Dean Obeidallah, one of The Daily Beast’s regular columnists, is working this weekend as a fundraiser for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The CAIR group is so closely entwined with Islamists and with jihadis that court documents and news reports show that at least five of its people — either board members, employees or former employees — have been jailed or repatriated from the United States for various financial and terror-related offenses.

The record highlighted by critics also shows that CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in a Texas-based criminal effort to deliver $12 million to the Jew-hating HAMAS jihad group, that it was founded with $490,000 from HAMAS, and that the FBI bans top-level meetings with CAIR officials. “The FBI policy restricting a formal relationship with CAIR remains … [but] does not preclude communication regarding investigative activity or allegations of civil rights violations,” said an email from FBI spokesman Christopher Allen.

In 2009, a federal judge concluded that “the government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR… with Hamas.”

On Saturday, CAIR is having its 21st anniversary dinner as HAMAS cheers on another wave of Jew-hating Arabs as they stab innocents in Jerusalem.

Obeidallah, who is a comedian and a columnist for the Daily Beast, is headlining CAIR’s fundraiser, and recently recorded a YouTube video to persuade people to buy tickets for the event.

“I’m comedian Dean Obeidallah, and I’m really looking forward to performing this Saturday, October 17, at CAIR’s 21st anniversary banquet in Arlington, Virginia,” he says in the video. “It’s a great event for a great cause, to help CAIR with their important work, so I hope to see you there, Inshallah… get your tickets right now,” Obeidallah said in his video.

Inshallah’ is Arabic for “Allah willing.”

The Daily Beast defended Obeidallah, up to a point.

“Dean Obeidallah is a fantastic writer with an original voice,” said D.C. editor Will Rahn. “We’re proud to publish his opinion columns,” he added. That declaration mischievously distances The Daily Beast from the actual content of Obeidallah’s columns.

Breitbart News contacted CAIR, which forwarded a link outlining the group’s response to evidence of its associations with HAMAS. The group’s spokesman recently ejected Breitbart News’ reporter from their headquarters.

Breitbart News contacted Obeidallah to get his side of the story.

Obeidallah declined to answer Breitbart News’ questions, but repeatedly suggested that CAIR should not be stigmatized until its senior members are formally convicted of jihad.

Breitbart News provided multiple links showing CAIR’s association with HAMAS, and then asked “why you choose to work with CAIR, and also to help raise funds for them?”

Obeidallah responded,

Do you have evidence that CAIR is involved in supporting terrorist groups like Hamas or any other terror group? If you do then lets go to the FBI or US Justice Department with it together. I am sincerely very happy to accompany you or anyone else you know so they can present such evidence. (I would write about it for The Daily Beast of course) Perhaps you can get one of the authors of the articles you sent to go with us to the FBI. I would never associate with a group that is funding terrorism so lets do this immediately. When can you get the evidence so that we can go? And just so it’s clear, Im not joking. I’m 100 percent serious.

Breitbart then asked “How has CAIR convinced you that the web of shared people and shared ideas does not add up to an close strategic and ideological relationship with HAMAS? Do you think we Americans should shut our eyes to the evidence until a court decides what we’re allowed to conclude? Have you ever asked [CAIR’s founder and director, Nihad] Awad if non-combatant Jews can be killed legitimately? Have you got a clear and unequivocal ‘No.’? Have you ever asked Awad if Israel should be recognized when Arabs in the area are also recognized as an independent nation?”

Obeidallah responded;

“So they are not funding terrorism so that’s off the list. Now if they are advising Hamas I think that arguably it is supplying material support to a terrorist group. Evidence of that should be brought to the authorities… If Awad or any other person leading an organization advocated killing Jews or any other faith for that matter, I would never attend an event they are organizing. A quick google search shows CAIR involved – both nationally and locally in interfaith work with the Jewish community – for example – [this and this and this] … Why don’t you and I speak to an FBI agent together about this? It needs to be investigated and I’m sure you wouldn’t make allegations without proof. Want me to reach out to FBI so you can report the evidence you have directly? We might be able to do a conference call tomorrow. What time works for you? I’m flexible

Breitbart News next asked “If a court eventually decides that CAIR cooperated with HAMAS, would you end any ties with the [group], and apologize for your mistake? Will you accept any evidence, short of a court decision, that CAIR and HAMAS are allies?”

Obeidallah responded;

You continue to allege CAIR is working with a terrorist organization but you either lack the evidence or the courage to report it to the authorities? Is that a fair characterization of your position? In America you can allege anything you want. Now I’m asking you to prove it.”

Breitbart News tried again; “Have you ever defended a moderate/conservative — who has said or done something that you don’t like — on the grounds that she or he had not been found guilty of actual lawbreaking? So for example, when Bill Maher critiques Islam, have you stood up to say that his words & actions are OK because he has not been found guilty of slander?”

Obeidallah evaded again;

I have begged you to show me objective, credible evidence that HAMAS and CAIR are working together. I made it clear that if you had such evidence I would never work with CAIR or any organization that is working with HAMAS or any terrorist group… You have produced ZERO credible evidence… Sorry, as a former trial lawyer I need evidence, not gossip.”

However, in his Sept. 19 column for The Daily Beast, for example, Obeidallah vociferously criticized Maher, even though Maher had not been found guilty of any crime.

He accused Mahar of “good old fashioned anti-Muslim fear mongering” when Maher asked aloud “Will someone look me in the eye right here and tell me over the last 30 years if so many young Muslim men… hadn’t blow up a lot of shit around the world.”

Obeidalah also claimed that Maher showing “bigotry… [and is] a man spewing anti-Muslim hate,” when Mahar correctly stated that “for the last 30 years [Islam has] been a culture that has been blowing shit up over and over again.” Technically, Maher was criticizing the ideology of Islam, not individual Muslims.

Obeidallah also claimed that Maher’s liberal dislike of Islamic jihad is actually evidence of racism. To make his case, Obeidallah, cited the Irving, Texas, case of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested Sept. 14 when cops suspected that his home-made clock-in-a-box was intended to be a hoax-bomb.

“Maher concluded… by astoundingly suggesting that his parents explain to Mohamed that the reason he was arrested was that ‘in our religion, we were responsible for 9/11, the Madrid bombings, the London bombings, the Bali discotheque bombings, the Kenya mall bombings.’ So does Maher suggest black parents tell their children that they should accept being harassed by the police because in the past other black people have committed crimes?”

But being black is a neutral biological condition, like being short or tall. However, being Muslim is a choice, and it implies an voluntary embrace of Islam’s orthodox jihad ideas.

On 9/11, 2001, 19 Muslims jihadis, acting out of Islamic religious motivations, killed almost 3,000 Americans. On a much smaller scale, two Muslims tried to machine-gun an art exhibition in Garland, Texas. The two Muslims were quickly put down by guards who had been hired in the correct expectation that some Muslims would try to implement their religion’s commandment against criticism of Islam’s reputed final prophet.

Obeidallah’s blanket defense of CAIR mimics the group’s blanket defense of Islamist advocates. For years, even after the 9/11 atrocity, the group has denounced anti-jihad measures, no matter how routine, nuanced or effective, as unfair, racist or bigoted.