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For the third consecutive year, the Florida Muslim Conference, organized by the South Florida Muslim Federation (SFMF), has drawn condemnation for its ties to terrorist-affiliated organizations, extremist speakers, and pro-terror merchandise. Yet despite repeated warnings and clear evidence of jihadist associations, the City of Coral Springs has continued to allow the conference to use its government-owned facilities, raising serious questions about oversight, judgment, and accountability.

The So-Called CAIR Disassociation

In January 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a public warning to the Coral Springs Commission, noting that state and local resources could not be used by any organization affiliated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group that Governor Ron DeSantis designated a terrorist organization in December 2025 and that SFMF has affiliated with since its inception. The warning specifically addressed SFMF’s upcoming Florida Muslim Conference at the taxpayer-funded Coral Springs Center for the Arts.

Within days, SFMF issued a brief statement claiming it was “disassociating” from CAIR. The declaration rang hollow, as all throughout the two-day 2026 conference (and still today), CAIR’s logo remained prominently displayed on SFMF’s website member page. More so, CAIR had been a foundational member of SFMF for nearly a decade, and leadership overlap between the two organizations has been extensive, with CAIR officials actively shaping SFMF’s governance and decision-making.

The timing of the disassociation – coming only after the Attorney General’s intervention – was a clear effort at damage control.

The City Attorney’s Trip to Tallahassee

Despite a public outcry against the event, the Coral Springs Commission remained hell-bent on hosting it – so much so that the City Attorney staff was reported to have made an urgent trip to Tallahassee to meet with the Attorney General’s office to assure Attorney General Uthmeier that the disassociation from CAIR had taken place. The city then issued a statement, which said in part: “As the South Florida Muslim Federation is not a declared terrorist organization, and it has removed its associations with CAIR, the city cannot legally cancel the conference.”

While the CAIR affiliation was certainly of importance to the legal dispute, the terrorist concerns surrounding the Florida Muslim Conference extend far beyond that single connection.

Terror-Linked Speakers and Sponsors

SFMF’s 2026 speaker lineup contained those who glorified Hamas kidnappers following the October 7 massacre, mocked Israeli hostages, and dismissed statements affirming Israel’s “right to defend itself” and “right to exist” as “propaganda lines,” “silly arguments,” and “bullshit points.”

One of this year’s speakers, clinical nutritionist Ayeen “Annie” Lin, has used her social media to repost statements from senior Hamas figures. During the 2014 Gaza War between Hamas and Israel, Lin wrote various messages praising Gaza’s “heroes” and proclaiming, “Victory will be yours.” Lin’s husband, Gaza-born imam Ibrahim Dremali, who sat in the front row during her speech, had family who participated in the October 7 massacre and who himself has appeared in online videos urging donations to Hamas and issuing genocidal threats against Jews.

A 2026 “Platinum” sponsor for the conference, Islamic Relief, has been banned by multiple foreign governments and identified by Israel as a Hamas front. A conference “Gold” sponsor, Baitulmaal, is headed by Mazen Mokhtar, a former administrator for the now-defunct al-Qaeda recruitment and financing website qoqaz.net and has publicly described Hamas operations as “heroic” and suicide bombings as “an effective method of attacking the enemy.”

Terrorist Merchandise at Public Events

Perhaps most striking is the conference’s history of facilitating sales of merchandise glorifying terrorists. At the 2025 Florida Muslim Conference, vendors sold items featuring images of Hamas leader and October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and armed militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The vendors – as well as the merchandise – were publicly promoted by SFMF, and one of the vendors, Pali Heat, was listed again as a vendor for the 2026 conference.

Selling or promoting merchandise associated with designated terrorist organizations can constitute material support for terrorists under federal law. Similar sales at a recent Muslim American Society (MAS) event in Brooklyn, New York are currently under investigation by city authorities.

A City That Looked the Other Way

Even with mounting evidence and given the fact that the 2024 conference was canceled at the original venue – the Coral Springs Marriott – over similar concerns, Coral Springs officials have continued to facilitate SFMF’s events.

Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Mateyer Bowen proudly spoke at the 2025 and 2026 conferences, despite being presented with substantial documentation of SFMF’s connections to terrorism-linked entities. Bowen even personally hosted a separate SFMF event – a Muslim iftar – at the same government facility following the 2025 conference.

A Pattern of Misrepresentation and Extremism

Taken together, SFMF’s actions reflect a broader and persistent pattern: minimizing terrorist affiliations when legally necessary, platforming speakers who glorify Hamas, and permitting the sale of merchandise featuring designated terrorists – all while operating within city-run facilities.

The central question for Coral Springs is no longer simply whether it was legally required to allow the conference to proceed. It is whether adherence to legal technicalities should outweigh documented evidence of extremist associations, when public safety concerns are at stake.

Public resources should not be used to platform organizations or individuals tied to terrorism or the promotion of symbols that glorify terrorism. At some point, strict compliance with the narrowest reading of the law is not enough. Leadership requires judgment. While CAIR was designated a terrorist group, the South Florida Muslim Federation itself – as well as its numerous member organizations – advance the same ideological agenda.

Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.