The head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who publicly praised Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, outlined a plan to help elect 40-50 members to Congress in a sermon last month, MEMRI reported.

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said his vision is the “next phase” in dedicating “professional resources to inform the public systematically about this faith,” adding that he recommends a “scientific approach.”

“If we commit to do this, four years from now, the Muslim community will have 4,000 new journalists, we will have 4,000 filmmakers, 4,000 lawyers, 4,000 students of political science, 4,000 students of history,” he said.

In 15 years, Awad said the numbers will continue to grow, creating “an army” of 50,000 in such fields, many of whom will “most likely” run for office.

“We can have in ten years, at least 40-50 members of Congress — in the U.S. Congress,” he said.

In the August 30th sermon at the East Plano Islamic Center in Texas, Awad said CAIR has been fighting to eliminate Islamophobia that is “deeply rooted” in American culture, academia, and Hollywood. “For hundreds of years, Islam has been denigrated, the Prophet has been smeared and defamed in books and textbooks that were taught in public schools, that Allah be praised, we have been working to eliminate and change,” Awad said in the sermon live-streamed on YouTube.

Awad said it’s time for the Muslim community — which he called affluent, vibrant, educated, and well-to-do — to move to the next phase.

While CAIR, founded in 1994, positions itself as the top American Muslim civil rights organization, it has a troubling record that led the Biden administration to distance itself in the fallout of Hamas’ brutal massacre, rape, and kidnapping of Israeli civilians on October 7.

The White House distanced itself from CAIR in December after Awad said he was “happy to see” Gazans “breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land” on October 7, the day Hamas massacred over a thousand Israeli civilians. He added that Israel does not have the right to self-defense.

The White House condemned Awad’s remarks and removed CAIR as a partner from a White House fact sheet for its National Strategy to Counter Anti-Semitism.

On October 7, as Hamas was actively ravaging communities in southern Israel, CAIR’s official account tweeted its “support for the Palestinian people’s right to freedom and calling for an end to the Israeli occupation.” 

The tweet went on to blame Israel for Hamas’ attack, claiming the Jewish state “sparks the deadly violence that we see again and again, including today.”

It concluded its thread by calling on the United States, and Arab and Muslim governments to “exert maximum pressure on the Israeli government” to “respect Palestinian human rights and end the occupation,” despite the attackers coming from Gaza which Israel withdrew from in 2005.

Awad and other CAIR leaders are known for making similar anti-Semitic remarks, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Awad has labeled Zionist organizations “enemies of the Muslim community,” claimed they “make up the core of the Islamophobia network in the United States,” and accused pro-Israel groups of having “corrupted” the U.S. government.

Following an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Awad shared an article about the Secret Service receiving intel on Iranian threats against Trump, speculating whether it was an “Israeli plot to ignite another war between the U.S. and other countries in the Middle East at its behest.”

In July, a man with close ties to Iran was arrested for attempting to hire hitmen to assassinate high-profile politicians, with former President Donald Trump’s name being floated as one of the targets, according to government records.

CAIR’s San Francisco Bay Area Executive Director, Zahra Billoo, once declared that “Zionists” are “your enemies,” warning followers to “pay attention” to “Zionist synagogues,” Hillels, and Jewish federations. Following the October 7 attack, Billoo further claimed the violence was the world “witnessing decolonization.”

Hussam Ayloush, CEO and Executive Director of CAIR Greater Los Angeles Area also has an anti-Israel history, including stating Israel does not have a right to defend itself, and asserting that “Israel should be attacked.”

Similarly, on October 7 and 9, Zainab Chaudry, Director of Maryland Outreach, CAIR Maryland referred to the Hamas attack as an “uprising” against “colonizers” and called Hamas terrorists “Palestinian freedom fighters.” In November, Abdullah Jaber, Executive Director, CAIR Florida, stated that Israeli Jews are not followers of “Abraham, Moses, or Jesus.”

During Awad’s sermon, he also said that the anti-Israel “uncommitted movement” had “changed the tone” of Vice President Kamala Harris on Israel through uncommitted delegates pressuring Democratic leaders during the Democratic National Convention.