- Lori Saroya has filed a lawsuit against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
- CAIR’s director said he was “happy” after the Hamas terror attack in October
- The group’s leadership was previously accused of intimidation
A nationally recognized Muslim group that was dropped by the White House over its director’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks is now accused of fostering a climate of sexual harassment.
Former senior leader at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Lori Saroya, 42, has accused the group’s leadership of sexual assault and harassment in a federal defamation lawsuit filed last week in Minnesota.
CAIR was axed amid the Biden administration’s attempt to create a national anti-Semitism strategy, after co-founder and director Nihad Awad said he was “happy” after Hamas terrorists unleashed an attack in Israel last October.
Soroya’s lawsuit is in response to a January 2022 press release from CAIR, in which it accused her of waging “a systemic and ongoing online defamation campaign intended to damage (CAIR’s) reputation and cause serious economic harm to target’.
Soroya says she left CAIR after calling on the organization to investigate claims of abuse and harassment against multiple leaders, including one from Soroya herself, who alleged that one leader exhibited “a pattern of unwelcome and grossly inappropriate behavior” toward her. The man she accused has not been named.
Former senior leader at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Lori Saroya, 42, has accused the group’s leadership of sexual assault and harassment
CAIR was axed amid the Biden administration’s attempt to develop a national anti-Semitism strategy, after director Nihad Awad said he was ‘delighted’ after Hamas’ October attack on Israel
In its own defamation lawsuit filed in 2021, CAIR previously accused Soroya of “cyberstalking” staffers and using fake email addresses and social media accounts to spread “Islamophobic tropes and conspiracy theories” about the controversial group.
In CAIR’s lawsuit, which they themselves dismissed, Soroya demanded “voluntary termination” after a female staffer said Soroya harassed her so much that the alleged victim considered filing for a restraining order.
Blaine City Council member Soroya claims she has been bullied online following CAIR’s allegations and is too scared to go to her mosque. She also claims the allegations may have affected job interviews she had at the time, as reported by the Star Tribune.
Her lawsuit alleges that CAIR’s claims are “outrageously false” and that the organization is participating in a “concerted effort to smear its reputation” and silence it.
“The complaint exposes a record of serious problems within an organization that masquerades as a civil rights organization, but as the complaint makes clear, engages in a pattern of conduct that is quite the opposite,” Soroya’s attorney Jeff Robbins told The New York. After.
In April 2021, an NPR investigation included allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against the then head of CAIR’s Florida chapter, Hassan Shiably.
CAIR, the country’s largest Muslim civil rights group, has been rocked by allegations of sexual assault and harassment, obscure funding and anti-Semitism.
In April 2021, an NPR investigation included allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against then-head of CAIR’s Florida chapter Hassan Shiably, who has denied any wrongdoing.
Soroya was a rising star in the organization, serving as Minnesota chapter president from 2007 to 2016, when she moved to the national office.
She is seeking damages of at least $75,000 and asks CAIR to retract the press release accusing her of harassment and remove it from public space.
When reached for comment by DailyMail.com on Thursday, CAIR referred us to the same 2022 press release, which claimed Soroya is a disgruntled employee and accused her of working with anti-Muslim extremists to bring down CAIR.