CAIR also held its first voter registration drive in 1996 ; CAIR continues to encourage active political participation by American Muslims, for them to address political candidates and elected representatives with greater frequency.

The four Congressmen also wrote House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms Wilson Livingood a letter the same day asking that he work with members of the House Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Committees to determine if CAIR was successful in placing interns in the committees ' offices, to review FBI and DOJ evidence regarding CAIR's Hamas ties, and to determine whether CAIR is a security threat.

" CAIR also regularly meets with national, state, and local law enforcement officials including the Department of Homeland Security.

CAIR has also formed a partnership with the National Council of Churches and held discussions with representatives of the National Association of Evangelicals.

CAIR is also a member of the American Muslim Political Coordination Council ( AMPCC ), created in 1999, along with the American Muslim Alliance ( AMA ), American Muslim Council ( AMC ), and Muslim Public Affairs Council ( MPC ).

Critics also point to a July 1994 meeting identifying CAIR as one of the four U. S. organizations comprising the working organizations of the Palestine Committee of the U. S. Muslim Brotherhood, the parent organization and supporter of Hamas.

" The Anti-Defamation League and Emerson have also accused CAIR of having a long record of propagating antisemitic propaganda.

Pipes has accused CAIR of demanding that a billboard declaring Osama bin Laden " the sworn enemy " be brought down in 1998 as " offensive to Moslems ", denying bin Laden's responsibility for the Africa embassy bombings, calling the conviction of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers " a travesty of justice ," calling the conviction of the blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman a " hate crime ", calling the extradition order of suspected Hamas terrorist Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook " anti-Islamic ", calling President Bush's closing of the Holy Land Foundation for collecting money used to support Hamas " unjust " and " disturbing ", praising and defending convicted murderer H. Rap Brown as well as convicted attempted murderer Adnan Chaudhry, and their LA office head calling Israelis " zionazis "; he also quotes the FBI's former chief of counterterrorism Steven Pomerantz saying that CAIR " effectively " gives aid to international terrorist groups.

Zuhdi Jasser ( founder of American Islamic Forum for Democracy ) has been stridently critical of CAIR by claiming that it is focused on " victimology " and also said that CAIR has received " significant Saudi financing ".

" while CAIR spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper, said that the organization didn't receive any money from the Libyan government and also that CAIR was one of the first American organizations to call for a no-fly zone

" CAIR also stated on its website that in 2004 an FBI agent said " false claims originate from one or two biased sources ," and that a senior FBI official said CAIR would just have to live with them.

The Times also noted that even though a handful of its former members had faced prosecution, no criminal charges had at the time ever been linked to CAIR.

Grandy has also stated that " Occupy Wall Street " is fully supported by CAIR.

Shaw also serves on the National Board of Council on American-Islamic Relations ( CAIR ).

He also worked for the Islamic Association of Palestine, a precursor to CAIR.

AMC is also a member of the American Muslim Political Coordination Council ( AMPCC ), along with the American Muslim Alliance ( AMA ), Council on American-Islamic Relations ( CAIR ), and Muslim Public Affairs Council ( MPAC ).

CAIR also objected that the prophet was shown with a sword, reinforcing long-held stereotypes of Muslims as intolerant conquerors.

U. S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly concluded that the Gaubatzs " unlawfully obtained access to, and have already caused repeated public disclosure of, material containing CAIR's proprietary, confidential and privileged information ," which CAIR says included names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of CAIR employees and donors.

* Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council of American Islamic Relations ( CAIR ) called Little Green Footballs " a vicious, anti-Muslim hate site " and says that the FBI has " investigated several threats of physical harm against Muslims posted by Little Green Footballs readers ".

By January 2002, four months after the attacks, the CAIR said that it had received 1, 658 reports of discrimination, profiling, harassment, and physical assaults against persons appearing Arab or Muslim, a three-fold increase over the prior year.

In 2005 CAIR coordinated the joint release of a fatwa by 344 American Muslim organizations, mosques, and imams nationwide that stated: " Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives.

Consequently, CAIR brought a federal civil lawsuit against Dave Gaubatz and his son ( who had obtained the book's CAIR source documents as a CAIR intern ) for allegedly stealing the documents.

