CAIR Welcomes NY AG’s Warning to Anti-Muslim Hate Group 

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – 4/2/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a warning issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James to a “known anti-Muslim hate group to stop spying on Muslim communities.”  

Attorney General James sent a cease-and-desist letter to Steven Emerson and the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) “directing them to immediately stop any unlawful and discriminatory surveillance they may be conducting on Muslim communities in New York.”  

She also issued a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting an investigation into IPT’s “possible violations of federal criminal and civil rights laws.”  

“As we enter the holy month of Ramadan, it’s more important than ever that we show our support for our Muslim communities and stand up to Islamophobia and hate of any and every kind,” said Attorney General James. “Let me be clear: We will not bow to hate, we will not enable bias, and we will not empower Islamophobia. I urge DOJ to stand with us and use its considerable power to protect Muslim communities throughout New York and across the nation. Our constitution protects the rights of all communities to live without harassment or intimidation; we will remain vigilant in the protection of these rights.” 

“We applaud Attorney General James’ efforts to defend the civil rights of American Muslims from hate groups like IPT, and we join her in encouraging the Justice Department to do the same,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “From Malcolm X to the NYPD spying scandal to IPT’s spying on Park51, New York has been one of the key states where bad actors have attempted to infiltrate and harm the Muslim American community. It is long past time for this misconduct to end.” 

“As one of the largest Islamic communities in the nation, Muslim New Yorkers appreciate this clear warning to anti-Muslim hate groups to stop targeting our civil and religious rights,” said CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher. 

Earlier this year, over 80 American Muslim organizations called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether Steven Emerson and the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) violated any federal laws by using paid spies to infiltrate, record and undermine Muslim organizations, houses of worship and leaders, including then-Rep. Keith Ellison, for the benefit of a foreign government.   

CAIR joined 82 other Muslim civil society organizations and mosques in sending a joint community letter to the Justice Department urging it to investigate the actions of The Investigative Project (IPT) and Steven Emerson, who has been described as an “anti-Muslim activist” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.