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January 24, 2024 Special Dispatch No. 11093

MEMRI TV COMPILATION OF CALIFORNIA IMAMS IN SUPPORT OF OCTOBER 7 HAMAS ATTACK: Claiming Attack Defeated Israel, Calling For Annihilating Israel, Claiming Israel Created Hollywood-Type Videos Of Hamas Atrocities, Saying The U.S. Lied About Hamas Beheading Babies And Raping Women, Calling To Make Zionists On Campuses 'Very Uncomfortable' And For Jews To Hang From The Rope Allah Gave Them

January 24, 2024
Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 11093

Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, murdered over 1,200 people, and took nearly 250 hostage, the MEMRI research team that monitors imams' sermons in mosques in the U.S. as well as speeches and statements by U.S. Muslim leaders and organizations has been finding, and exposing, some very disturbing content.

This content has included antisemitic and pro-Hamas statements, expressions of support for the October 7 attacks and calls for further violence, denial of the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas, and anti-Israel and anti-U.S. statements.

It is notable that in our extensive monitoring, our researchers have not found a single sermon denouncing Hamas or the October 7 attacks.

Our exposure of statements by Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) executive director Nihad Awad – that he was "happy to see" Palestinians "breaking the siege" on October 7, "throwing down the shackles of their own land, and walk[ing] free into their land," and his assertion that "the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense... [but] Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense" – led the White House to disavow CAIR and to remove it from its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.

This compilation includes sermons that we have found from across California – nearly a dozen, and more are in the works – compiled into a single video. These sermons reflecting the sentiment we have found in our broader U.S. monitoring are by Sunni and Shi'ite imams from major mosques and leading organizations, as well as by individuals associated with universities.

The speakers herein express blatant antisemitism, including tropes about Jews controlling the media, descriptions of Israel as the new Nazis who are "fabricating videos" of the atrocities "like a Hollywood studio," assertions of Hamas's humanity to their Israeli captives who hugged and kissed them goodbye when they were released, and calls for violence against Jews. One of the more disturbing clips focuses on Palestinian protests on college campuses and exhorts the audience, "This is the time to agitate, to make Zionists feel very uncomfortable on campus."

No other organization is doing the work MEMRI does. Monitoring these groups and individuals and producing these clips is very exacting and demanding, and expensive.

TO VIEW THIS COMPILATION VIDEO, CLICK HERE.

To view the MEMRI Sermons By Imams In The West page, click here.

Santa Clara, California Imam Abdel Malik Ali: The Mask Of The Jews Is Off – They Are The New Nazis; Zionists Are White Supremacist Europeans With No Semitic DNA; Warns Of 'False Flag' Attack In The U.S. Intended To Incriminate Muslims And Curtail Growing Popularity Of Islam; Adds; Muslims Are Seen As Heroes Now Because Of Gaza – The West Has Got A Problem

At a December 13, 2023 lecture at the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, CA, Imam Amir Abdel Malik Ali of Masjid Al-Islam in Oakland CA, discussed the growing popularity of Islam in the West. He said that Muslims are heroes now because of Gaza and it should be no surprise if there will be a "terrorist attack" on America, which will be attributed to Muslims, in order to make them "shut up about Palestine." However, Ali said, Muslims are so popular in America right now, that they will be believed this was a "false flag" operation. He said that the West has a "problem on their hands" because Islam is the fastest growing religion in the West. Ali said that the Jews are the "new Nazis" and that they are white Europeans who converted to Judaism.

According to the social media accounts of the Muslim Community Association, the lecture was titled "Gaza: Unveiling Reality – An Immediate Call to Action and Spiritual Empowerment," and a video recording of the lecture was posted on the YouTube channel of the Islamic center on December 20, 2023. Imam Amir Abdel Malik Ali is the leader of the Oakland branch of As-Sabiqun, which was founded by DC Imam Abdul Alim Musa. As-Sabiqun has been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.

