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 emanating from the state of Michigan – particularly from Dearborn and Detroit.
These sermons and statements reflect the sentiment we have found in our broader monitoring of U.S. Sunni and Shi'ite imams from major mosques and leading organizations, as well as by individuals affiliated with universities. They include 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 of sermons and statements from this region, or indeed from across the U.S., our researchers have not found a single sermon denouncing Hamas or the October 7 attacks.
The compilation is available in full – Dearborn And Detroit Imams And Protests Prior To And Following October 7 Hamas Attack – and in two parts: PART I – Dearborn Imams React To October 7 Attack and PART II – Anti-Israel And Antisemitic Sermons And Protests In Dearborn And Detroit Prior To October 7 Attack.
View the full video here.
View Part I here.
View Part II here.
Also be sure to visit the MEMRI Sermons By Imams In The West Project page.
Below are the full transcripts of all the videos in the compilation, and links to them.
PART I – Dearborn Imams React To October 7 Attack
On November 29, 2023, the New Generation for Palestine, founded by Michigan comedian Amer Zahr, held a rally marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in Dearborn, Michigan, which was streamed live on the organization's Facebook page. Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, spoke at the event, he said that Dearborn is a "city of resistance." He said that the question is not whether his community will vote for Biden or Trump in the 2024 presidential elections, but whether Biden listens to them, or to constituents who stuff his pockets with money. Master of ceremonies,
Adam Abusalah, a former congressional aide to Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) and campaigner for Biden in the 2020 elections, addressed President Biden and said: "You are a cancer in our country." Later in the event he led the crowd in the chant: "Genocide Joe!" Osama Siblani, editor and publisher of the Arab American News, said that a new generation has emerged, who will "clean" the U.S. Congress and White House of the bloodthirsty killers. He said: "We are on the road to a great victory here in D.C. and there in Palestine." Siblani pledged: "No vote for Biden and no vote for Trump!" Political activist Linda Sarsour said that there will be a "permanent ceasefire" between Hamas and Israel, because Israel has lost the war. Co-master of ceremonies, Lexis Zeidan, concluded the rally, saying: "It doesn’t end with a ceasefire, that is the bare minimum, it ends with the dismantling of the terrorist racist State of Israel."
Child speaker: "I am only eight years old and I know more about humanity than our president, and until Palestine is free, it is free, free Palestine!
[...]
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud: "This is the city of protests, the city of resilience, the city of resistance.
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"A lot of people are asking the question, what will this community do in the [2024] elections? You have a choice between the current president and the former president. And if the former president assumes office, that is the demise of American democracy.
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"If American democracy depends on our current president being reelected, then why is being bedfellows with the terrorist Netanyahu, worth sacrificing American democracy? That is the question that should be asked. Not put on our shoulders which way we vote. The question is about what policy will you adopt, and which constituents will you listen to – those that stuff your pockets with money, or those that tell you about the scars that we bear on our backs?"
[...]
Adam Y. Abusalah, former Congressional aide to Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI): "To Joe Biden, you are a textbook definition of a Democrat, and you are a cancer in our country."
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Osama Siblani, editor and publisher of the Arab American News: "The change is coming, and the wave of people like you is reaching D.C., to clean the White House and Congress from the [most] corrupt and best-paid politicians we can have. These are people who are responsible for killing millions in the world, without any sensitivity or any remorse. They are a bunch of killers.
[...]
"They are bloodthirsty, and it is your responsibility to go to Washington, D.C., and clean them out from the halls of the Congress and from the White House. The day before yesterday, or yesterday, Tuesday, they voted in the House of Representatives, if you believe that this is a house of representatives."
Audience member: "It is the House of Zionists!"
Siblani: "412 to one, supporting Israel and ignoring the Palestinian plight. We are on the road to a great victory, here in D.C., and there in Palestine. Let us remember in next November, what these co-conspirators, co-criminals, have done this October and November, and let's remember: No vote for Biden, and no vote for Trump!"
