal animus for the United States, especially regarding its support for Israel. “If you are working in America, every day two hours of your 8-hour workday is dedicated to murdering children and creating chaos across the globe,” he wrote.
His hatred extends to the gay community. In a June rant, he compared how “the white race was able to justify slavery 200 years ago,” with how “special interests [were] able to justify homosexuality 20 years ago.”
Nassar on U.S. support for Israel: “If you are working in America, every day two hours of your 8-hour workday is dedicated to murdering children and creating chaos across the globe.”
“Attorney General Brown’s persistence in naming hate mongers to a commission whose very purpose is to combat hate is a travesty,” said Jay Bernstein, a local pro-Israel activist who testified in support of an early version of HB763.
It is unclear how the Office of the Attorney General failed to properly vet Nassar’s LinkedIn page. A copy of a questionnaire for commission applicants asked them to “share your publicly accessible social media accounts with us.” Jennifer Frederick, the assistant attorney general who oversees the Commission on Hate Crimes, did not respond to questions about Nassar’s nomination.
However, he was not the only candidate to apply for the position. A Muslim American woman who leads a Maryland organization that studies anti-Muslim discrimination was overlooked for the job, despite previous experience working on a hate-crimes board in another state. Unlike Nassar, this candidate, who asked for anonymity, has expressed pro-Israel views and works to bridge the divide between Jewish and Muslim communities.
Bernstein called Brown’s selection “an insult"—not only to Israel supporters but to state legislators who voted unanimously to restructure the commission and “to the qualified members of the Islamic community whom Brown repeatedly disregards.”
Fortunately, a late amendment to HB763 requires that political appointees to the hate-crimes board receive Senate confirmation. Unfortunately, the Senate does not reconvene until January 2025, and Nassar will attend meetings as an “acting commissioner” until that date. Therefore, Maryland residents who oppose his nomination should take their concerns directly to Brown’s office, which must find a suitable replacement before the commission’s next scheduled meeting.
To send a pre-written, customizable email to the Office of the Attorney General voicing your dissatisfaction with the nomination, visit the campaign page here.
