Category: Recent News

(COLUMBUS, OH, 12/23/21) – The Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) met with community members on Tuesday, Dec. 21, to share additional information and answer questions regarding the information shared by the chapter last week.  

Members of the CAIR-Ohio Columbus and Cincinnati staff, as well as National Board Chair of CAIR, Roula Allouch, gathered with the community virtually to ensure individuals from across Ohio were able to join, as well as to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 as Omicron infections spread.  

“To remain transparent, we would like for you all to hear directly from us, especially as it pertains to all that has unfolded, sharing information about ongoing internal/external investigations, and most importantly in our fight to combat Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discrimination,” said Acting Executive Director Amina Barhumi. “While recent events are alarming, it is evidence that our work to fight anti-Muslim discrimination is crucial and necessary.” 

 Community Affairs Director Whitney Siddiqi walked through the timeline of events leading up to the announcement of the termination of the chapter’s former executive director, and information about the Islamophobic organization “Investigative Project on Terrorism” targeting CAIR, as well as the larger $57 million Islamophobia network fueling the spread of hate and misinformation.  

Similar information was shared last week in a meeting with mosque leadership across the state of Ohio.  

On Tuesday evening, the team also shared details about a second individual, not part of CAIR and outside the state of Ohio, who has come forward and confessed to working with IPT and spying on their Muslim community in return for payment.  

The CAIR-Ohio team answered thoughtful questions from attendees and reassured the community that it does not have evidence that Iqbal shared personal information related to clients, donors, or community members.  

“IPT is particularly invested in creating and spreading the Islamophobic narrative that CAIR is a terrorist organization,” said Civil Rights Attorney Maryam Abidi. “The evidence we have shows that Romin collected information primarily about the CAIR network, CAIR national, and the legislative and governmental relationships we as an organization hold.” 

Nonetheless, Barhumi acknowledged the grief and anxiety many in the community are likely feeling. Both Barhumi and Allouch spoke of the difficulty of processing this heavy news and shared resources with attendees, such as the Family & Youth Institute’s Three Tips on Healing Toolkit. 

Additionally, Acting Legal Director Lina Abbaoui shared that the clients and community members who rely on CAIR-Ohio are the organization’s first priority.  

“We are working to ensure clients are supported through this leadership transition. If you are a current legal client, you will be contacted by our legal team soon, if not already.” 

Barhumi closed the meeting with a commitment to keeping the community informed of updates, and shared what comes next for CAIR-Ohio and its fight against anti-Muslim hate.  

“Despite these attempts to harm us, we are undeterred,” she said. “This is the work we do – and this tells us we are doing something right. Our work to fight anti-Muslim bigotry across the United States is one for the long haul, but we have the tools and the support of this community to make a difference.” 

You can find more information and read CAIR-Ohio’s full community message released on Dec. 14, 2021, here.  

Additionally, you can find a message from Acting Executive Director Amina Barhumi here.  

 

Assalamu Alaikum

Dear Community Members, 

On behalf of our entire CAIR-Ohio team, I hope that you and your families are doing well. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you for the outpouring of love and support over the past few days.

Please view our full community letter here.

Our work to protect and empower the community frightens anti-Muslim hate groups. While recent events are alarming, it is evidence that our work is crucial and necessary.

Our fight against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discrimination is not new. Today it has come to our local community, and it hurts. But Iqbal was a small tool in a large anti-Muslim network operating nationwide. 

Our entire CAIR network is on the offense. See sample evidence released by CAIR national. Accountability for the anti-Muslim hate group and those who worked with them will come in due time.  

Since learning of this betrayal, our exceptionally talented team has been working around the clock, ensuring a successful transition of leadership, keeping our community and other stakeholders informed, and working with a renewed commitment to our mission. We do our work authentically, effectively, and to the highest standards of excellence.

As such, we are moving forward with these guiding principles: 

1. Our community comes first, always. 
2. We value transparency and accountability. 
3. We will never be intimidated from practicing our faith or doing our work. Nothing can harm us except with the will of Allah SWT.

We are grateful to Allah SWT for His protection and for the privilege to continue this important work. We recognize that our work to fight anti-Muslim bigotry across the United States is one for the long haul. 

In the meantime, please reach out to us directly if you have any questions. You can contact the CAIR-Ohio Columbus office at 614-451-3232 and the Cincinnati office at 513-281-8200. 

Sincerely,

Amina Barhumi, Acting Executive Director

Assalamu Alaikum Community Members,

With a heavy heart, we are writing to share some important information with you and all our supporters across the state of Ohio.

The local Columbus-Cincinnati Board of Directors for CAIR-Ohio has terminated Executive and Legal Director Romin Iqbal upon learning that he committed egregious ethical and professional violations.

Last week, CAIR’s national headquarters informed our chapter that a forensic investigation conducted by an independent, third-party expert had found conclusive evidence that Iqbal had spent years secretly recording CAIR network meetings and passing confidential information regarding CAIR’s national advocacy work to a known anti-Muslim hate group. The forensic expert verified that he was not aided by any other CAIR individual.