* CAIR Backs Fatwa against Terrorism

" In its 2002 civil rights report, CAIR concluded that " the status of Muslim civil rights has deteriorated sharply ", and complained that " the sweeping actions of the government have disturbed the lives of individuals and ethnic and religious communities.

CAIR officials have met or regularly meet with current and former U. S. Presidents, members of their respective administrations, members of the United States Congress, governors, mayors, members of state legislatures, and county commissioners.

Several CAIR affiliates have received proclamations and citations from mayors and county commissioners.

Critics of CAIR, including six members of the U. S. House of Representatives and Senate, have alleged ties between the CAIR founders and Hamas.

Furthermore, critics point to a statement made by Omar Ahmad ( a joint founder of CAIR ) in 1998 in which he said that Muslim Americans " have a duty to deliver the message of Islam " and that " Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant.

CAIR officials Rabih Haddad, Bassem Khafagi and Ghassan Elashi have all been convicted of conspiring to fund Islamic terrorist groups.

The bombing gave CAIR national stature for their efforts to educate the public about Islam and religious bias in America ; their report was featured on the front page of The New York Times on August 28, 1995 and was subsequently mentioned on ABC World News Tonight.

CAIR condemned the Fort Hood shooting and expressed prayers for the victims and condolences for their families.

Worried, they contacted CAIR, which setup a meeting with the FBI on December 1, and the families shared their sons ' computers and electronic devices with FBI agents.

Some Muslims criticize CAIR for being overly conservative from a religious standpoint, for example by taking the disputed position that all Moslem women are required to veil their hair.

Neuroscientist and best-selling author Sam Harris, noted mainly for his contribution to the New Atheism movement, criticized CAIR by doubting their legitimacy saying CAIR is " an Islamist public relations firm posing as a civil-rights lobby ".

CAIR has countered that these initiatives are extensively used by all advocacy groups and accused Franks and his colleagues of intending to intimidate American Muslims who " take part in the political process and exercise their rights.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations ( CAIR ) is alleged by many scholars and intelligence agencies to be front organizations based on their founding ties to known Islamist organizations like Hamas.

Through media relations, lobbying, and education, CAIR presents an Islamic perspective on issues of importance to the American public, and seeks to empower the American Muslim community and encourage its social and political activism.

Annual banquets, through which CAIR raises the majority of its funds, are attended by American politicians, statesmen, interfaith leaders, activists and media personalities.

In 2009, the FBI broke off its contacts with CAIR, following rising concerns about the organization's ties with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

CAIR and its affiliates are managed by board members from 50 American cities, and combined employ more than 70 full-time staff, serving millions of American Muslims.

CAIR opened its first chapter in the San Francisco Bay area.

In 1995, CAIR handled its first case of hijab ( the headscarf traditionally worn by Muslim women ) discrimination, in which a Muslim employee was denied the right to wear the hijab ; this type of complaint is now one of the most common received by CAIR's civil rights department.

CAIR continued its advocacy work in the aftermath of the April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Building.

In 1996 CAIR published a report The Usual Suspects regarding its perception of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the media after the crash of TWA Flight 800.

CAIR condemned the September 11 attacks in 2001 " within hours of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center ", which it considers to be consistent with its general approach to terrorism.

CAIR increased its advocacy work again after the September 11 attacks.

Along with 300 other organizations, they listed CAIR ( and its chairman emeritus, Omar Ahmad ), Islamic Society of North America ( largest Muslim umbrella organization in the United States ), Muslim American Society and North American Islamic Trust as unindicted co-conspirators, a legal designation that can be employed for a variety of reasons including grants of immunity, pragmatic considerations, and evidentiary concerns.

In 2008, the FBI discontinued its long-standing relationship with CAIR.

In June 2011, CAIR lost its federal tax-exempt status for failure to file the appropriate 990 forms for the previous three years.

In 2003, the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union gave its annual Liberty Flame Award to the Ohio chapter of CAIR " for contributions to the advancement and protection of civil liberties.

CAIR has responded by noting that Hamas was only designated a terrorist organization in January 1995 and did not commit its first wave of suicide bombings until late 1994, after Awad made the comment.

CAIR raised suspicions by raising its annual budget of around $ 3 million ( as of 2007 ) in part through large donations from people and foundations identified with Arab governments.

King continued to challenge Holder in April 2011, demanding to know why the Council on American-Islamic Relations ( CAIR ), its co-founder Omar Ahmad, the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust.