Backgrounder: Muslim American Society


Introduction

Updated: January 18, 2011

 

The Muslim American Society (MAS), established in 1993 and based in Falls Church, Virginia, claims to be "America's largest grassroots Muslim organization with over 50 chapters nationwide."  While MAS portrays itself as a mainstream organization that attempts to serve the social, educational and religious needs of American Muslims, the organization has a troubling history of associations with radical organizations and individuals that promote terrorism, anti-Semitism and reject Israel's right to exist.

 

The organization's ties to extremism are apparent in several ways:

 

  • MAS leaders have said that the group was founded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic extremist movement that originated in Egypt and has spawned and inspired terrorist organizations around the world, including     Hamas and Al Qaeda.
  • MAS-affiliated Web sites have featured articles advocating jihad and suicide martyrdom.
  • The chairman of the Islamic American University, a Michigan-based subsidiary of MAS, is Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi, a leading Qatar-based Muslim Brotherhood ideologue known for his support of terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.
  • Current MAS leaders and advisors held positions in the now defunct-Islamic Association for Palestine, described by the U.S. as part of a "propaganda apparatus" for Hamas.
  • Abdurahman Alamoudi, a prominent member of MAS and the founding president of the Islamic Society of Boston, is serving a 23 year prison sentence for illegal dealings with Libya and his involvement in a plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. 

In addition to links to extremism, MAS is the leading American Muslim organization organizing anti-Israel activity in the U.S.  MAS attracts sizable audiences to its anti-Israel demonstrations as a result of its affiliation with some of the largest mosques in the country. The Boston chapter of MAS manages the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) Cultural Center, self-described as the largest Islamic center in New England. Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, one of the largest mosques in the greater Washington area, says it has been affiliated with MAS since 1999. The Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Illinois, one of the largest mosques in the Chicago area, coordinates its programming with MAS Youth, the youth division of the organization. The majority of the Foundation's leadership is also reportedly made up of members of MAS.

 



Ties to Muslim Brotherhood

While leaders of the Muslim American Society (MAS) have stated that MAS was founded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization remains vague about their formal relationship. Also known as the Ikhwan, the Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic extremist movement founded in Egypt that has spawned and inspired several terrorist groups, including Hamas. 

 

In several instances, MAS leaders, including the former President of MAS, Esam Omeish have openly acknowledged the Brotherhood's ideological influence on their organization. In September 2004, Omeish submitted a letter to the editor of the Washington Post in which he stated, "The moderate school of thought prevalent in the Muslim Brotherhood represents a significant trend in Islamic activism…and we in MAS accordingly have been influenced by that moderate Islamic school of thought [the Muslim Brotherhood] as it applies to our American identity…"

 

MAS's former Secretary General, Shaker El Sayed, said in an interview in 2004 with the Chicago Tribune that "Ikhwan members founded MAS, but MAS went way beyond that point of conception."

MAS's ties with the Muslim Brotherhood go beyond ideological inspiration.  Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi, a leading Muslim Brotherhood ideologue based in Qatar, is the chairman (in absentia) of a Michigan-based MAS subsidiary, the Islamic American University (IAU), according to information on the MAS Website. He is also listed by IAU as a faculty member. Qaradawi, barred from entering the U.S., is known for his support for terrorism, and most notably in his edicts condoning suicide bombings. Qaradawi was also listed as a board member of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), the mosque currently managed by MAS. 

 

MAS has released several statements mourning the deaths of Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Egypt, including Mohammad Mamoun al-Hodaibi, the sixth General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2004, and Sheikh Mustafa Mashhour, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2002. In fact, MAS released a statement mourning the "grave loss" of Mashhour a year after he wrote, in an open letter to then-President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks, that Jews had deformed the image of Islam in the West, and that he hoped the President would "understand the reality of Islam and its enemies, particularly the Jews."

 

Several MAS chapters have included links on their websites to the works of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan Al Banna, and the group's leading intellectual, Syed Qutb. These and other writings endorsed by MAS advocate the concepts of jihad and martyrdom, total obedience to "the Islamic Movement," and support for a global multi-front war against non-Muslims.

 

For example, Al Banna's compilation of letters, available on the Web sites of MAS' Minnesota and Tampa chapters at least until 2004, describe jihad as: "an obligation from Allah on every Muslim [that] cannot be ignored nor evaded. Allah has ascribed great important to jihad and has made the reward of the martyrs and the fighters in His way a splendid one…Furthermore, Allah has specifically honored the mujahideen…"

 

Also available through the Web sites listed above was Sheikh Qaradawi's work, Priorities of the Islamic Movement in the Coming Phase, in which he calls for violent jihad and hails Hamas as "the steadfast, brave, aware Islamic resistance movement." In the same book, Qaradawi wrote this of the Jews: "…Jewish capitalists who, despite the known Jewish miserliness and money worship, have given generously to the Jewish cause before and after the establishment of Israel."