[...]
Adam Y. Abusalah: "In November, we remember!"
Crowd: "In November, we remember!"
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Abusalah: "I don't know if you know, but Joe Biden is a liar. Genocide Joe!"
Crowd: "Genocide Joe! Genocide Joe! Genocide Joe!"
[...]
Linda Sarsour, political activist: "There will be a permanent ceasefire, and I will tell you why: Because the state of Israel already lost the war, they lost the war."
[...]
Lexis Zeidan, co-master of ceremonies: "And remember it doesn't end at a ceasefire. A ceasefire is the bare minimum. It ends when we see the dismantling of the terrorist racist state of Israel, and a free, free Palestine."
Crowd: "Free, free Palestine!"
Imam Usama Abdulghani spoke at the "Al-Aqsa Flood" protest at the Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Michigan on October 14, 2023, saying: "We are lucky to be alive in the era of Imam Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran." He continued to say that October 7 was a "day of God," a "miracle come true," and he acknowledge IRGC Qods Force commander General Qassem Soleimani.
Abdulghani said that the "lions" are defending not only Palestine, but the nation of Muhmmad the Messenger. He added that the "honorable soldiers" of Palestine have chosen the only path to victory. Abdulghani asked: "How dare you compare Hamas to ISIS?" He added that Israel is worse than ISIS. Addressing the "friends of the Zionist occupiers," he said they should advise their friends that "the jig is up," that Israel is over, "the Titanic is sinking."
The event was organized the by Al-Quds Committee, and another speaker at the event was Islamic poet Hassan Salameh. For more about Dearborn, Michigan Imam Usama Abdulghani, see MEMRI TV clips nos. 9616, 9602, 8073, and 7284.
Usama Abdulghani: "We are lucky to be alive in the era of Imam Khomeini, where we witness these kinds of victories. Brothers and sisters, the operation Al-Aqsa Storm, that day when it took place was definitely what we call a 'one of the days of God.'
"It is true, the brothers who were there, they planned, they trained, they made every effort, blood, sweat, and tears, but they will be the first to tell you – it was the help of God that made that social miracle come true, and we were able to witness this, by the grace of Allah. So first of all, we thank Allah for being here. We also thank all of those who resisted and made this a possibility, and we cannot forget those who made this a possibility with their blood, sweat, and tears, like the martyr Qassem Soleimani.
[...]
"We first address those lions, who are defending not just Palestine, but they are fighting on behalf of the entire nation of Muhammad the Messenger.
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"The way that your youth have chosen, the way that your honorable soldiers have chosen is the only path to victory.
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"How dare you compare Hamas to ISIS? You had ISIS in your hospitals. Who created ISIS? That's right, Donald Trump told us. ISIS was founded by Obama.
"So you created ISIS, you helped ISIS, you are ISIS, but you are much, much worse than ISIS.
[...]
"To the friends of the Zionist occupiers, to the friends of the colonialists, tell your friends: The jig is up. Tell your friends to get out. You know, all of us know – this time it's different. If you really care about Israel, tell them to get out, tell them it is over, the Titanic is sinking."
Protesters: "No to humiliation! No to humiliation! No to humiliation! No to humiliation!"
Michigan Islamic scholar Ahmad Musa Jibril discussed the true meaning of Jihad in a November 25, 2023 video posted on Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril on X (formerly known as Twitter). He said that Jihad is the term for "holy war" in Islam. He said that American-Zionists are spreading a version of Islam "that suits the enemies" and that "the one who has been spreading that there is no holy war in Islam, has been defecating heresy out of his mouth for the past 20 years."
