Nihad Awad is the co-founder and National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation in the United States. Awad has routinely condemned Western governments for complicity in the Gaza genocide, fiercely endorsing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) measures. His advocacy has placed CAIR at the center of severe domestic political friction. In mid-2026, Awad led aggressive legal and public campaigns against state-level actions by Florida and Texas, following moves by governors to controversially brand CAIR a "terrorist organisation" on state lists. Concurrently, Awad serves as the chairman of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), which filed federal lawsuits challenging government restrictions on international human rights advocacy.