Support for Terrorism

Several MAS leaders have expressed support for terror and worked with other groups that support terrorism against the state of Israel.

  • Salah Sultan, a MAS founder and former president of the Islamic American University (IAU), a subsidiary of MAS based in Southfield, Michigan, was also a regular guest at conventions of the now defunct Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a Hamas-affiliated anti-Semitic propaganda organization in the U.S. In a recorded speech he gave at IAP's 1999 convention, Salah Sultan said: "This is the method of the Jews… This is what the text of the [Jewish] talmud says: "If you come across a non-Jew kill him!" …I want every child to sleep on the wound of Palestine and the action of martyrdom…"
  • Raeed Tayeh has served as a political consultant to the MAS Freedom Foundation, the "public affairs arm" of MAS in charge of advocacy, after working as its Public Affairs Director for a number of years. Tayeh was involved with other Hamas-linked organizations, including IAP and the United Association for Studies and Research, a think-tank established by Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzuq.
  • Shaker El Sayed is former Secretary General of MAS. During his leadership, El Sayed spoke at MAS' first joint convention with the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in Baltimore in 2002, where he said, "The Islamic scholars said whenever there is an attack on an Islamic state or occupation, or the honor of the Muslims has been violated, the Jihad is a must for everyone, a child, a lady and a man. They have to make Jihad with every tool that they can get in their hand."
  • Mohammad Al Hanooti is a religious leader active with MAS and directs the educational activities of the Dar Al Hijrah MAS-affiliated mosque in Virginia. Al Hanooti, who served as the first president of IAP, also raised money and helped to coordinate Hamas' activities in the U.S., according to FBI officials. For years, al Hanooti has provided fatawa' (religious edicts) for MAS members on its Web site, as well as those provided in MAS's magazine, American Muslims. His fatawa pronouncements are still available on MAS site.
  • Mazen Mokhtar is the Youth Division Director of the MAS NJ Chapter and a member of the Board of Trustees of MAS. He also speaks at many MAS events, as well as at the Young Muslim camps run by ICNA. From August 2001 through November 2005, Mazen Mokhtar was the administrator of the Web site created to mirror a jihadi propaganda site called Azzam Publications. Azzam Publications regularly disseminated statements by Al Qaeda leaders and videos until it was shut down after September 11. An ongoing federal investigation seeks to determine if the Mokhtar's site attempted to solicit funds and recruit fighters for the Taliban and the Chechen mujahideen. In a reportedly unrelated case, Mokhtar was arrested on April 24, 2007 after a federal grand jury indicted him on tax fraud charges.


MAS and ICNA

MAS is closely allied with the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a Muslim community organization based in Jamaica, New York. While ICNA provides various educational programs and services to local Muslim communities, it has also promoted anti-Semitism and extremism.

 

MAS holds its annual conventions together with ICNA, drawing thousands of participants each year. These conventions have featured known anti-Semites and provided a platform for extremist rhetoric. 

 

At their joint convention in Rosemont, Illinois, from December 23-27, 2010, several speakers made anti-Semitic and conspiratorial remarks, portraying Jews as a privileged group with undue power. During a panel about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East sponsored by the anti-Israel group American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Osama Abuirshaid, an AMP board member, said that the Jewish community is "revered in this country [the United States]" and spoke of "the Israel lobby" and its influence on the U.S. government. Abuirshaid asked, "How influential is this lobby in Washington?  This establishment is as committed to Israel as it is to America."

 

Othman Atta, a frequent speaker at AMP events, claimed "U.S. politicians don't have any concern for people in the Middle East, besides one group of people," referring to the Jews. Atta then went on to lambaste Judaism, saying, "Theft, detention, denial of rights…this is all done in the name of the Jewish religion." In front of an audience of hundreds, Atta delved into conspiracy theory, explaining that the perceived absence of WikiLeaks cables about Israel was a result of the documents being "censored by the media in the United States." Three members of the fringe movement Neturei Karta, who regularly appear at anti-Israel and anti-Semitic events, also attended the 2010 MAS-ICNA convention.