According to another video posted on Ilm Cafe, a Telegram channel associated with Jibril, this was referring to American moderate Islamic scholar Hamza Yusuf. Jibril said that Muslims in the West and especially in America must start to normalize talking about Jihad. He added that it is time for mothers to nurse their infants with the love of Jihad and the ambition of becoming a mujahid or a martyr. Jibril said that U.S. President Biden is a "terrorist" and a "senile Pharaoh." He continued to say that the "infidel West" and the U.S. are the vicious enemies of the Muslims. Ahmad Musa Jibril served six and a half years in prison for conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and possession of firearms and ammunition. He is considered to be the inspiration for several Jihad attacks and initiatives in the West.
Ahmad Musa Jibril: "Yes, there is holy war in Islam, it is Jihad. This may be a surprise to many who grew up in the West, especially those who were born or grew up post 9/11, because of the growing number of hypocrites, who are spreading the American-Zionist Islam, and it has nothing to do with Islam, that version of Islam is and Islam that suits the enemies.
[...]
"The one who has been spreading that there is no holy war in Islam, has been defecating heresy out of his mouth for the past 20 years, downplaying the legislation of Allah and the Islamic punishments.
[...]
"The Muslims in the West, especially the youth in the West, especially the youth in America, need to wake up. The current events are a wake-up call for Muslims to start normalizing mentioning Jihad's proper meaning, and putting it back into their vocabulary. Jihad must be a common, normal term on your tongues, on your social media, and in the mosques and elsewhere.
[...]
"It's time the mothers nurse their infants with the love of Jihad and the ambition to become a mujahid and a martyr.
"It is about time that the youth bragged about the teachings of Jihad that are in the Quran, in the Sunna, and in the biography of the Prophet.
[...]
"Biden is a terrorist.
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"You have seen that senile Pharaoh of our time, he has lost his mind of everything, except his loyalty and support for Jewish occupiers.
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"The U.S. is more to blame for the genocide in Palestine than the occupying Jews.
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"Netanyahu is no more than a dog for Biden, just like the Arab leaders are dogs for Netanyahu.
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"(Arab) leaders who brought the filthy entertainment and concerts into the Land of the Two Holy Mosques, while the people of Gaza were being massacred. They replaced the shari'a of Allah and became loyal to the enemies of Allah. Allah gave permission for those transgressed on to defend themselves, they don't need the permission of any filthy ruler in the UAE or the Land of the Two Holy Mosques.
[...]
"It is about time that the Muslims – especially the youth, – in the West, it is time for them to understand what should already be known, that the infidel West, particularly the U.S., are the enemies of Muslims.
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"America is a vicious enemy of Muslims.
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"I strongly advocated and showed proof for the boycotts [of Israel] and I still do, and I ask Allah to reward those who call for it, but they are not the solution.
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"If you can't raise your child telling him you want him to be mujahid and martyr, then you are the root of the problem.
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"Rafidites don't ever bring victory to Muslims. If there is a treacherous traitor worse than the Jews, it would be the Rafidites.
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"There is no Palestine with the state borders of 1967. That is the tone of the defeatists and surrenderists. Every millimeter of Palestine must be governed by the shari'a of Allah."
Michigan imam Sheikh Ali Elahi condemned AIPAC in a Friday December 15, 2023 sermon at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights and posted on the mosque’s YouTube channel. He described AIPAC as a cancer that is destroying democracy in America. Elahi claimed that in order to be voted into Congress, one must pay money to AIPAC. He further condemned Republican representative for New York Elise Stefanik for conducting a Congressional investigation of antisemitism on elite college campuses. He claimed that three "honorable" university professors, referring to Harvard President Claudine Gay, Pennsylvania State President Liz Magill, and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, suffered "harassment" during the five-hour investigation. Elahi suggested that Congresswoman Stefanik does not care about Israel or Jews, but such people are being opportunistic, seeking personal power. Sheikh Ali Elahi has come under scrutiny in the past due to reported ties with Iran and the IRGC.
