San Francisco State University Hosts Convicted Terror Financier at Pro-Iran Webinar
SFSU hosted convicted PIJ financier Sami al-Arian at pro-Iran webinar. Al-Arian was deported to Turkey and continues operating in networks with designated Hamas operatives.
On March 3, San Francisco State University’s Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies program, headed by Professor Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, hosted a webinar titled “US/Israeli War on Iran” featuring Sami al-Arian, who was convicted in 2006 for conspiracy to provide services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
Al-Arian’s Criminal History and Ongoing Activities
According to court documents, al-Arian was identified as “a member of the PIJ, a member of the ‘Shura Council’ of the PIJ, Secretary of the ‘Shura Council,’ and the leader of the PIJ in the United States.” The court found that he “directed the audit of all moneys and property of the PIJ throughout the world.”
After serving 57 months in prison, al-Arian was deported to Turkey in 2015, where he currently directs the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Zaim University.
Al-Arian’s recent activities demonstrate continued connections to designated terrorist organizations. In May 2025, he was photographed at an Istanbul event alongside Majed al-Zeer, identified by European authorities as a central Hamas operative for whom a European arrest warrant was issued. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned al-Zeer in October 2024 over his Hamas ties.
CIGA, which al-Arian leads, has repeatedly hosted individuals affiliated with Hamas. For example, on October 6, 2024, the center held a conference featuring Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official.
Advocacy for Continued Violence
In January 2025, al-Arian delivered remarks in Islamabad defining his targets expansively: “A Zionist is any person who believes, acknowledges, or recognizes that Jews have a sovereign right in Palestine,” effectively declaring intent to “fight” anyone supporting Jewish sovereignty in Israel.
At the same event, al-Arian discussed how Hamas’s October 7 massacre inspired his thinking: “When you look at Al-Aqsa Flood it gave us a lot of ideas and thoughts, and it basically gives us the map of how this could be done.”
SFSU Webinar Content
During the SFSU webinar, al-Arian positioned Iran’s support for designated terrorist organizations as legitimate resistance: “Iran gave actual support and it was very vocal about it…It not only supported it in terms of funding but also in technology in organization in weapons.”
He concluded with predictions of American defeat: “Iran is going to win this fight. It’s going to win it fair and square.”
The webinar also featured Dr. Navid Faria of Wayne State University, Dr. Jemima Pierre (co-founders of the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective), and Richard Falk, former UN Special Rapporteur who serves on the Gaza Tribunal’s steering committee alongside al-Arian.
SFSU’s AMED Department Platforming Terrorists
This was not an isolated episode for SFSU’s AMED program. In September 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported that AMED was tied to a Beirut conference that featured multiple figures linked to designated terrorist organizations, including PFLP founding member Salah Salah, convicted plane hijacker Leila Khaled, and Sami al-Arian.
The follow-up report noted that San Francisco State University said the Beirut event was “neither sponsored nor authorized by SF State,” and that the university had contacted organizers over the unauthorized use of the school’s name. At the same time, the university reaffirmed its general support for faculty academic freedom while distancing itself from the event itself.