Who are Concerned Women for America?
Concerned Women for America (CWA) is a public policy women’s group that has engaged in anti-Islam legislative efforts in at least Florida and North Carolina. This group hosts anti-Islam speakers at their events.
On its website’s “Who We Are” section, Concerned Women for America is described as “the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with a rich 30-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy.”
In a 2022 CAIR report detailing philanthropic funding for anti-Muslim groups, CAIR revealed that CWA received more than $896,000 in grants between 2017 and 2019 from mainstream charitable institutions.
Anti-Muslim Activities
In 2017, the organization’s Missouri chapter hosted an event alleging, “The influence of Islam in the Common Core standards is now undeniable.” The event flyer explained, “Make plans to attend this event to learn more about how to identify the Islamic influence and what you can do to stop it.”
MO-Common-Core-and-Islam-2-9-2017An extract from a 2009 edition of CWA’s Family Voice magazine relates, “[W]e saw the theistic worldview of Islam come face-to-face with the Biblical worldview of Christianity. A worldview that teaches a doctrine of force and violent submission to an unpredictable god faced a worldview that teaches a doctrine centered on a holy and just God who brings us into relationship with Himself. In one sphere, you die to prove your faithfulness; in another, God’s Son dies on your behalf to share His faithfulness. Will you pray that all followers of Islam will come to know the One True God of the Bible through His Son Jesus Christ who came to die for us sinners and bring us in relationship with Himself?”
CWA Legislative Action’s brochures promote Islamophobia through topics such as “Sharia Law: A Threat to America as we Know it,” “Sharia-Compliant Finance Promoted by Treasury Dept.,” and “Sharia Law Trumps U.S. Constitution in Dearborn.” The group’s “Sharia Law and the Constitution” brochure is authored by Nonie Darwish, who believes that Islam should be “annihilated.” The brochure highlights the “taqiyya” trope to slander Muslims as unashamed liars.
Other CWA brochures claim that the United States has fallen under “dhimmitude,” that it is ‘the ambition of Islam’ “to eliminate and destroy Western civilization from within,” and that “Wall Street is becoming enmeshed in sharia.”
CWA has frequently hosted and promoted the work of William J. Federer, a writer that frequently promotes conspiracy theories about Islam, calling it a political-ideological movement whose goal is to undermine Western civilization, and who has stated, “Muslims consider it a mark of conquest to build a community center and mosque on Ground Zero in Manhattan. Their goal is to dominate the world.”
An article posted on the group’s website falsely asserts, “this White House avoids traditional Biblical holidays and events but regularly recognizes major Muslim holidays.”
Influence
The group has involved itself in anti-Islam legislative efforts in many states, including Florida and North Carolina, where it drew praise from the bill’s sponsor.
In 2016, CWA campaigned to have then Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner veto the creation of the state’s first Muslim American Advisory Council on the grounds that such a law “gives Muslims a formal voice in government.” The group’s events and workshops regularly promote and advertise the work of Islamophobic and anti-Muslim speakers.
Former president of CWA Sandy Rios is a prominent media contributor, especially on Fox News. The Southern Poverty Law reported that Rios has made public statements like: “Muslim Americans do not have First Amendment rights” and that Islam is “a complete and total system that demands usurpation of whatever the local authority is, it demands to dominate it, it demands to conquer, to kill or convert.”