Torrance, California Imam Mohammad S. Ahmed During Friday Sermon: The Children Of Israel Have A Long History Of Wickedness, Murder, And Occupation; Bursts Into Tears: What Have We Done Wrong To Make Allah Not Choose Us To Be Martyrs Like The Palestinians?

Imam Mohammad S. Ahmed broke down in tears during a December 22, 2023 Friday sermon at the Islamic Institute of Torrance, California, asking: "What have we done wrong to not be martyrs for the sake of Allah?" He added: "What have we done for our mothers not to be like the mothers of the martyrs in Palestine [...] for our men not to be among those resisting in Palestine?" Ahmed went on to say that the Palestinians have been chosen by Allah to be "the best people living on the earth nowadays." He said that the Children of Israel have a long history of cowardice, wickedness, and murder and that Allah has punished them for this. The sermon was posted on the YouTube channel of the Islamic Institute of Torrance.

UCLA Law Professor Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl In Friday Sermon: The Israelis And Americans Blame The Palestinians For Their Own Slaughter Like The Germans Blamed The Jews; They Dehumanize Us Like The Nazis Dehumanized The Jews

UCLA professor of Law Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl said in a December 22, 2023 sermon streamed live on the YouTube channel of the Usuli Institute that the Israelis and Americans employ the same rhetoric against the Palestinians as the Germans did against the Jews. He also stated that the U.S. that lied about beheaded babies and raped women remains silent facing the brutality of Israel in Gaza.

According to the website of the University of California, Los Angels, Dr. El Fadl is the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law. He was also formerly the Chair of the Islamic Studies Interdepartmental Program at UCLA. He is the founder of the Institute of Advanced Usuli Studies ("The Usuli Institute"), a non-profit which describes itself as "dedicated to research and education to promote humanistically beautiful and morally elevating interpretations of Islam."

American Muslims For Palestine (AMP) Official Taher Herzallah At San Diego Mosque: This Is The Time To Make Zionists Feel Very Uncomfortable On Campuses; It Is Incumbent Upon The Muslims To Rule Palestine, Enforce The Rules Of Allah On Earth

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) director of outreach and grassroots organization Taher Herzallah spoke at a December 23, 2023 AMP event held at the Islamic Center of San Diego about pro-Palestinian student activism. He said that this is the time to make the Zionists feel "very uncomfortable on campus." He stated that the "Zionists are really going to regret the day they made Muslims their enemy," and he claimed that the Jews colonized Palestine in order to be accepted into "whiteness." Herzallah said that on October 7, the people of Yemen and Gaza destroyed the "veneer of superiority" of the West and the colonizers, and he advised his audience to follow the path they have set. He said that it is "incumbent" on the Muslims to rule Palestine from the River to the Sea and that the Muslims will "bring the rules that Allah gave us to this earth, because that's what we were sent for."

Other speakers at the AMP event were the mosque's imams, Taha Hassane and Shaykh Abdeljalil Mezgouri, Dr. Ahmed Soboh, the religious director of the Islamic Center of Yorba Linda, religious advisor of the Chino Calley Islamic Center, former chairman of the Islamic shura council of southern California, and board member of CAIR LA, and Osama Shabaik, member of the "Irvine 11," along with Taher Herzallah. The event was streamed live on the YouTube channel of the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Rancho Cucamonga, California Banker And Community Leader Dr. Yahya Abdul-Rahman: Today We Can Manufacture Rockets, Destroy Merkava Tanks; Gaza Is Teaching The World That Planning And Determination Will Get You Far; Gaza Defeated The Occupiers On October 7

Dr. Yahya Abdul-Rahman, CEO of the LARIBA Banking Group, said in a December 8, 2023 Friday sermon at the Islamic Center of Inland Empire-Rancho Masjid in Rancho Cucamonga, California that the year 2023 will be written in the history of the Muslims as a "changing point." He added that Gaza is teaching the world that determination and planning can defeat the occupiers, like they did on October 7. Dr. Abdul-Yahya said: "Today, we manufacture rockets, [...] we can destroy the prime of all tanks [...] called the Merkava." He added that Muslims came to America because Allah wanted them to spread the message of Islam, and he announced that he would be officiating the "acceptance of Islam" of a woman named Priscilla Lopez. Dr. Yahya Abdul-Rahman is a leading figure in the Muslim community in California. The sermon was streamed live on the YouTube channel of the Islamic center.

