The group designated a terrorist organization in both Florida and Texas is hosting its 32nd annual conference on September 12th, 2026: literally the day after the 25th anniversary of 9/11. And if that timing doesn’t raise some eyebrows, wait until you see how they’re connecting the dots from K-12 classrooms all the way up to higher education.

A Quick CAIR Refresher

For those just tuning in, the Council on American-Islamic Relations isn’t your typical civil rights organization. Texas Governor Greg Abbott officially designated CAIR a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal group last November. His reasoning? He revealed it’s a “front group for Hamas” and said CAIR-NJ is “anti-American and antisemitic” that “does not hide that it views public schools as the battleground for promoting terrorism.”

Florida followed suit. The UAE had already designated CAIR a terrorist group back in 2014.

And the federal government? In 2007, prosecutors named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case – the biggest terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history. The group has denied wrongdoing and challenged its inclusion, but that stain hasn’t exactly faded.

CAIR’s K-12 Education Angle – This Is Where It Gets Spicy

CAIR has been busy in America’s classrooms. House Education Committee Chairman Tim Walberg recently called CAIR’s influence on K-12 schools “deeply troubling.” An investigation found the group is coordinating efforts across multiple states to reshape what kids learn – including 9/11 teaching guides that tell teachers to avoid terms like “Islamic terrorists” and “jihadists.”

Congressman Walberg’s spokesman also noted that CAIR leaders “celebrated the Oct. 7th massacre” and partner with local schools to lead classroom discussions. So the group banned in two states for terror ties is now helping write lesson plans for your kids. Fun.

But wait, it gets worse. CAIR-NJ recently got caught recommending Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America” as a resource for K-12 students to explain 9/11. They claimed the attacks were “launched” in response to America’s support for Israel and the American military presence in the Middle East. The guide also described the conflict in Gaza without even mentioning Hamas. They quietly deleted the link after getting caught.

Now Enter Sahar Aziz and the “Return of Sharia Hysteria”

So while CAIR is busy influencing what kids learn about terrorism in K-12, they’ve also got friends in higher education ready to carry the torch.

Enter Sahar Aziz: a Rutgers law professor who serves on the Westfield Board of Education. She’s slated for a panel at the 2026 conference called “The Return of Sharia Hysteria.” Nice framing, right? Just lump any legitimate concern about Islamic law in American classrooms into the “hysteria” bucket and move on.

Aziz is the founding director of Rutgers’ Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) . And here’s where things get interesting. The CSRR describes itself as “the first and only civil rights academic center at a U.S. law school that focuses on the civil and human rights of Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians and South Asians.” It also hosts a podcast that has featured speakers like Mahmood Mamdani comparing Israel to Nazi ideology.

The CSRR also hosted a 2021 event featuring Sami al Arian – a guy who pleaded guilty to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a designated terrorist group; Congressional Republicans have investigated the center over events featuring “antisemitic speakers, individuals who justify violence against the State of Israel, terrorist sympathizers and advocates for domestic radicalism.”

Aziz has appeared on panels alongside CAIR’s national litigation director Lena Masri. At a 2022 National Association of Muslim Lawyers conference, Aziz discussed “the failure of entrapment law to protect Muslim defendants from government manufactured terrorist plots.” CAIR sponsored that event.

So what Aziz is doing with the “Sharia Hysteria” panel certainly looks like an attempt to dismiss concerns about Islamic law in America as irrational fear -whether those concerns come from K-12 classrooms or university lecture halls. It’s a convenient way to frame critics as hysterical while the organization pushes forward with its education agenda.

CAIR’s Bigger Picture

Look at what we have here. CAIR is pushing to reshape what K-12 kids learn about 9/11 and terrorism. They want teachers to avoid terms like “Islamic terrorists.” They were recommending bin Laden’s writings to explain the attacks. Meanwhile, the academic center run by Aziz hosts events with convicted terrorist supporters and works with CAIR to train the next generation of lawyers and activists. And when anyone raises concerns? They get labeled as suffering from “Sharia hysteria.”

It sure looks like a coordinated pipeline from elementary school through law school. At minimum, there’s a lot of overlap between CAIR’s K-12 efforts and its higher education connections through Aziz and the CSRR.

So About That Timing…

September 11th is the one day Americans collectively remember 3,000 people murdered by Islamist terrorists. Scheduling a CAIR conference for September 12th isn’t an accident. It’s a statement.

They want you to know they’re still here. They’re still pushing their narrative. And they’re influencing what the next generation learns – from kindergarten through law school.

Watch this space.