GOP Lawmakers Request CAIR-Hamas Probe, Group Then Posts Verses About Destroying Those Who Reject Quran
Rep. Stefanik and Sen. Cotton urge Treasury Dept. to investigate CAIR for potential terror financing. Hours later, the group posted Quranic verses about divine destruction of disbelievers
Representative Elise Stefanik and Senator Tom Cotton have formally requested the Treasury Department investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for potential financial links to Hamas, in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on October 14, 2025, citing the organization’s connections to designated terrorist entities and pro-Hamas rhetoric.
Within hours of the letter’s transmission, CAIR’s national headquarters posted Quran 68:44-45 on social media, verses that scholars interpret as describing the inevitable destruction of those who reject Prophet Muhammad’s message.
Treasury Investigation Request Cites Terror Ties
The lawmakers argue that CAIR’s “pattern of historic ties” to the designated terrorist organization, combined with pro-Hamas rhetoric from organizational leaders following the October 7 attacks, may constitute material support for terrorism. The request specifically cites CAIR’s designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2009 federal court case against the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas front group, along with statements from CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, who said he was “happy to see” Hamas attack Israel and applauded operatives for “breaking the siege.”
Cotton and Stefanik noted that Awad previously led the Islamic Association of Palestine, identified in court proceedings as a Hamas propaganda arm. “We urge the department to immediately investigate whether CAIR maintains financial links to Hamas that constitute a violation of U.S. sanctions on Hamas,” the lawmakers stated.
Provocative Social Media Response
Hours after the Congressional letter became public, CAIR’s national headquarters posted verses 68:44-45 from the Quran on social media:
“So leave to Me (O Prophet Muhammad) those who reject this message. We will gradually draw them to destruction in ways they cannot comprehend. I (only) delay their end for a while, but My planning is flawless.”
The post was subsequently reshared by Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s National Communications Director, and CAIR’s Texas Houston branch, amplifying the message across the organization’s network. The timing of the social media activity, coming within hours of receiving formal Congressional scrutiny demanding Treasury investigation, has drawn attention from observers monitoring the organization’s public messaging.
Quranic Context and Scholarly Interpretation
The verses cited by CAIR originate from Surah Al-Qalam (The Pen), a chapter revealed in Mecca during a period when opposition to Prophet Muhammad was intense. Islamic scholarship identifies the verses as addressing the disbelievers of Mecca who actively rejected the Quran and persecuted the Prophet and his followers during Islam’s early period. The phrase “this discourse” or “this message” specifically refers to the Quran itself.
These verses, scholars note, represent Allah’s promise to personally handle those who reject the Quran, warning that He will destroy them in ways they cannot understand or anticipate. The verses contain what Islamic theology calls istidraj—a form of divine punishment where disbelievers are granted worldly blessings, respite, and apparent success that deceives them into believing they are on the right path while actually leading them toward incomprehensible destruction.
Treasury Investigation Could Expose Hidden Funding
If the Treasury Department acts on the request, the investigation could potentially reveal CAIR’s foreign funding sources, which the organization has concealed. CAIR does not disclose donors on its website or tax filings and quietly settled a lawsuit in March that would have revealed the group’s foreign financial backers.
The latest Treasury request follows Cotton’s previous efforts to challenge CAIR’s operations, including urging the IRS to investigate the organization’s tax-exempt status and petitioning the Department of Education to examine CAIR’s educational initiatives with Philadelphia public schools.
Educational Infiltration Concerns
Congressional scrutiny has intensified around CAIR’s systematic efforts to influence K-12 curricula nationwide. House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) responded to Jewish Onliner’s investigation into CAIR’s coordinated educational campaign with a statement expressing serious concerns about the organization’s access to American classrooms.
“Credible reports that CAIR is partnering with K-12 schools to push a radical curriculum are deeply troubling given CAIR’s ties to terrorism and antisemitism,” Walberg told Jewish Onliner in an exclusive statement. “Given the nation’s recent disappointing student test scores, we need our schools focused on teaching, not indoctrinating.”
The chairman’s remarks came in direct response to Jewish Onliner’s investigation that exposed CAIR chapters across six states—Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Florida, and Illinois—actively promoting educational materials instructing teachers to avoid terms like “Islamic terrorists” and “jihadists” when discussing September 11th attacks. Evidence suggests coordination from CAIR’s national headquarters, with Philadelphia’s chapter explicitly crediting CAIR’s national and Los Angeles offices for curating resources.
Cotton separately petitioned the Department of Education to investigate these partnerships, describing them as “possibly illegal” initiatives promoting “radical, pro-terrorist, anti-Israel ideology” in American classrooms.
Historical Terror Connections
The current investigations build upon extensive documented concerns about CAIR’s origins and leadership connections. Court records from the Holy Land Foundation trial revealed FBI wiretaps of a 1993 Philadelphia meeting where Hamas-affiliated organizations discussed creating a “new neutral organization” that could operate without obvious Hamas connections.
CAIR was founded in Washington D.C. in June 1994, months after this meeting, with leadership drawn from the Palestine Committee structure identified in federal court proceedings. Key figures from organizations named in the terrorism financing trial became CAIR’s founding leadership, including current Executive Director Nihad Awad, who previously served as Public Relations Director for the Islamic Association for Palestine.
Federal prosecutors presented evidence during the Holy Land Foundation trial—the largest successful terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history—that CAIR had been listed as a member of the Palestine Committee, a Hamas support apparatus operating domestically.