CAIR Washington leader asked University of Washington to reinstate canceled speaker

SEATTLE — Imraan Siddiqi, Washington state executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and a Democratic candidate for the state House, asked the University of Washington to reverse the cancellation of a lecture by streamer Hasan Piker, according to an August 13 letter reported by the Jewish News Service (JNS). The letter was obtained through a public records request.

In the letter, Siddiqi praised Piker as "an unapologetic and consistent voice condemning Israel's war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza." He wrote that the university was "capitulating to political pressure." He asked the university to reschedule the lecture as part of the 2026-27 speaker series. The university cancelled the event on August 7. The lecture had been scheduled for January 2027, according to the report.

The letter was addressed to Robert Jones, president of the university, and shared with its board of regents. In it, Siddiqi criticised Jones for appearing earlier this year on a panel about antisemitism. The panel was part of a town hall in March at Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath, an Orthodox synagogue in Seattle. Siddiqi wrote that the university "finds space to platform and engage with voices who demean Muslims and pro-Palestinian speech."

JNS also reported that Siddiqi did not attend a candidate event at a Seattle synagogue. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and StandWithUs Northwest sponsored the event, according to the report. Organisers told JNS that Siddiqi had said he would attend but did not appear. They said he was at a separate candidate forum. Siddiqi's opponent, Democratic state representative Lauren Davis, attended the Federation event.

Siddiqi's campaign has raised $79,207, according to the report. Davis has raised $230,224. Davis received 75.3% of the vote in the August primary. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the November general election, regardless of party.

Hillel at the University of Washington also raised concerns about the Piker event. Sigal Bujman Klein, the group's director of campus affairs, wrote to the university before the event was cancelled that "inviting him to campus inevitably conveys a degree of institutional endorsement." The source material does not include the rest of her letter.

It is not clear from the source material whether the university has responded to the letter or whether it will reconsider the cancellation. The source material also does not say whether Siddiqi attended the separate forum on the same day.

Background

CAIR has faced criticism in the United States over its positions on Israel and the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks. According to the JNS report, CAIR was among groups that blamed Israel for the attacks. The Biden administration removed the group from an advisory role on the national strategy to counter antisemitism, after it had first been listed in the whole-of-government strategy.

In June, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked for a State Department review of allegations that CAIR's national organisation and its Washington and California affiliates had ties to terrorism, according to the report.

Siddiqi has also faced criticism over an April event sponsored by CAIR's Washington state branch. Attendees wrote letters to convicted terrorists, and an event listing praised the "al-Aqsa flood," a term Hamas uses for the October 7 attacks, the report said. Siddiqi has received endorsements from Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).