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A viral video circulating on social media has sparked controversy, featuring a leading figure from a prominent California Muslim advocacy group advising followers on how to strategically express their views in public forums. This has led to intensified scrutiny regarding the organization’s connection to state funding.
The video, which was shared on the platform X, shows Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA), discussing the importance of discretion when airing contentious opinions in public compared to private conversations.
Fox News Digital has yet to verify the full context or the entirety of the video clip.
In the footage, Billoo appears to advise against openly sharing certain opinions, citing an example of what she perceives as a lack of strategic foresight.
“Consider your LinkedIn profile stating, ‘I hate all Zionists,'” Billoo remarks in the video. “That’s not strategic, right? You might express such thoughts while chatting at Kahwah House on a Friday night, but you certainly wouldn’t post it on LinkedIn.”
Zahra Billoo, executive director of the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR-CA, stands with community members at a public event. (Photo By Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
She adds that supporters should think in terms of “strategic versus reckless.”
The footage quickly prompted reaction from commentators and political figures online.
“Notice, the message here isn’t ‘don’t hate people and don’t be bigots,’” Guy Benson, a FOX News political analyst and FOX News Radio host, wrote on X. “The message is ‘we must hide our hatred and bigotry more strategically.’”
Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon also reacted to the clip, writing “Wow.”
Christopher F. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal, amplified the video, linking it to broader concerns about CAIR-CA and its role in California public life.
The renewed attention comes as CAIR-CA faces scrutiny over funding highlighted in a recent City Journal report, which found the group has received roughly $40 million in state-administered funds in recent years, much of it tied to federally funded programs.
An OIG report reveals FBI agents were urged to avoid communications with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. The composite image shows the FBI headquarters and Muslims praying at a CAIR event in Falls Church, Va. (Fox News)
The report revisits longstanding allegations about CAIR’s historical connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, claims the organization has denied, calling them “baseless” and part of a broader defamation campaign.
The scrutiny comes as some Republican-led states have taken action targeting the group. In December, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state would designate CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations at the state level, following a similar move by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Those actions do not carry the same legal weight as a federal terrorist designation, which can only be made by the U.S. State Department. CAIR has challenged the moves, arguing they are unconstitutional and defamatory.
Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, leads a press conference with CAIR California leaders amid calls from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith for an IRS investigation into the group’s tax-exempt status. (Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
CAIR has consistently maintained that it is a civil rights organization focused on protecting Muslim Americans from discrimination and says its funding is fully accounted for and subject to oversight.
The scrutiny also comes as California Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently spoken out against rising antisemitism.
“A 46-year national high in antisemitic assaults should alarm EVERY American,” Newsom wrote on X. “We must confront hate and antisemitism directly and reject hate wherever it appears. Every person deserves to feel safe in our country.”
A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not directly address the circulating video but said the administration works with a range of nonprofit organizations through community initiatives and engages with both Jewish and Muslim leaders across the state.
The office also pointed to efforts to expand security funding for religious institutions, strengthen hate crime laws and support Holocaust and genocide education initiatives.
Fox News Digital reached out to CAIR-CA and Billoo for comment.