With regard to a matter involving support for the terrorist group Hezbollah, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman stated,
“A visa is a privilege not a right,” the spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement to The New York Times. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied. This is common-sense security.”[10]
As we can see in the statements arranged alphabetically by speaker in the latter part of this article, five of the above individuals have expressed support for terrorists: Aishat, Alhajj, Fazaga, Jallow, and Kablawi.
There is another section of federal law that allows for the deportation of visa or green card holders: 8 USC 1227 (4)(C)(i). This section states:
An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.
This was the basis for the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the leader of the pro-Hamas demonstrations at Columbia University, who was arrested for allegedly circulating “pro-Hamas propaganda flyers.”[11]
So how does this pertain to our seven individuals? Among them, five of those individuals (Aishat, Elaswalli, El Quesny, Jallow, and Kablawi) have called for the killing of Jews/Israelis, Christians (Crusaders), and Arab and Muslim rulers. In terms of our foreign policy, how could it not have an adverse effect on our relations with the people of Israel and Arab leaders when we passively allow certain leaders in the Muslim American community to call for their killing? And how can we discuss human rights with other nations when we passively allow certain leaders in the Muslim American community to call for the killing of certain groups of people?
It is time to ask our federal officials when the deportation of certain green-card holding leaders in the Muslim American community will begin.
Statements
Ayman Aishat
On May 3, 2024, Ayman Aishat, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Director of Mosque Engagement, live streamed a Friday Sermon on the YouTube channel of Masjid Hawthorne, in Hawthorne, CA. In this sermon, he called for Allah to annihilate the “plundering Zionists” and support Hamas:
For us to understand the current circumstances, we don’t have to go thousands of years back. Just go [back] a hundred years ago, and see what happened when the Zionist movement went ahead and wanted to get a small piece of land in the heart of the Muslim nation in Palestine…
Oh Allah, annihilate the plundering Zionist aggressors. Oh Allah, annihilate them and drive them out of Gaza defeated. Oh Allah, support our brothers in Gaza, stand by them and accept their martyrs, support them against our enemies, Your enemies, the enemies of Islam. Oh Allah, we can see the glad tidings of victory. Oh Allah, we ask that You allow us to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque when it is liberated from these criminals.
On January 12, 2024, Ayman Aishat delivered a Friday Sermon at a mosque in Harrisburg, PA. In this sermon, Aishat expressed support for Hamas and called for the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to be liberated “from the plundering Zionist aggressors”:
Oh Allah, grant us victory over our enemies, Your enemies, the enemies of Islam, for they are no match for You. Oh Allah, stand by our family, our brothers, the oppressed Muslims in Palestine. Oh Allah, stand by them in Gaza, and grant them your support. Annihilate their enemies, our enemies, the enemies of Islam, and those who are hostile towards Islam and the Muslims, wherever they are. Oh Allah, liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the plundering Zionist aggressors, and allow us to pray there before we die.
Sheikh Abdullah Alhajj
On August 9, 2024, Sheikh Abdullah Alhajj gave a Friday Sermon in Highland, IN. In this sermon, he praised Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of Hamas who was killed on July 31, 2024 :
Allah be praised, we had a big hit, a painful strike last week, when the mujahid Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh was attacked or slaughtered or… Huh… Assassinated… He was assassinated by the enemies of Islam in a Muslim country. And he was a doctor. He was a mujahid since he was a child. When you look at some of his videos when he was like 10-12 years old, Someone asked him: ‘What do you want to be?’ He said: ‘I want to be a martyr’…
Palestine has been and is still and will continue to bring and to give birth to martyrs for the sake of Allah, to defend Islam and the Muslims, and the holy sites of the Muslims…When they assassinated him, it was a big hit, it hurt so much, and the entire world felt that, and thousands of mosques prayed for him, and we continue to supplicate to Allah: May Allah accept him as a martyr. Yet Palestine will continue to bring and feed… and to replace martyr after martyr. Allah willing. This is the fight that Allah told us would continue.