Rancho Cucamonga, California Islamic Scholar Dr. Khaled Bahajri: We Should Learn To Call Our Friends And Neighbors To Islam By Treating Them The Way Hamas Treats Its Prisoners

California Islamic scholar Dr. Khaled Bahajri of the Islamic Center of Inland Empire – Rancho Masjid said in a Friday sermon streamed live on the mosque’s YouTube channel that the people of Gaza prepared for October 7 by building their faith, in addition to logistical and technical preparations. He added: "We feed from the faith of the people of Gaza." Bahajri added that Muslims should learn how to call their friends, neighbors, and colleagues to Islam from the way Hamas treated its prisoners in Gaza.

California Imam Dr. Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini: The Jews Killed Their Prophets, Are Entitled Liars; The Enemies Of Gaza Are The Enemies Of Mankind, Humanity

California imam Dr. Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini said, in a November 17, 2023, Friday sermon streamed lived at the Islamic Education Center of Orange County on YouTube on November 17, 2023, that the Jews have killed their prophets, have a sense of entitlement, and are liars. He said that Allah had forewarned the Jews against lying and fabricating, but the Jews justify targeting hospitals in Gaza, by claiming these are centers of Hamas, and then leading a disinformation campaign of lies and fabrications for which they can't find proof. He prayed that Allah grant victory to the people of Gaza against its enemies, and he added that the enemies of Gaza are the enemies of mankind and the enemies of humanity.

California Imam Marc Manley: The Israelis Are Fabricating Videos Like A Hollywood Studio, Lengthening The Rope That Will Eventually Hang Them, Like The Dogs That They Are; May Allah Bless Me And Let Me Hear Their Last Gasps

In a November 17, 2023 Friday sermon delivered at the Middle Ground Muslim Center in Upland, California, Imam Marc Manley said that Israel will be hanged from a rope, "like the dogs that they are." He said that he hopes Allah will bless him to see them take their last gasps. Manley said that everyday people are becoming Muslims, because "of the evil that the Zionists are doing" to the people of Palestine and Gaza, and others are "seeing the light," and this is making Israel so desperate it is "fabricating videos like a Hollywood studio." He said that the Zionists know that what they are doing is evil, this is why they need to remind everybody of the Holocaust.

San Francisco Bay Area Islamic Scholar Dr. Khalid Siddiqi: The Jews Make Up Only 1% Of The Universe, Yet Probably Cause 99% Of The Problems In The World

In a November 4, 2023 lecture at the Yaseen Belmont Masjid, California, Islamic scholar Dr. Khalid Siddiqi said that Jews make up only 1% of the universe, yet they "probably" cause 99% of the problems in the world. He praised a Palestinian father, who handed out sweets when he discovered all his children had died as martyrs, and said: "Who can fight this kind of people? They cannot defeat them. Nobody can defeat them." Dr. Siddiqi also claimed that Freemasonry was a Jewish movement that seeks to rebuild Solomon's Temple. The lecture was streamed live on Iqra Tube on YouTube. According to his website, Dr. Siddiqi is a lecturer at the Graduate Theological Union's Center for Islamic Studies, Chabot College, Mission College and Ohlone College. He is the Director of the Islamic Education and Information Center, founder of the Islamic Law (Shari'a) Council and continues to serve as Secretary for the Council. Dr. Siddiqi is also the regular Friday preacher at the Islamic Society of San Francisco, Masjid Dar Esalam in San Francisco, California.

TO VIEW THIS COMPILATION VIDEO, CLICK HERE.

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