Sheikh Ali Elahi: "Where is the direction of our country? What kind of sickness is this? What kind of cancer is AIPAC, destroying anything called democracy in this country? In order to win the vote and go to Congress, you have to sell yourself with money to AIPAC. You have to vote for Israel in order to succeed. It comes to the area that those three honorable presidents of three respectful universities in this country were taken to Congress for five hours under investigation and harassment, and one of them was even forced to resign. [It] is not that that Republican representative from NY [Elise Stefanik], that much in her heart cares for Israel, but these are opportunistic people that are using this situation just for their personal power. They don’t care about Jews, they don’t care about Judaism."
Clip #10801 – Dearborn, Michigan 'Commemoration Of The Martyrs': ISIS Is The Slave Of Mossad, CIA – That Is Why It Attacked Soleimani's Grave Site – Not Israel
The Dearborn, Michigan Hadi Institute held an event to "commemorate the martyrs" on January 5, 2024, in which speakers praised Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, leader of Iran-backed Iraqi militia Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and the "martyrs" killed during the recent war. Hassan Salami recited poetry that praised Soleimani and Al-Muhandis and accused ISIS of being the "slave" of the CIA and Mossad. He said that this is the reason ISIS targeted the gravesite of Soleimani on the anniversary of his death, instead of attacking Israel. Salami claimed that the "elites" who run the United States and the world seek to subdue humanity through the obscene and the "Mossad's Jeffery Epstein." He continued to say that this is the reason Israel aired pornography on Palestinian news channels and that "polluted" movies and shows are made accessible worldwide. Imam Usama Abdulghani said that the Jews believe they are the "children of God" and that Israel "has put the Nazis to shame." Video of the event was streamed live on Light of Guidance on YouTube.
Hassan Salami: "The last commemoration we had... I don't know I fit was the last one or the one before – for Hajj Qasem [Soleimani], this was found on one of these Israeli Zionist propaganda websites, which shows that clarifying the image of these people is considered dangerous to the Zionist regime.
[...]
"Allah be praised, the awakening started through Palestine, so let us expand on the truth that should be seen. In all aspects of life, through the lines of their propaganda we must read between, for that is how they conquer this world. It first starts with conquering your soul and your religion, it has always been the strategy of the devils to subdue men and women through the obscene. We don't need to wait for the scandal of the Mossad's Jeffrey Epstein, the elites who run this country, this world, and their crimes, to know their strategy is to incite animalistic lusts as a direct deviation from the divine.
[...]
"That is why when Israel conquered Ramallah, they aired pornography on Palestinian news stations, why they make accessible polluted Western movies and shows that are translated into every language.
[...]
"Remember that Hajj Qasem and Hajj Abu Mahdi [Al-Muhandis] were the reason that ISIS was being destroyed and that every ISIS fighter deployed was the secret army of U.S. and Israeli intelligence, their puppet masters playing with them like toys. That is why during this war, ISIS is attacking – not Israel – but the visitors of Hajj Qasem's grave. Has it not become apparent to the world that ISIS is an Israeli and American intelligence slave?
[...]
"It was ISIS along with the CIA and Mossad that were facilitating the abuse of Yazidi women in Iraq."
[...]
Usama Abdulghani: "I address my warmest congratulations to the sources of authority, and to our very special Leader Imam Khamenei.
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"Remember the verse of the Quran that we have covered about the Jews is them saying that they are the 'children of God.' There are some people who believe that they are a chosen people.
[...]
"How it plays out is what you are seeing in Gaza. This didn't just start now. This is 75 years of this horrendous behavior.
[...]
"Why is Israel so important? Because Israel is a big part of the puzzle. There is a world order based on social classes.
[...]
"If Israel falls, a lot of things are going to fall. For some people, they woke up in COVID, some people woke up with 9/11. Israel is going to make – and has made – a lot of people wake up. The mask has come off. Before this, Israel used to be able to hide behind that simple trick of antisemitism, and people would fall for it again and again. But now Israel has put the Nazis to shame. ISIS has to hang their heads because of what the Israelis are doing."
