Dr. Ben Carson, candidate for President of the United States, recently stated that he could not endorse a hypothetical Muslim candidate for President unless such candidate renounced certain basic and fundamental tenants of Islam (i.e., Sharia law) because certain Islamic tenants do not conform with fundamental principles of the United States Constitution.

In response to Dr. Carson's statement, the Council for Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) demanded at a nationally televised press conference that Dr. Carson withdraw his candidacy for the office of the Presidency. CAIR contends that Dr. Carson's statements demonstrates that he is not qualified for the position.

Specifically, Nihad Awad, the executive director of the CAIR, said, “We really urge politicians, the general public, community leaders and presidential candidates to repudiate his views and we ask Mr. Ben Carson to withdraw from the presidential race because he is unfit to lead and because his views are inconsistent with the United States Constitution ....” (Emphasis added.)

CAIR is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Per the web site of the Internal Revenue Service, the Internal Revenue Code strictly prohibits such organizations from involving themselves (for or against) in elections and campaigns for public office. Specifically, the IRS web site provides:

"Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes." (Emphasis added.)

By this petition, we are requesting that Congress and the IRS conduct a thorough investigation of CAIR's improper interjection into the 2016 campaign for the election of the President of the United States as outlined above. If such investigation confirms any wrongdoing on CAIR's behalf, we are requesting that the IRS immediately revoke CAIR's 501(c)(3) tax exempt status and take any and all other appropriate action. Alternatively, if the IRS is not inclined to revoke CAIR's tax exempt status, we are requesting that the IRS publically reprimand CAIR for this violation and issue a written warning to CAIR that such activity will not be tolerated in the future.