Why CAIR’s Attack on Pete Hegseth Is Hypocritical Islamist Propaganda: A Response from a Former CAIR Director and Iranian-American Christian

By Bobby Darvish

As an Iranian-American Christian conservative and former Executive Director of CAIR-Columbus, I reject the dishonest, manipulative, and hypocritical statement issued by CAIR regarding Pete Hegseth’s tattoo of the Arabic word kafir. This is yet another example of CAIR weaponizing faux outrage to silence critics of Islamic ideology by conflating rejection of Islam with hatred toward Muslims as individuals. The term kafir is a theological term in the Quran itself (e.g., Surah Al-Kafirun 109:1–6) used by Muslims to define non-Muslims—including Jews, Christians, atheists, Hindus, and others—as deniers of Islamic truth. Muslims regularly invoke this term in their own religious discourse and doctrine. To now accuse a non-Muslim of “hatred” for using the same term is not only hypocritical but intellectually dishonest.

CAIR claims to stand for civil rights, but in practice, it acts as an Islamist pressure group that seeks to intimidate critics of Islam and promote Islamic exceptionalism—expecting Muslims to say and do things others cannot. If Muslims can proudly recite Surahs condemning kuffar and wear Arabic calligraphy of Islamic supremacy, then why can’t a Christian American, especially one serving in defense of Western freedoms, push back against the ideology that inspired 9/11, ISIS, and Sharia-based persecution of Christians around the globe?

As for Deus Vult—a Latin phrase meaning "God wills it"—that was not merely a battle cry of the Crusades, but a spiritual call to defend Christian lands and pilgrims from centuries of Muslim conquest and aggression. It was a response to hundreds of years of Islamic imperialism, including the subjugation of Christian-majority regions such as my ancestral homeland, Iran, as well as the Byzantine, Coptic, Assyrian, and Armenian peoples.

CAIR conveniently omits that Islamists today routinely shout "Allahu Akbar" while committing jihadist acts of terror—far more frequently and recently than any Christian has chanted “Deus Vult.” CAIR’s attempt to smear Hegseth with unverified claims of past drunken comments is character assassination typical of Islamist propaganda campaigns that avoid addressing substance and resort to personal slander.

If Pete Hegseth’s tattoo offends Islamists, good. America’s Constitution defends freedom of expression, not freedom from offense. CAIR does not get to dictate what Americans can believe, say, or wear—especially when their ideology has led to centuries of violence, persecution, and oppression, including in Iran. As a former insider, I say without hesitation: CAIR does not represent American Muslims—it represents a political agenda that is anti-Western, anti-Christian, and incompatible with the American ideal of liberty for all.

Let’s be clear: Pete Hegseth is not the problem. CAIR’s ongoing defense of Islamic supremacism and its false claims of victimhood are.

Citations:

1. Quran – Surah Al-Kafirun (109:1–6)
   “Say: O ye that reject Faith! I worship not that which ye worship... To you be your religion, and to me mine.”
   — The Quran, Surah 109, Yusuf Ali Translation
   https://quran.com/109

2. CAIR's History and Islamist Ties
   Emerson, Steven. American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us. Free Press, 2003.
   Investigative works detail CAIR’s founding links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

3. Islamist Views on Non-Muslims
   Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim (Quranic exegesis) – commentary on Surah Al-Kafirun.
   Shows the term kafir is explicitly doctrinal and widely used in Islamic theology.

4. Use of "Allahu Akbar" in Modern Jihadism
   Bergen, Peter. The United States of Jihad. Crown, 2016.
   Details how jihadists use religious language like “Allahu Akbar” during acts of terror.

5. Crusades as Response to Islamic Conquest
   Stark, Rodney. God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades. HarperOne, 2009.
   Highlights how the Crusades were a reaction to centuries of Islamic expansion and attacks on Christian lands.

6. CAIR's Hypocrisy on Free Speech and Islamophobia
   Pipes, Daniel. “CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment.” Middle East Forum, 2002.
   https://www.meforum.org/356/cair-islamists-fooling-the-establishment

7. Constitutional Protection of Speech
   U.S. Constitution – First Amendment
   https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/