 

One year earlier, at the MAS-ICNA joint convention in December 2009, religious scholars and political activists railed against Jews from both a political and theological standpoint. Rafiq Jaber, former President of the Islamic Association of Palestine,

a Hamas-affiliated anti-Semitic propaganda organization, described Jews to the audience as "the worst kind of people," who came to Jerusalem "with false pretenses."

 

Another speaker, Hamed Ghazali, Chairman of the MAS Council of Islamic Schools and professor at the Islamic American University in Michigan, told convention participants in Arabic that "Allah gave us the Jews" as the primary historical and religious example of those who "take the wrong path."

 

Sheikh Raghib Al Serjani, an author and physician from Egypt, declared in Arabic, "It is the duty for all Muslims to liberate all of Palestine from the North to the South, from Al Quds to the sea, it's a duty for all Muslims to liberate one complete full land of Palestine… It's not just about liberating Al Quds. It's all occupied!"

 

MAS and ICNA sought to draw participants to the December 2009 convention by advertising two known anti-Semitic extremists from abroad as keynote speakers: Zaghloul Al Najjar, an Egyptian cleric who has described Jews as "devils in human form," and Ra'ed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, who served jail time for financing Hamas. 

 

Although neither of the advertised speakers attended the convention, Salah was clearly praised by several individuals who did speak at the event. Omar Abu Irshaid, editor of Al Meezan online publication, and former editor of the anti-Semitic publication linked to the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), referred to Salah as "our great Muslim sheikh" and said, "Sheikh Raed is far more knowledgeable and far more experienced. I wish he was here to speak instead of me."

 

Anti-Semitic messages are not new to these organizations. At an MAS-ICNA strategy meeting in Chicago in June 2001, Zulfiqar Ali Shah, ICNA's president at the time, stated: "If we are unable to stop the Jews now, their next stop is Yathrib [Saudi Arabia], where the Jews used to live until their expulsion by Prophet Muhammad.  That's the pinnacle of their motives," according to Islam Online, a Web-based publication connected to Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi.

 

MAS and ICNA have also worked with the North American branch of a radical anti-Semitic and anti-American Pakistani organization, Tanzeem-e-Islami, which operates in the U.S. under the name Islamic Organization of North America (IONA). MAS and ICNA leaders have attended IONA events. At IONA's official launching event in June 2004, Dr. Souheil Ghannouchi, MAS executive director and former president, said "I don't think there is any difference" between IONA and MAS ideology.

 

IONA has also distributed anti-Semitic literature, including a book that blames the Jews for spreading usury in order to advance various conspiracies against humanity.  The book, The Prohibition of Riba, reads: "Shylock, and the world of Shylocks, in real life today, are in control of the world economy and are constantly carving out their pound of flesh from the dying carcass of gentile humanity. The supreme Shylocks of today are the bankers, of whom Jewish bankers take pride of place, the International Monetary Fund and the world Bank, in which Jewish influence is significant, and the governments of the western world which today control the global economy, and in which Jews wield significant influence."

 



Anti-Israel Activity

MAS leaders have made public statements moving beyond criticism of Israel to demonization of "the Zionists," a term they use in a derogatory fashion to reference the Israeli government and supporters of the state of Israel.  MAS organizes anti-Israel demonstrations and other events at which speakers reiterate conspiratorial beliefs that Jews control the government, foreign policy and the media.

 

On June 6, 2009, MAS co-sponsored a rally in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C.  where MAS leader Ibrahim Abdil-Mu'id Ramey said, "We cannot allow our President to back down from the Israeli lobby or from the Zionist pressure that will undoubtedly come against him."

 

Esam Omeish, former President of MAS, told the crowd at an anti-Israel rally co-sponsored by MAS in Washington D.C. on August 12, 2006, that "the deliberate targeting of civilians though the barbaric, indiscriminate, disproportionate Israeli war machine is indeed criminal and must end now, that all the prisoners and captives must be released." Omeish also made reference to the "Israeli agenda that controls our congress," referring to the U.S. Congress.

 

MAS has furthermore extended invitations to speakers whose anti-Israel remarks delve into anti-Semitic prevarications.  In June 2006, MAS co-sponsored a town hall meeting in La Mirada, CA where former Ambassador Edward Peck delivered a keynote address in which he reportedly said, "There is a linkage between what is happening in Iraq and terrorism. It is linked to our support of Israel." Peck was reported as having "reminded his audience that the Nazis saw the rest of the world as untermensch – subhuman and not worthy of respect. He said that is how Israelis treat their opponents…The media, he explained, like Congress, is controlled by Jews."