After being confronted with clear evidence of misconduct, Iqbal admitted that he had been working with the anti-Muslim hate group. This betrayal and violation of trust was planned and purposeful, taking place over a period of years.

In the wake of Iqbal’s termination, the Columbus office of CAIR-Ohio has discovered suspicious purchases from ammunition and gun retailers made in recent weeks using a CAIR-Ohio credit card that Iqbal administered. Yesterday, CAIR-Ohio staff also found a suspicious package mailed to the CAIR-Ohio Columbus office containing parts for an AR-15 rifle. CAIR-Ohio has shared this information with law enforcement, which is currently investigating the matter.

The safety of our community is our top priority. We encourage mosques and community members to exercise vigilance and review their security protocols out of an abundance of caution.

We recognize the difficulty of receiving this information and the unease it brings. We all feel betrayed by a once-trusted leader and advocate whom we relied upon. However, our mission to protect the civil rights of Ohio Muslims transcends any one individual. We want to assure the community that CAIR-Ohio’s local assets, operations, and infrastructure are safe and secure.

The local Columbus-Cincinnati Board has full confidence in the CAIR-Ohio team and has appointed Amina Barhumi as acting executive director and Lina Abbaoui as acting legal director for the region. CAIR-Ohio is working to ensure our clients and all Muslims who depend on us are supported through this transition.

It is clear anti-Muslim extremists will stop at nothing to try to harm us. Although we are all shocked and saddened by these developments, we know civil rights organizations and movements for justice have been spied upon from within for decades. In particular, Muslim organizations have been the target of malicious surveillance attempts due to a continuous rise in Islamophobia over the past two decades.

Despite these attempts to harm us, we are undeterred. Our dedicated team has a renewed commitment to our mission: to protect and defend the civil rights of Ohio Muslims. And we are only able to do this through your support as champions of justice.

We are grateful to Allah for His protection and for the privilege to continue this important work. We will share additional information as we are able. In the meantime, please reach out to us directly if you have any questions. You can contact the CAIR-Ohio Columbus office at 614-451-3232 and the Cincinnati office at 513-281-8200.

 

Sincerely,

Local Columbus-Cincinnati Board of Directors, CAIR-Ohio

 

Nabeel Raazi, President

Mukarram Khan, Vice President

Taymour El-Hosseiny, Treasurer

Isra Zuberi, Secretary

Ronney Abaza

Camellia Noor

Abdul Wase

 

UPDATE 12/15/21

Assalamu Alaikum Community Members,

We hope insha’Allah you are doing well in light of yesterday’s information. As promised, we would like to provide additional information as we are able. We originally did not name the hate group as we do not want to give them publicity or further their objectives. But after receiving many questions from our community, we want to inform you that the hate group was the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

The IPT was founded by Steven Emerson and is known for spreading hate, vitriol, and anti-Islamic rhetoric. Emerson and IPT have a history of promoting conspiracy theories about Muslims and have blamed Muslims for attacks in the U.S. The Southern Poverty Law Center has called Emerson a “key misinformation expert” with ties to extremist groups. You can read more about IPT at Islamophobia Network, Islamophobia.org, and other resources online.

Again, Iqbal shared recordings of CAIR network meetings and confidential information regarding CAIR’s national advocacy work.

Please find the letter shared by CAIR-Ohio last night above.

We know this is extremely upsetting and hard to fathom. But CAIR-Ohio’s local assets, operations, and infrastructure are safe and secure. Despite these attempts to harm us, we are undeterred. Our dedicated team has a renewed commitment to our mission: to protect and defend the civil rights of Ohio Muslims.

 

UPDATE 12/22/21

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Community Check-In last night. We shared important updates and continue our efforts to keep you informed.

As we shared in this meeting, Mr. Iqbal was a small tool in a large Islamophobia network. Following CAIR national releasing additional information yesterday on 12/21, we shared with our community that a second IPT “spy,” outside of CAIR and outside the state of Ohio has voluntarily come forward and confessed. He was an active volunteer in a large mosque who was invited to national community meetings and events. CAIR National plans to release the name of this individual in due time.

Again, it is important for our community to know that this second individual was not part of CAIR and was targeting a community outside the state of Ohio.

We will continue to keep you updated on any new information. In the meantime, please reach out to our offices at 614-451-3232 (Columbus) and 513-281-8200 (Cincinnati) with any questions or concerns.

Check out the meaningful work that we were able to achieve in 2021 with the help of our generous volunteers, donors, partner organizations, and most of all, our community. We look forward to continuing this vital work into 2022!

Read More “Our 2021 Work” →

(COLUMBUS, OHIO 12/06/2021) — On Friday, Dec. 3, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) hosted an advocacy workshop for the Muslim Student Association at The Ohio State University.   Read More “CAIR-Ohio Hosts Advocacy Workshop for OSU MSA” →

(COLUMBUS, OHIO 12/07/2021) — On Friday, Dec. 3, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) joined the 2021 Social Practice of Human Rights conference at the University of Dayton. The conference theme of “Between Peril & Potential” convened experts to address the perils and potential the pandemic has created for human rights advocacy.   Read More “CAIR-Ohio Joins Panel on the Fight for Universal Equal Suffrage” →