The Dawood mosque was originally founded by Sheikh Daoud Ahmed Faisal. According to Professor Kambiz Ghanea Bassiri, “Daoud attacked Christianity as a white, racist religion.”[1] The radical Dar-Ul-Islam movement arose from this mosque.[2] Islamist cleric Khalid Yassin converted to Islam at the mosque and was a guest speaker there in 1995, despite his record of extremist preaching.[3]
Statements made by Yassin, include : “This whole delusion about the equality of women is a bunch of foolishness; there’ds no such thing” and ““We don’t need to go to the Christians, or the Jews, debating with them about the filth which they believe …” [3a]
The mosque has been the subject of a NYPD “terrorism enterprise investigation.”[4] Such investigations are permitted when there is evidence to suspect that two or more individuals are conspiring to support terrorism or another violent crime.[5]
Former Islamic Mission of American president Dr. Ahmad Jaber is also the founder and president of the Arab American Association of New York (AAANY). Linda Sarsour, AAANY’s executive director, has a record of incendiary language and has multiple family members and friends allegedly linked to Hamas. She has been questioned by the authorities and her husband faced deportation in 2004.
[1] GhaneaBassiri, Kambiz. A History of Islam in America. Cambridge University Press: 2010, p. 250.
[2] Numan, Fareed H. “American Muslim History: A Chronological Observation,” Islam101.com, December 1992. https://www.islam101.com/selections/muslim_us_hist.html
[3] “Khalid Yasin—Historical Sermon,” ChallengeYourSoul.com, https://multimedia.challengeyoursoul.com/showproduct.php?productid=54.
[3a] https://ohioagainstterror.blogspot.co.il/2008/05/khalid-yasin-internationally-renowned.html
[4] Tcholakian, Danielle. “Muslim Community Groups Respond to NYPD ‘Terrorism Enterprise Investigations,’” Metro, August 28, 2013. https://www.metro.us/newyork/news/local/2013/08/28/muslim-community-groups-respond-to-nypd-terrorism-enterprise-investigations/
[5] “NYPD Designates Mosques as Terrorism Organizations,” Politico, August 28, 2013. https://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/nypd-designates-mosques-as-terrorism-organizations-95985.html