 

MAS has sponsored anti-Israel rallies in the U.S. that featured virulently anti-Jewish rhetoric and expressions of support for terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant movement that calls for the destruction of Israel. In December 2008, MAS organized a "National Day of Action" in more than 30 locations around the U.S. in response to Israel's military action in Gaza. Many of the demonstrations were marked by offensive Holocaust imagery likening Jews and Israelis to Nazis, anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

 

The MAS Freedom Foundation, a MAS branch that serves as the group's advocacy arm, has embraced those who embrace Hamas. Beginning in March 2009, shortly after George Galloway and the European Viva Palestina convoy delivered cash and vehicles directly to representatives of Hamas, MAS leaders raised funds to support similar efforts for U.S. convoy that visited Gaza in July 2009.

 

MAS chapters around the country, in coordination with MAS Freedom, launched campaigns to buttress Galloway's cause, including the "Let Gaza Live" and "End the Gaza Embargo" projects.  At an anti-Israeli rally in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C Mahdi Brey, Executive Director of MAS Freedom, asserted: "On the 4th of July in NY, MAS Freedom—along with other groups—will be taking a caravan along with George Galloway and his caravan from New York to Egypt and from Egypt across the border to Gaza." MAS Freedom reportedly provided a container of medical supplies and equipment for the convoy.



Promoting Extremist Materials

The Muslim American Society (MAS) has historically disseminated and promoted extremist literature. At its 8th annual convention held in December 2009 in Chicago, MAS' Youth organization sold educational materials including books and CDs by radical anti-Semitic sheikhs such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a leading Muslim Brotherhood ideologue based in Qatar who is known for his support of terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah; and Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. born Muslim cleric based in Yemen who has encouraged American Muslims to attack non-Muslims and Western targets.

 

MAS also made available on its Web site until March 2006 issues of American Muslims, a magazine edited by Editor-in-Chief Souheil Ghannouchi, who was also an Executive Director of MAS. The publication featured anti-Semitic articles and religious edicts justifying suicide operations.

 

The cover story in the January 2004 issue of American Muslims featured an article arguing that "the bible is a distorted document" and that "Zionism began with the Old Testament…Unknown authors willingly distorted the word of God to suit their own self-interest…" The article stated that, "The Middle East conflict today still harkens back to Jews' erroneous claim that God…gave the 'Promised Land' exclusively to Jews."

In July 2003, the online version of the publication, American Muslim Online, featured an article by Omer bin Abdullah called, "Reaching the Roots of Terrorism." Abdullah indicated the history of terrorism began "more than 2,000 years ago," when "Jewish Zealots assassinated their targets, the Roman occupiers, in broad daylight, often in crowded market places or on feast days." Abdullah continued: "The U.S. has placed itself in a corner: It insists that other governments stop, prevent, and even help it to fight terrorism, and yet arms such practitioners of state terrorism as Tel Aviv. Today, terrorism refers to those whom the U.S. dislikes, especially Muslims, or who work against a U.S. ally-of-the-moment."

 

The May 2003 issue featured a fictional story depicting Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian civilians, describing the soldiers as laughing, their hands covered with blood, as they eat their victims' bread - evoking the anti-Semitic canard of a blood-libel.

 

In 2002, an issue of American Muslim Online reprinted a fatwa justifying suicide bombings by Fawsal Mawlawi, the radical Lebanese associate of Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi. In the fatwa, Mawlawi explained that "in martyr operations, the Muslim sacrifices his own life for the sake of performing a religious duty, which is Jihad against the enemy."

 

Some MAS chapters continue to provide anti-Semitic content for their readership. On the MAS Chicago Web site, under the section, "Links of Interest," the organization directs readers toward an article titled, "The Corruption of the Torah."  The author of the article advises this with respect to the Jews: "We should not be so quick to call for death and destruction until all avenues of dawa and calm rational reasoning have been exhausted…Even though Allah (SWT) has told us of the hatred they hide in their hearts, He has not command us to hate and kill every single Jew we meet simply because he is a Jew."

 

Historically, MAS's Web site also supplied links to movements that espouse extremist ideology and advocate violent jihad.  Available for years until the end of 2002, MAS provided "Islamic Resources" on its Web site, directing its members and visitors to a list of sites including: the Al Manar Web site of Hezbollah, a group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State; the Web site of the Yusuf al-Qaradawi; the Moro Islamic Liberation Front; and an Eritrean jihadi movement called the Mujahideen of the Islamic Union in Ogadin.  The MAS resource list also included links to organizations that promote anti-Semitism such as the now-defunct Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

 




The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.