An American Muslim leader is under fire for his remarks after he expressed how “happy” he was to see those in Gaza “break the siege” on October 7, when thousands of Hamas terrorists burst through the enclave’s border with Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking over 240 people hostage.

US Muslim leader: I was happy to see Gazans breaking the siege on Oct. 7 https://t.co/X8T9s3vSpM . Click to read

— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) December 7, 2023

In footage published on December 7th by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Nihad Awad, the founder and executive director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) made a controversial speech during the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) convention in Chicago, saying that “the people of Gaza only decided to break the siege — the walls of the concentration camp — on October 7.”

“And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land, which they were not allowed to walk in,” Awad said, referring to the blockade enforced on Gaza by Israel and Egypt after Hamas took control of the strip in 2007 to prevent the terrorist group from importing weapons, materials, and equipment for a future attack.

“And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves, and yes, Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense,” Awad continued. “Gaza transformed many minds around the world, including people who are not Muslim. What kind of faith do these people have? They are thankful, they are not afraid.”

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad at AMP Convention: I Was Happy to See the People of Gaza Break the Siege on October 7; They Were Victorious; the People of Gaza Have the Right to Self-Defense - Israel Does Not #Hamas #Gaza #Palestinians @CAIRNational @NihadAwad pic.twitter.com/WDbSRjFJo0

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) December 7, 2023

“They have learned from these people. Those who felt bad for Gaza. They don’t understand the equation. Those who thought that Gazans are less than those who can help them, they are mistaken. They are mistaken. The Gazans were victorious,” Awad added. 

The White House later condemned the CAIR director’s “shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms.” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that the horrific and brutal terrorist attacks Hamas committed on October 7th were, as US President Joe Biden said, “abhorrent” and represent “unadulterated evil.”

We know exactly what @NihadAwad said. Like all the ppl tearing down hostage flyers he strongly reinforced the stereotype that American Muslims support the terrorist Hamas and that Palestinians do too. He has done enormous damage to American Islamic relations and should resign

— Mario Loyola (@Mario_A_Loyola) December 7, 2023

“The atrocities of that day shock the conscience, which is why we can never forget the pain Hamas has caused for so many innocent people. There are families who are in agony mourning loved ones, and there are also families in agony as they do everything in their power to free loved ones being held hostage,” Bates said.

“Every leader has a responsibility to call out antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head,’ Bates added.

Nihad Awad clarified his comments during the Palestine Human Rights Conference last December 7th, releasing a statement attempting to explain his remarks during the convention.

Today our national executive director @NihadAwad released a statement in response to misleading reports about remarks that he made weeks ago at conference in support of Palestinian human rights. See below or click the link: https://t.co/HpDwaT1iDR #Palestine #Israel #Gaza pic.twitter.com/gaTocTkIYD

— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) December 7, 2023

“What I actually said while discussing international law: Ukrainians, Palestinians and other occupied people have the right to defend themselves and escape occupation by just and legal means, but targeting civilians is never an acceptable means of doing so, which is why I have again and again condemned the violence against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7th and past Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings, all the way back to the 1990s—just as I have condemned the decades of violence against Palestinian civilians,” Awad said in his statement. 

Although it has promoted itself as a civil rights advocacy group for Muslims in the United States, critics have often accused the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) of promoting antisemitism and for being allegedly connected to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

This should be enough to finally exclude CAIR from having any input, at all, in any official US gov't policymaking. But it probably won't be.

— gopackjo (@gopackjo) December 7, 2023

Four days after the horrific attack on October 7, CAIR issued a statement saying that “targeting civilians is wrong, whether they are Palestinian, Israeli, American or any other nationality.”

The October 7 attack was one of the worst massacres in Israeli history, where Hamas terrorists, coming under the cover of a massive barrage of rockets, fired at Israel, overrun communities near the Gaza Strip and slaughtered over a thousand civilians of all ages. Families were either murdered as they huddled together or burned to death, while multiple victims, including children, were either raped, tortured, or mutilated. Over 360 attendees of a music festival event were massacred during the attacks.