A popular Muslim Imam with ties to multiple “squad” Democrats has built relationships with jihadist preachers and activist organizations linked to Hamas.
Omar Suleiman, an Imam and scholar of Islam, is linked to “squad” Democratic Reps. Omar of Minnesota, Tlaib of Michigan and Bush of Missouri, in addition to Democratic Texas Rep. Colin Allred, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke. (RELATED: Committee To Protect Journalists Includes Hamas Propagandists On List Of Journalists Killed In Gaza)
Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate.
Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many… https://t.co/mZYoifT7bj
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2023
He and Rep. Tlaib hosted a virtual gathering by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) in May 2021 advocating for sanctions against Israel. Tlaib recently interacted with Suleiman on social media in a tweet falsely accusing Israel of bombing a hospital in Gaza and killing 500 people.
Preliminary assessments by U.S. intelligence determined the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was responsible for a strike on the hospital’s parking lot. The intelligence assessments did not prevent Tlaib from doubling down on her belief Israel bombed the hospital site.
Suleiman posted a link in April 2022 to a fundraiser for the Coalition for Civil Freedoms (CCF) foundation, whose cofounder was deported in 2006 after pleading guilty to providing services for the PIJ, a group recognized by U.S. authorities as a terrorist organization.
The House voted to censure Tlaib on Nov. 7 for calling for Israel’s destruction and promoting false information about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Nearly two dozen Democrats voted with all but four House Republicans on the censure resolution. Tlaib accused her colleagues of trying to silence her after the censure resolution passed and is now fundraising off the bipartisan vote.
Suleiman hosted a virtual gala with the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) featuring Reps. Omar and Bush in December 2021. Omar received the “American Muslim Public Servant of 2021” award from CAIR at the virtual event. Suleiman was also featured in a June 2022 video by Islam Corner where he advised Muslim politicians to never compromise their faith.
Tlaib, Bush and Omar are members of the “squad” group of progressive House Democrats with large followings on social media. They all voted against a House resolution expressing solidarity with Israel and they have called for a “ceasefire” between the two sides.
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a close “squad” ally, was pictured with Suleiman in February 2020 and held a campaign rally in Texas featuring a speech from Suleiman. Sanders has come out against his socialist allies’ calls for a “ceasefire” and demanded Israel “end the bombing” in exchange for U.S. military assistance. His office did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition, Democratic Texas Rep. Colin Allred posted a picture of himself with Suleiman in May 2019 after he was invited by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to deliver the opening prayer in the chamber.
This week @omarsuleiman504 offered a prayer in the House Chamber. His message of peace, unity, and support for our fellow Americans is needed now, more than ever. I thank him dearly for stopping by my office and always representing the best of North Texas. https://t.co/GqhlP1rLLS pic.twitter.com/ZeGSAmszVw
— Rep. Colin Allred (@RepColinAllred) May 10, 2019
“This week @omarsuleiman504 offered a prayer in the House Chamber. His message of peace, unity, and support for our fellow Americans is needed now, more than ever,” Allred said on Twitter, now known as X. “I thank him dearly for stopping by my office and always representing the best of North Texas.”
Allred is challenging Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and falsely accused his opponent of holding up President Biden’s pick to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Allred also recently attended a fundraiser held by a Soros-funded group with an anti-Israel policy record.
None of the Democratic lawmakers responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
CAIR and AMP are both pro-Hamas activist organizations with links to the terrorist organization. A member of the AMP board as of February 2019 was listed by the FBI as a fundraiser for Hamas through the Holy Land Foundation (HFL), a nonprofit found by the Treasury Department to be funneling money to Hamas, according to anti-Semitism watchdog Canary Mission.
Be sure to join us tomorrow in front of the White House for Jumah and in protest of Trump’s Jerusalem declaration. pic.twitter.com/o8xyUILPAA
— Dr. Omar Suleiman (@omarsuleiman504) December 7, 2017
The AMP board also included a former board member of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a group found liable for aiding and abetting Hamas, the watchdog found. Suleiman spoke at the activist organization’s 2018 national conference and a 2017 AMP rally against former President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
“The United States is anything but an honest broker,” Suleiman said at the rally. “We have funded this occupation, we have emboldened this apartheid, we have shielded Israel from any consequences, facing any consequences at the international stage,” he added.
“Our blind support and loyalty to a government that has disregarded all international forms of accountability because it knows that it has our backing is shameful.”
In August 2014, Suleiman labeled Israel a “terrorist regime” and four years later called on Palestinian activists to use “any means necessary” against Israel. His long history of anti-Israel comments and links to Democrats were first reported by the Dallas Express, a Texas-based digital publication.
AMP previously facilitated a national convention of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters in 2010. SJP student groups have organized pro-Hamas demonstrations on college campuses across America following Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel.
CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the HFL case and during the case, CAIR leaders were discovered to be linked to Hamas. The group reacted to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel by accusing Israel’s “occupation of Palestinian territories” and “apartheid policies” of being the “root causes” of the Hamas assault. Suleiman spoke at a September 2016 banquet held by CAIR California, delivering the keynote address.
Suleiman has been pictured alongside multiple jihadist Muslim preachers and spoken out in support of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddique, a U.S.-educated Pakistani national serving an 86-year prison sentence for assault and attempted murder of US officers.
In August 2022, Suleiman posted a photo with Indian Islamist preacher Zakir Naik, who Suleiman visited in Malaysia, where he is currently living in exile to avoid charges of money laundering and alleged terrorism links by Indian law enforcement. Naik believes every Muslim “should be a terrorist” and expressed praise for Osama Bin Laden.
Indian authorities have accused Naik of inspiring 127 ISIS-linked terrorists arrested by the Indian National Investigative Agency, according to Indian media reports.
Suleiman also took a photo in Malaysia with former Houston Imam Zubir Bouchikhi, a guest at Suleiman’s wedding 15 years before the reunion.
Bouchikhi was deported in 2011 for immigration-related offenses and believes non-Muslims are worse than animals, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). He taught a class at his mosque in Malaysia and claimed women would go to hell if they denied their husband’s request for intimacy.
Suleiman appeared on the “Lex Fridman Podcast” in January and told Fridman his thoughts about Israel’s founding and the support America provides to Israel.
“When Israel was created in 1948, you will find many Jews who are opposed to Zionism, and I think this is important, you know, to talk to Jews who are opposed to Zionism, and they are many, that will say we were told that it was a land without a people for a people without a land,” Suleiman said.
“The problem with that was there were people there, our ancestors, 750,000 Palestinians expelled in the Nakba,” he continued.
The term “Nakba” is an Arab word for “catastrophe” and it stems from the Arab-Israeli war beginning in May 1948 after Israel declared its independence. The president of the Palestinian Authority signed a decree in May criminalizing denial of the “Nakba” surrounding Israel’s creation.
“And the United States enables that occupation with its funding, with its unconditional support, unwavering support of Israel and it does so in a way that completely undermines any of its claims to being a beacon of freedom in the world,” Suleiman told Fridman.
“We have been saying for a very long time, this is apartheid. This is an occupation, this is an injustice, the world needs to check it and hold it accountable,” Suleiman added.
He is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, a cause Hamas publicly endorsed in 2017.
His think tank, the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, published a paper in July 2021 connecting the BDS movement of Muslim theology, and it was updated shortly after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. The BDS movement appeared to come out in favor of Hamas’ terrorism against Israel in an Oct. 8 call to action.
Suleiman has most recently accused Israel of carrying out a “genocide” by fighting back against Hamas and criticized President Biden for purportedly allowing Israel to do so.
The Yaqueen Institute did not respond to a request for comment.