How Terror Supporters Helped Build Florida’s Muslim Community

Hatem Fariz has quite a rap sheet.

He served roughly three years in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to provide material support to Iranian terror proxy Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and for additional counts in a separate case involving a reported $1.4 million food stamp scam. He once bragged about assaulting a child he believed was “cooperating with the Jews” and laughed off a deadly bombing in Israel while helping raise funds for terror groups in the Middle East, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

But Fariz appears to have undergone a reinvention. Now he’s best known as a pillar of Florida’s Muslim community.

Fariz landed in Florida after his release from a federal prison in 2010, according to the Tampa Bay Times. While serving as the director of the Islamic Community of Tampa — also known as the Al-Qassam Mosque — Fariz has organized pro-Palestinian protests and become a prominent community member. The local police chief, Kenneth Albano, even called him “a force for reason within the Muslim community,” the Tampa Bay Times reported in 2024.

At the time, he was also characterized by his former attorney as the “worker bee” of another man convicted of supporting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the same case, Sami Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, the local news outlet reported. The Tampa mosque run by Fariz was registered in Al-Arian’s name in 1995, according to state records.

Al-Arian has since been deported to Turkey. But thanks to Fariz, he still appears to have a footprint in Florida.

A new report from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) says that figures like Fariz are just a small part of a seemingly benign “network of nonprofit, religious, and advocacy organizations operating in and connected to Florida that show repeated documented overlap with individuals convicted of terrorism-related offenses, designated under U.S. sanctions authorities, or publicly associated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and broader Iran-aligned influence ecosystems.”

The report says that the Iran-aligned influence network is gaining a foothold in Florida, and the claims have caught the attention of Florida lawmakers. Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins told The Daily Wire he’s “100% serious” about addressing the allegations made in NCRI’s report.

Collins shared his concern that the “deceptive and slow insidious method” of radical groups that entails “embedding in communities and changing people’s mindsets.”

“We better understand that we have to get ahead of this now so this doesn’t become a problem,” said Collins, a candidate for Florida governor.

Florida’s current governor, Ron DeSantis, has already taken action on the issue. Just last week, DeSantis signed a law that would allow state authorities to designate groups as terrorist organizations and even expel students attending local universities who support them.

Florida has also zeroed in on the influence of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the state. In December, DeSantis signed an order designating CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization. CAIR has denied any connection to terrorism and has filed a lawsuit regarding the order.

The designation was based on the group’s alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Florida also designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

“CAIR was founded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and was created, in the words of persons affiliated with CAIR, as ‘an official U.S. cover representing the Islamic community’ to conceal ties to Islamic extremist groups,” the state’s order on the designation read.

Last month, the designation was blocked by a federal judge after CAIR’s lawsuit.

CAIR’s Florida chapter has promoted both Al-Arian and Fariz, casting them as victims of political prosecution. Both have been close allies of CAIR in the state.

Fariz solicited donations for CAIR’s galas in 2018 and 2019, highlighting its “great work.”

“Please donate generously for the great work that CAIR is doing and continue to do. Our goal through this post is $10k,” Fariz wrote in one of the posts.

CAIR’s Florida branch listed Fariz’s Islamic Community of Tampa as “a leading sponsor” of its 2021 gala. The Islamic Community of Tampa was also listed as a co-sponsor of a community fundraiser advertised for March 2022. Fariz was listed as a contact for CAIR Florida’s “Week of Action” in October 2023.

The organization’s Tampa chapter organized a showing of Al-Arian’s documentary in 2007. CAIR Florida said the film focused on “post-Sept. 11 hysteria and the persecution of a Muslim, as well as the emotionally grinding devastation the prosecution brought to the Al-Arian family.”

CAIR Florida featured Al-Arian in a 2020 webinar on the experiences of “political prisoners.”

That same year, the group promoted Fariz’s story during a webinar on “persecution in the United States.” He was also nominated for a CAIR Florida “Protect Award” at the time.

A CAIR Florida 2021 fundraising video featured Fariz hailing the organization for having “provided … relief” during his case.

He also spoke at CAIR Florida’s 2021 gala, where he characterized his terrorism case as “baseless.”

The Islamic Community of Tampa mosque received a $9,000 grant in 2021 from another organization tied to the pair of figures, the Coalition for Civil Freedoms, according to a financial disclosure statement.

While behind bars, Al-Arian “spent much of his time in prison drafting a vision for an organization that would support political prisoners and their families,” which eventually became the Coalition for Civil Freedoms, according to the organization’s website.

The organization pays stipends to Muslim prisoners accused of terrorism and provides the “most vulnerable prisoners $100 each month,” according to its donation page.

Fariz is now listed as the chairman of the board, development director, and treasurer for the Coalition for Civil Freedoms. The group also has a branch registered in Florida under Fariz’s name, according to state records.

In the Coalition for Civil Freedoms’ latest annual report, CAIR’s Florida chapter is listed as a member organization. Fariz also appears to have close connections with the group.

Al-Arian currently serves as the director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Zaim University in Turkey, according to his bio on the school’s website.

CIGA has previously hosted terror-tied individuals.

In 2024, the center hosted Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who is sanctioned by the United States government. He was billed as a speaker on “Palestinian resistance.” During his remarks, Hamdan advocated for “a new map” of the Middle East that excludes Israel.

In February 2025, CIGA hosted Majed Al-Zeer for a seminar on his book months after he was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

That May, Al-Arian moderated an event for CIGA featuring Al-Zeer to discuss another one of his books on keeping “the Palestinian cause alive.”

Neither Al-Arian nor Fariz responded to requests for comment. CAIR also didn’t respond to a request for comment.