Less than a month after a former member of Maryland’s hate crime commission said she did not apply to be part of the group as it undergoes reforms, another member has confirmed he has withdrawn his appointment.

Ayman Nassar, CEO of the Maryland-based Islamic Leadership Institute, a non-profit educational and research organization that primarily serves youth ages 9 to 25, said he withdrew from the Maryland Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention after an “online harassment and smear campaign was launched” against him.

“The energy that would be consumed by distractions from the commission’s work can be more effectively channeled into building strategic alliances and partnerships that will advance our shared goals,” Nassar wrote in an email to The Baltimore Banner.

Attorney General Anthony Brown accepted Nassar’s resignation Monday, Jennifer Donelan, director of communications for the Office of the Attorney General, said in an email.

“The Office of the Attorney General is extending outreach to the Muslim community across Maryland as it launches a search to fill the now-vacated seat,” Donelan said. “It is critical that Commission membership reflects those communities that have been most impacted by hate activity in Maryland. We look forward to their contribution to this important work in our State.”

Last month, Zainab Chaudry, Maryland director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said she did not apply after she came under fire last year for making a series of what some said were anti-Israel social-media posts, leading to her suspension from the commission. She was later reinstated when Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office said he didn’t have the authority to remove Chaudry.

The commission then got an overhaul under new rules that govern how members are chosen, established under legislation passed during the most recent General Assembly session. The legislation forced the 25 members — including Chaudry — to reapply to the commission. Brown’s office in July announced it had chosen a new commission from the applicants, which included Nassar.

Those chosen are serving as acting commissioners until confirmed by the Maryland Senate. A separate law Gov. Wes Moore signed this year gave all state commission heads the power to remove members before their term ends.

Nassar has accused the grassroots advocacy initiative, Middle East Forum, which says it “promotes American interests in the Middle East and protects Western values from Middle Eastern threats”, with orchestrating the efforts to “smear” him.

“My appointment to the Maryland State Attorney Commission on Hate Crime Response & Prevention has been met with a coordinated Islamophobic campaign of hate and online bullying from anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim groups spearheaded by Middle East Form, led by Benjamin Baird, solely because of views on the atrocities and human rights violations inflicted against the Palestinian people,” Nassar wrote. “It is troubling to witness the extent to which the forces of bigotry and online bullying can influence our state’s leadership. The campaign against me has not only been a personal attack but also an assault on the integrity of the commission and the important work it is meant to do,” he added.

Middle East Forum has accused Nassar of supporting pro-terror groups and making “offensive” social media posts. They also said they had a role in the effort to get Chaudry removed from the commission.

“This is not merely a case of guilt by association. Nassar’s own social-media history shows that he adheres to the same radical antisemitic views that cost his predecessor her seat on the commission,” wrote Benjamin Baird, director of MEF Action Middle East Forum.

Del. Sandy Rosenberg of Northwest Baltimore said he became aware of Nassar’s views on a variety of topics, and that his involvement as chair of the Aafia Foundation, which Rosenberg believes “advocates for the release of a convicted terrorist,” and “refers to the terrorists who perpetrated the worst mass-killing of Jews since the Holocaust as ‘Palestinian resistance fighters.’”

Rosenberg said he informed the General Assembly’s Jewish Caucus about it.

“This very disturbing appointment ran counter to the goals of the General Assembly in creating the Hate Crimes Commission,” Rosenberg wrote in an email.

Baird also accused Attorney General Brown of acting with “reckless, inexcusable negligence in nominating an even more extreme commissioner. His actions are an insult to the activists and legislators who worked so hard to purge the commission, which is tasked with combating hate, of hateful influences.”

Baird added: “We encourage the attorney general to act with greater vigilance when picking a third candidate to represent the state’s Muslim community.”

This story will be updated.