Imam Amro Elaswalli
On October 13, 2023, Imam Amro Elaswalli gave a Friday Sermon at the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. In this sermon, he referred to the hadith about Muslims killing Jews who are hiding behind trees and rocks[12] and called on Allah to “annihilate the Israelis”:
… We always have hope, the Prophet gave us the promise that is in an Al-Bukhari [Hadith collection] that there will be a day – and the Day of Judgment will never come until that day comes – when the Muslims will fight against the combatant Jews, and they will hide behind trees and rocks, and on that day the trees and rocks will speak and say: ‘Oh, Muslims, there is a combatant[[13]] Jew behind me, come and kill him’… Oh Allah, grant victory to our oppressed brothers in Palestine. Oh Allah, destroy their enemies, the enemies of Islam. Oh Allah, annihilate the Israelis, remove them from the land of Your Prophet. Oh Allah, remove them from the land of Your Prophet’s Night Journey. Oh Allah, purify the Al-Aqsa Mosque from their filth.
Imam Sheikh Mongy El Quesny
On November 10, 2023, Imam Sheikh Mongy El Quesny gave a Friday Sermon at the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center in Crown Point, IN. In this sermon, he praised the actions of Hamas, and he called for Allah to “bring annihilation upon the plundering and criminal Zionists, the hateful Crusader [Christian] aggressors…”:
What is happening to Gaza is a victory. People think that victory is [when] you defeat your enemy – no…Victory is when people stand firm, and adhere firmly to what they believe and they die for that…
We have here in the United States sending special forces and special agents, and they are the ones telling the Israelis what to do, because they know that the Israeli army is the most cowardly army on the planet. With all these weapons and this technology, they run away from young men, who are fighting with sneakers on their feet, AK-47s in their hands, nothing else, but they run like rats…They have no mercy, they know what happened to their ancestors. They keep bugging us about six million Jewish people burned in the Holocaust. What are you doing to the Palestinians? What are you doing? That is what Allah said: ‘Their heart became hardened’…Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon Your enemies, their enemies, and our enemies. Oh Allah, count them, kill them one by one, and do not leave a single one of them alive. Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the plundering and criminal Zionists, the hateful Crusader aggressors, and the treacherous Arab and Muslim rulers. Oh Allah, demonstrate upon them the wonders of Your might. Oh Allah, seize them with a crushing grip.
On December 8, 2023, Imam Sheikh Mongy El Quesny gave a Friday Sermon at the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center in Crown Point, IN. In this sermon, he asked Allah for victory for Hamas and called for Allah to “bring annihilation upon the aggressor Zionists, the criminal and spiteful Crusaders, and the treacherous Arab and Muslim rulers”:
America is the one fighting Palestinians, not Israel. As one Israeli scholar said, Israel is not a state—it is a project. Israel is a project of all those Christians. The Crusaders, the West, they failed. So they are using all of this, preparing for the last war [Armageddon], for the return of Jesus. So Israel is a project, it is not a state…We ask Allah for a speedy and perfect victory for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. This is our central issue—Palestine and Jerusalem, that is our main issue…Oh, Allah, bring annihilation upon the aggressor Zionists, the criminal and spiteful Crusaders, and the treacherous Arab and Muslim rulers. Oh, Allah, count them, kill them one by one, do not leave a single one alive.
Imam Yassir Fazaga
On November 1, 2024, Imam Yassir Fazaga gave a Friday Sermon at the Memphis Islamic Center in Tennessee. In this sermon, Fazaga lauded Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas who was killed on October 16, 2024:
In Gaza, we just saw one of the beautiful – if not the most beautiful – Gazan leaders. We have seen these people sell their own selves for the sake of their people to please Allah. May Allah have mercy on his soul, oh, Lord of the Universe. You know, this idea of living like a man and dying like a man… And this man has demonstrated what it means to die honorably, and that it is to live my life fighting you, and the very last action in my life was an act of rebellion. Do you know how many people nowadays look at somebody like [Yahya] Sinwar and they say that man is a legend. The man is a hero, the man is brave – he not only talked the talk, but walked the walk.
