Casey Askar, a Republican congressional candidate and pizza franchise owner, has campaigned on keeping Sharia law out of the United States while his restaurant business has promoted its pizzerias as “100% halal” in seeking expansion in the Middle East, according to a CNN review of his financial holdings.
Askar, the Republican nominee in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, an increasingly competitive contest, has called Sharia a “growing threat” and promised to join the Sharia-Free America Caucus if elected. He said at a candidate forum over the summer that “Sharia law is extremely dangerous” and that “Islam and Christianity just do not mesh,” according to The Floridian, and wrote in a September 11 anniversary post that Americans “must stay vigilant on the growing threat that Sharia Law poses.” He also argued at a June forum that mass migration to Europe, which he called “Christendom,” should serve as a dire warning to the United States.
Last September, the consulting firm Franchise Arabia announced a partnership with Askar Brands to grow two of its restaurants, Sarpino’s Pizzeria and Blackjack Pizza & Salads, in the Middle East. Askar welcomed the deal in a news release citing the region’s “thriving economy.” “We’re excited to bring our brands to the MENA region and introduce our proven franchise systems to a new generation of entrepreneurs,” he said at the time. He also traveled around the region, posing for photographs with business leaders and royalty in Saudi Arabia and other countries with Sharia-based legal systems, CNN reported.
“Many public people are willing to have great relationships, but then when it’s also convenient to sow hatred against the Muslim community, then they are also equally happy to do that,” Corey Saylor, a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told CNN.
Askar said in a statement that he has “neither invested in or received investments from the Middle East, and that business decision is not going to change.” He defended his statements on Sharia. “We must do whatever it takes to protect our citizens from the efforts by domestic radical Islamists to destroy our American way of life,” he said. He did not respond to detailed questions about his business record, CNN reported.
Askar’s family fled religious persecution as Christians in Iraq and settled in Michigan, where he served in the Marines before building a business with his brother spanning commercial real estate and fast-casual restaurant franchises. He moved to Florida two decades ago, and his financial disclosures show millions of dollars in holdings tied to restaurant ventures and other investments.
CNN’s review of court records, business filings and interviews found disputes dating to 2001, when an electrician who sold Askar a limousine sued over a bad check, recouping his money in a 2002 settlement. After Askar’s Papa Romano’s Pizza merged with the Mr. Pita chain in 2007, his former partner Frank Lombardo sued for breach of contract and wrongful termination; a court ruled Askar’s business owed Lombardo more than $900,000, judgments satisfied in 2012. In 2016 the Seminole Tribe of Florida sued Askar’s fuel distribution business alleging theft of trade secrets; a tribal court found the company owed more than $2.5 million, and the case settled in 2024 after a legal fight of nearly a decade. Askar and his associates denied the allegations.
An office tower in Hartford, Connecticut, that one of Askar’s companies bought in 2020 for a planned renovation has instead accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in liens and multiple lawsuits, with one judge finding a “continuing pattern of delay and noncompliance.” Hartford’s mayor added Askar to a list of “problem landlords” last year, and the city plans to auction the property in November to recover more than $860,000 in delinquent taxes, three days after the election. Lawyers for Askar’s company argue that a business partner misrepresented the tower’s condition and that the Covid-19 pandemic made the project financially impossible.
The Federal Election Commission found “reason to believe” in 2022 that Askar’s first congressional campaign violated campaign finance law over its reporting of a $3 million line of credit from Northern Bank & Trust Company. The mortgage documents said the loan, secured by properties including a Connecticut mansion Askar bought from the rapper 50 Cent for $2.9 million in 2019, was intended to remodel Dunkin’ stores. A lawyer for the 2020 campaign argued the loan was made in the “ordinary course of business.” Askar lost that primary to Representative Byron Donalds, and after a Florida resident filed an FEC complaint citing conflicting loan details and more than $11,000 in donations from the bank’s CEO and his wife, Askar sued the man for defamation; a judge dismissed the suit and ordered Askar to pay the man’s attorney’s fees.
Askar is again self-funding his campaign. As of late July he had loaned it $2.5 million, 43 times the roughly $58,000 he had received in contributions, FEC records show. He reported owing Northern Bank between $41 million and $130 million across five loans.
Islam was not a major theme of Askar’s 2020 campaign, CNN noted. This year opposition to Sharia has returned as a theme in Republican politics, with many top Republicans calling it a growing domestic threat at the party’s midterm convention in Texas last month. Askar wrote earlier this month: “Radical Islam is a growing threat to America and must be eliminated.”