CAIR Officials Set to Speak at Chicago Convention Alongside Unindicted Conspirator in 1993 WTC Bombing
The Dec. 24-28 convention organized by the Muslim American Society includes CAIR officials and other speakers with alleged ties to terrorism
From December 24-28, the Muslim American Society (MAS) and Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) are hosting their MAS Convention 2025 in Chicago, with a “knowledge retreat” at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place from December 24-25 and the main convention at McCormick Place from December 26-28.
The conference includes numerous officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has been designated as a terrorist organization in both Florida and Texas.
Featured speakers also include Siraj Wahhaj, identified by federal prosecutors as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, alongside other individuals with documented connections to terrorism investigations and organizations linked to Hamas and the Holy Land Foundation.
Muslim Brotherhood Origins of MAS and ICNA
Both hosting organizations maintain documented ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the transnational Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928.
Influence Watch notes that MAS was incorporated in Illinois in 1993, with founding members who were involved in the Muslim Brotherhood, according to multiple investigative reports. The Chicago Tribune reported that a contentious debate among Brotherhood members preceded MAS’s incorporation, with members ultimately deciding to call themselves the Muslim American Society.
ICNA, established in 1968, was explicitly named in the 1991 Explanatory Memorandum on the Muslim Brotherhood’s strategic goals in North America—a document entered into evidence during the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial. The memorandum identified ICNA as part of the Brotherhood’s network of organizations working to establish Islamic governance in the United States.
The convention comes at a time when the federal government has escalated scrutiny of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on November 24, 2025, initiating the process to designate certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
1993 WTC Bombing Co-Conspirator Among Convention Speakers
Siraj Wahhaj, who is a scheduled speaker at the convention, was named by federal prosecutors as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that left six dead and more than 1,000 injured. Multiple individuals connected to the attack had ties to Wahhaj’s Brooklyn mosque, Masjid At-Taqwa, according to reporting at the time.
Though never charged, the imam publicly defended the convicted bombers after the attack, characterizing U.S. intelligence agencies as “the real terrorists.” He also provided character testimony for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “blind sheikh” later convicted of seditious conspiracy for orchestrating a broader terrorism plot targeting New York City landmarks.
Wahhaj’s association with terrorism investigations drew renewed attention in October 2025 when New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani posted a photograph with the imam during his campaign.
CAIR Officials Feature Prominently Despite State Terror Designations
The CAIR officials participating in the convention include Nihad Awad, CAIR’s National Executive Director, who will speak on a panel titled “Exposing and Overcoming the Pro-Israel Lobby’s Use of Anti-Muslim Hate to Keep Americans Distracted.” Also appearing are Edward Mitchell, CAIR National Deputy Director; Gadeir Abbas, Staff Attorney for CAIR; and William Asfour, Operations Coordinator for CAIR-Chicago.
Notably, Basim Elkarra of CAIR Action is listed among the speakers. Jewish Onliner recently reported that Elkarra serves as Executive Director of CAIR Action—the 501(c)(4) political lobbying arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations—while simultaneously holding a seat on the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees in Sacramento County, California.
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) announced plans to introduce legislation to revoke CAIR’s tax-exempt status following the state designations.
Boston Marathon Bombing Mosque Leader Originally Listed
The original speaker list, before being updated, included Dr. Sheikh Basyouny Nehela, who served as imam of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) in Cambridge from 1997 to 2011 — the mosque attended by Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.
Nehela currently serves as President and Dean of Academic Affairs at Boston Islamic Seminary and continues to deliver sermons at ISB Cambridge. His removal from the public speaker list occurred without explanation from event organizers.
Additional Speakers with Links to Terror Investigations
Kifah Mustapha, another convention speaker, has been linked to the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), whose top officials were convicted in a landmark terrorism financing trial in Texas, according to findings by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT). Mustapha served as the sole employee of the HLF office in Illinois for approximately five years ending in 2001. In 2010, the Illinois State Police revoked his appointment as the agency’s first Muslim chaplain after a background check revealed his connections to the terrorist-financing organization. The Illinois Attorney General’s office later filed court documents describing some of Mustapha’s activities as calls for violence.
Mohammad Qatanani also appears on the speaker list. In a July 2025 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit acknowledged that Qatanani, a Jordanian national who arrived in the United States in 1996, concealed from immigration authorities that he had been convicted by an Israeli military court in 1993 of membership in Hamas.
