American Muslim Union

The American Muslim Union has close ties to the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC), having had five common officials as of 2004.[1]

The president of AMU, Mohammed Younes, said in 2001 that the U.S. is hypocritical for condemning Hamas but not Israel. He said he would not donate directly to Hamas because “they are killers” but that charities should not be stopped from giving aid to the children of killed Hamas operatives.[2]

During the deportation trial of the ICPC’s Imam Qatanani, prosecutor Alan Wolf mentioned that a newspaper quoted Younes in 2002 where he advised against giving personal information to law enforcement. As he left, Younes complained, “The FBI is abusing us.”[3]

Mohamed El-Filali is listed on the ICPC website as its outreach director.[4] Media reports in 2012 have titled him as the mosque’s executive director.[5] He was described as an AMU official in 2002.[6] That same year, he led a chant at a rally comparing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Hitler and refused to condemn suicide bombers, saying, “I am not in their shoes. My house has not been destroyed; my brother has not been shot dead.”[7]

The chairman of the AMU’s Chapters Committee from 1999 to 2001,[8] Magdy Mahmoud, is also a co-founder and former president of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He was on the executive board of the Muslim Arab Youth Association, a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity, at the same time that the FBI learned of Islamist rhetoric at its events.

In 1994, Hamas fundraiser Mohammed El-Mezain addressed the group. He spoke after an individual that was introduced as a leader of the “Hamas military wing.” An FBI report documented the speaker as saying, “I’ve been told to restrict or restrain what I say… I hope no one is recording me or taking any pictures, as none are allowed …because I’m going to speak the truth to you. It’s simple. Finish off the Israelis. Kill them all! Exterminate them! No peace ever!”[9]

The chairman of AMU’s Bergen County chapter,[10] Waheed Khalid, is a former president of Dar ul-Islah mosque in Teaneck, N.J.[11] In May 1998, he expressed sympathy for Hamas, saying, “They are trying to get the occupiers out of their home.” [12] In 2002, he refused to comment on the authenticity of the anti-Semitic book Protocols of the Elders of Zion, but suggested it has credibility by saying that most people believe it. He also defended an Egyptian television show based on the book, saying,“They have the right to show it, and I think it is news, and it is quite interesting to know what it says.”[13]

In 2002, AMU sponsored a rally with the Muslim American Society, the N.Y. chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Association for Palestine, a pro-Hamas front for the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.[14] The event demanded the indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a war criminal and that the U.S. cut off aid to Israel. In contrast, the AMU did not endorse the 2005 “Free Muslims March Against Terror” that condemned all Islamic terrorist groups, including Hamas.[15]

In 2004, AMU’s online newsletter said a “Zionist commando orchestrated the 9-11 terrorist attacks” and praised Neturei Karta, a Jewish extremist group that supports Iranian President Ahmadinejad and the elimination of the state of Israel.[16] However, the newsletter states, “Messages through this forum are senders’ individual point of view, but not of American Muslim Union (AMU).”[17]