Imam Alhajie Jallow
On October 13, 2023, Imam Alhajie Jallow gave a Friday Sermon at the Madinah Community Center in Madison, WI. In this sermon, Jallow praised the Hamas fighters and said that Muslims would kill all the Jews:
Our brothers in Gaza are heroes! By Allah, they are warriors, heroes, they are men, just like the Companions. They do not fear death…
Oh Jews, you unjust, criminal, corrupt oppressors – stop! You will all most definitely be killed. The Jews, the aggressors, the evil… You describe them, what they do. By Allah, all of them will be killed by Muslims. They all will be executed by Muslims. They will all be killed, this is a divine promise that will inevitably be fulfilled. This is a promise from Allah and it is going to happen. They will all be killed. They will all be killed, and on that day, the believers will rejoice in Allah’s victory.
Dr. Fadi Kablawi
On November 24, 2023, Dr. Fadi Kablawi gave a lecture at Masjid As Sunna An Nabawiyyah in North Miami, FL. In this lecture (at 28:23), he expressed support for Hamas, called for Allah to support Hamas against the “tyrannical Jews,” and called for Allah to annihilate the Zionists:
My major warning to myself and to everybody is we go back to prior of October 7th…that we go back to what happened before October 7th to think that we can trust these people, to think that these people will not do it again. To think that these people are going to leave our land. To think that these people are not oppressive…We, as Muslims, need to keep our mind and our eyes toward the prize…From the river to the sea. From the river to the sea…[Following statements translated from Arabic by MEMRI:] Oh Allah, support our brothers in Palestine against the tyrannical Jews. Oh Allah, support our brothers in Gaza against the tyrannical Jews. Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the Zionists, for they are not match for you. Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon them, for they are not match for you. Oh Allah, shake the ground under their feet. Oh Allah, shatter their unity, disperse their gathering, and make their hearts quake.
On March 8, 2024, Dr. Fadi Kablawi spoke at the Masjid As Sunna An Nabawiyyah in North Miami, FL. During this talk (at 30:24), he accused the “Nazi Zionists” of murdering over 30,000 people, supported by the “Zionist regime in Washington.” He called for Allah to support the mujahideen[14] and annihilate the “accursed Zionists”:
What happens in Gaza, I promise you, gonna propagate…Over 30,000 people already murdered by Nazi Zionists supported by Zionist regime in Washington. All Zionist Nazis. There is no difference between them and Hitler or anybody else who behaved like that…No difference between Republicans and Democrats. They’re all same idea [unintelligible] Satan. That’s all what rules them…[Following statements translated from Arabic by MEMRI:] Oh Allah, support their mujahideen. Oh Allah, guide their shooting. Oh Allah, support them with your soldiers. Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the enemies of Islam. Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the accursed Zionists. Oh Allah, curse them and then curse them some more…Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the Zionists, the hypocrites, and the enemies of Islam…Oh Allah, support our mujahideen.
On April 26, 2024, Dr. Fadi Kablawi gave a Friday Sermon at the Masjid As Sunna An Nabawiyyah in North Miami, FL. In this sermon (at 26:10), he accused the Israeli army of harvesting human organs, and called for Allah to “support our oppressed brothers in Palestine” and “annihilate the tyrannical Jews”:
[Referring to Israel’s army] The most immoral army, Nazis, worse than Nazis, and I apologized to Nazis last week, because these people have proven to be worse than the Nazis…They steal the skin of the Palestinians. Not enough they stole their land, now they steal their skins. Organs missing, from children, from adults, organs are missing. Go and find who is behind organ trading in this country or in this world. Go ask the Haitians, when they had the earthquake, what happened there with these Israeli organizations going under medical help…The guy will come limping into their tents for treatment. He will walk out, he will be carried out dead, organs missing. All that is because there is no God for these people. All that because these people look at you as nothing but a mistake. Or the best, you were created for their service. That’s what they believe, that’s what they say…[Following statements translated from Arabic by MEMRI:] Oh Allah, support our oppressed brothers in Palestine. Oh Allah, annihilate the tyrannical Jews. Oh Allah, annihilate them for they are no match for you. Oh Allah, annihilate the brothers of apes and pigs…Oh Allah, cut off their seed. Oh Allah, break up their fellowship. Oh Allah, disperse them and render them asunder.
Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is the author of six books and numerous articles about Islam. His latest book is Islamic Doctrine versus the U.S. Constitution: The Dilemma for Muslim Public Officials.
[1] “What is Going On at Muslim American Mosques and Events?” Jihad Watch, March 10, 2025, https://jihadwatch.org/2025/03/what-is-going-on-at-muslim-american-mosques-and-events.
[2] According to a 2020 study of mosques, 68% of the imams in the United States were born outside the United States. See: Dr. Ihsan Bagby, “Mosque Administration,” “The American Mosque 2020: Growing and Evolving,” https://ispu.org/report-1-mosque-survey-2020/#participants.
[3] Ted Rosner, “CAIR Appoints Pro-Hamas Lawyer as Ambassador to American Mosques, Focus on Western Islamism, August 1, 2024, https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-news/cair-appoints-pro-hamas-lawyer-as-ambassador-to-american-mosques. See hyperlink in Paragraph 2 regarding Aishat being denied citizenship.
[4] See Elaswalli’s Resume: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52729fa3e4b08767362364a2/t/55da0e84e4b072906c9b88e5/1440353924605/elaswalli_cv_july2015.pdf.
[5] https://www.darelsalam.ca/Our-Religious-Advisors#SheikhMongyElQuesny
[6] https://nabic.org/sh-yassir-fazaga/
[7] https://madisonmuslims.org/imam-alhagie/
[8] https://altayyib.com/biography/
[9] “ Transcript: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on ‘Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,’ March 16, 2025,” CBS News, March 16, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marco-rubio-secretary-of-state-face-the-nation-transcript-03-16-2025/.
[10] Dana Goldstein and Jenna Russell, “D.H.S. Sheds Light on Why It Deported Rhode Island Doctor,” The New York Times, March 17, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/us/rasha-alawieh-brown-university-doctor-deported-hezbollah.html.
[11] George Fishman, “Is It Constitutional to Deport the Ringleader of Columbia University’s Pro-Hamas Demonstrations?” Center for Immigration Studies, March 12, 2025, https://cis.org/Fishman/It-Constitutional-Deport-Ringleader-Columbia-Universitys-ProHamas-Demonstrations.
[12] Muhammad taught that the end times would come when Muslims fight against and kill the Jews. During that battle, even the rocks and trees would call out if a Jew was hiding behind them:
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) had said: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them will [sic] the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.
Abu’l Hussain ‘Asakir-ud-Din Muslim bin Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naisaburi, Sahih Muslim, trans. ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (New Delhi, India: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2008), Vol. 8, No. 2922, p. 349.
On another occasion Muhammad just referred to Jews hiding behind the stones:
Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Messenger said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight against the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.’”
Muhammad bin Ismail bin Al-Mughirah al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 1997), Vol. 4, Book 56, No. 2926, p. 113.
[13] In neither of the authoritative hadiths above is the word “combatant” used to describe the Jew.
[14] Mujahideen are Fighters in the Cause of Allah (Jihad). They are promised Paradise if they become martyrs by dying while fighting in that Cause.
Muhammad stressed the importance of martyrdom and stated that martyrs would be admitted to Paradise:
Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Prophet said, “Allah assigns for a person who participates in (holy battles) in Allah’s Cause and nothing causes him to do so except belief in Allah and in His Messengers, that he will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr).” The Prophet added: “Had I not found it difficult for my followers, then I would not remain behind any Sariya (an army-unit) going for Jihad and I would have loved to be martyred in Allah’s Cause and then made alive, and then martyred and then made alive, and then again martyred in His Cause.”
Muhammad bin Ismail bin Al-Mughirah al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 1997), Vol. 1, Book 2, No. 36, pp. 72-73.
In Koran Chapter 9, Verse 111, Allah also promised Paradise to the martyrs:
Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties for (the price) that theirs shall be Paradise. They fight in Allah’s Cause, so they kill (others) and are killed…