Dr. Mutaz al-Khatib, a Qatari-based professor, posted on Facebook the day of Hamas’ October 7 massacre that “What happened was merely a rehearsal indicating that the liberation of Jerusalem is possible.” The Middle East Media Research Institute has identified al-Khatib as a member of the Qatar-funded International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS), a global network founded primarily by Muslim Brotherhood clerics. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt jointly placed the IUMS on a terrorism blacklist in 2017.
As previously reported by Jewish Onliner, Al-Khatib worked closely for years with Yusuf al-Qaradawi — the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who praised Hitler and justified suicide bomb attacks against Israelis. Additionally, video footage from 2007 shows al-Khatib speaking at an event where both al-Qaradawi and Hamas official Khaled Meshal were present.
Convention Sessions Target Israel & Promote Radicalism
The convention schedule features sessions explicitly hostile to Israel and American policy while promoting radical concepts of martyrdom and jihad. One panel titled “Exposing and Overcoming the Pro-Israel Lobby’s Use of Anti-Muslim Hate to Keep Americans Distracted” features CAIR officials Edward Mitchell, Nihad Awad, and Osama Abuirshaid of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
Another session, “Campus Activism: The True Meaning of Jihad,” is sponsored by MSA (Muslim Students Association) National. A third panel, “International Accountability: Removing Israel’s Cloak of Immunity,” includes Tarek Khalil from AMP.
The convention also features a session titled “The Resilience of Martyrs,” which describes how “The martyrs of Gaza embody the highest form of sacrifice, giving their lives in defense of justice, dignity, and their faith.”
Additionally, a session titled “Islam in America 2050: Is the Rise of Mamdani, the rise of Islam?” refers to the recently elected New York City mayor.
Sponsors with Terrorism Financing Allegations
The convention’s sponsor list consists of organizations that have faced allegations of supporting or financing terrorism.
Islamic Relief USA, listed as a platinum sponsor, faces congressional investigation after House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith referred the organization to the IRS in September 2024 for investigation and potential revocation of its tax-exempt status. Chairman Smith stated the organization “appears to provide support for a designated terrorist organization.”
Baitulmaal, another sponsor, has been identified by watchdog groups as having potential financial and logistical ties to terrorist groups such as Hamas. The Endowment for Middle East Truth called for a Treasury investigation into Baitulmaal for “known ties to terrorism.”
Rahma Worldwide, also listed as a sponsor, has partnered with NGOs and institutions tied to Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist groups in its Gaza operations, according to NGO Monitor. The organization has collaborated with Gaza’s Hamas-linked Ministry of Social Development on several initiatives.
Turkish Airlines, which is 49.12 percent owned by the Turkish government, is also listed as a sponsor of the convention.
Public Venue Hosts Event Despite Speaker Connections
McCormick Place, which is hosting the convention, is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), a state-created municipal corporation funded by hundreds of millions in state and local taxes.
Using publicly funded facilities to host an event that includes an individual identified by federal prosecutors in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, along with officials from an organization recently designated as terrorist linked by Florida and Texas, raises questions about whether taxpayer resources should support such events.
Upon reaching out to MPEA for comment regarding concerns about speakers with alleged ties to terrorism, a media contact for MPEA provided an on-the-record statement: “McCormick Place is owned by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which is a unit of local government. As a unit of local government, MPEA may not deny any group the opportunity to rent any MPEA facility based on the content or viewpoint of that group’s speech. In securing the rental of the facility, the MAS Convention followed the same processes as any other paying customer.”
“The CAIR officials participating in the convention include Nihad Awad, CAIR’s National Executive Director, who will speak on a panel titled “Exposing and Overcoming the Pro-Israel Lobby’s Use of Anti-Muslim Hate to Keep Americans Distracted.”
Classic projection - that is literally their modus operandi. Distract the American public and politicians with accusations of “Islamophobia” and Jew hatred whilst undermining American society from within.
Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate:
“Antisemitism is always a means rather than an end. It is a measure of the contradictions yet to be resolved. It is a mirror for the failings of individuals, social structures and state systems. Tell me what you accuse the Jews of, I’ll tell you what you’re guilty of.”
It's disgraceful if we're honest, when they are attempting to destroy societies all over the world that have never done them any harm.