When it comes to the roundtable of controversy, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is no stranger. Despite CAIR’s self-description as a “leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding,” it has long borne ties to foul play. The United Arab Emirates has designated CAIR as a terrorist organization and a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate; while the Anti-Defamation League has pointed to the ties of CAIR’s leadership with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
But what can be said about CAIR’s local branches? One need not look far to realize that CAIR’s well-documented Islamism and anti-semitism infect even its most isolated branches.
Cue CAIR’s Oklahoma branch and its latest appointment of Adam Soltani as Executive Director.
Soltani deceptively presents himself as an advocate for tolerance, peace, and diversity. But is he?
First and foremost, Soltani has sympathized with terrorists and violent criminals. Last June, he solicited prayers on behalf of his “brother,” Mufid Abdulqader, a convicted terror activist currently serving a 20 year sentence for providing “material support” to Hamas.
Soltani has also called for the release of Jamil Al Amin, who was jailed in 2000 for the “shooting of two Fulton County deputies in Georgia,” in which one of the officers died.
Further, Soltani has shared a quotation lauding Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a prominent black Salafi militant killed by the FBI after “firing at FBI agents at a warehouse,” shooting an agent’s dog in the process.
Islamist Watch reached out to CAIR, asking about Soltani’s support for the aforementioned terrorists and violent criminals. After several days, it has yet to respond.
Soltani has also echoed CAIR’s known habits of antisemitism.
In 2017, Soltani expressed his intention to meet Louis Farrakhan, who has called Jews “termites” and has scapegoated them for “promoting a myth of black racial inferiority.” Farrakhan has also noted, “When you want something in this world, the Jew holds the door... I don’t care what they put on me. The government is my enemy, the powerful Jews are my enemy.” Unsurprisingly, Farrakhan, according to the ADL, remains “America’s leading Anti-Semite.”
Soltani has also heralded the likes of Marc Lamont Hill. He praised Hill for his “courageous words” after the Hill appeared to call for the Jewish State’s destruction, “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea.” Hill was subsequently fired by CNN for his comments.
It’s unsurprising that CAIR Oklahoma would nominate a candidate with such a long track record of controversy. But is there any state in the country with a CAIR branch that does not exude extremism?