In a January 12, 2024 Friday sermon in the American Moslem Society of Dearborn, Michigan, which was streamed live on the mosque's YouTube channel, Sheikh Mostafa Tolba spoke about verses from the Al-Isra chapter of the Quran speaking about the Israelites. He said that according to the verses, "the Israelites will spread corruption on the earth twice," and one of these times is taking place now. Tolba said that Allah will "take care of them," and that they will be disgraced, humiliated, and everyone will curse them and say that they are the most corrupted people of humanity. He said that the Caliphate will be once again established in Palestine.
Sheikh Mostafa Tolba: "Verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 talk about the Kids of Israel: 'And We are conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Scripture that You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice...' Allah knows that they will do corruption on the earth twice – big time. Two big times. And each time they will do a lot of corruption, one of them is nowadays.
"And Allah mentioned in the Al-Isra' chapter, he said: 'And when the second warning would come to pass...' When the last promise and the last time [of warning] for them, when they did the corruption, Allah will take care of them. And number one, they will be disgraced, they will be humiliated. They will be mentioned on the minimum level, and everyone will curse them, everyone will say that those people are the [most] corrupted people in humanity.
"And now, Allah will be praised, it has started. It will go on until we enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque again, may Allah keep it until we have [the ability] to pray there, and until the Day of Judgement. 'And they will enter the mosque as they had entered it the first time...'
"The third step is: 'And utterly destroy whatever would fall into their hands.' They will demolish everything that the [Jews] did, the fake... and also the dominating the world... it will be nothing, inshallah.
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"By Allah, the land of Palestine will be the land of Caliphate.
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"Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the unjust and criminal aggressors. Oh Allah, disperse them, and rend them asunder. Oh Allah, make the malice among themselves serve. Oh Allah, support our brothers in Gaza, oh most Merciful One. Oh Allah, make them feel firm and guide their shooting. Oh Allah, have mercy on their martyrs.
[...]
"Oh Allah, stand by our brothers in Yemen and support them. Stand by our brothers in Syria and Iraq, oh most Merciful One. Stand by our Brothers everywhere."
PART II – Anti-Israel And Antisemitic Sermons And Protests In Dearborn And Detroit Prior To October 7 Attack
On April 29, 2022, an International Quds Day rally in Dearborn, Michigan organized by the Al-Quds Committee was streamed live on the Dearborn. org Facebook page. The rally moderator called for a "noble, honorable, [and] brave armed resistance" in Palestine and for its "complete liberation." He rejected the two-state solution and said that there is no distinction between Gaza, the West Bank, and the rest of Palestine. In addition, Michigan author Fatima Najdi recited a poem about how she could see the "quivering fear" of the "cancerous entity" that is Israel and the "final rasping breath of those Zionists." She also said that when Tel Aviv is razed to the ground, people will shout: "Never to Humiliation!" For more about the Al-Quds Committee, see MEMRI TV Clip No. 7284.
Fatima Najdi: "Do you hear what I am hearing? Do you see what I am seeing? The quivering fear of that cancerous entity, the final rasping breaths of those Zionists, and the breaking up of their allies?
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"When Tel Aviv is razed to that ground, 'never to humiliation!' we will shout."
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Speaker: "We are for the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea, and we make no distinction between Gaza or the West Bank or the lands of '48.
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"The Zionists can admit that there is no two-state solution. Why can't some of us? What's left? Peaceful protests? Again, we have some people who want to remain acceptable in the mainstream. They want to look like moderates. They are afraid of being labeled as extremists, so they dissociate themselves from the noble, the honorable, the brave armed Palestinian resistance.
[...]
"The only solution for our brothers and sisters in Palestine is armed resistance — and we support that, and we are with that, in our hearts and in our entire beings."
Michigan imam Mustapha Elturk, Ameer of the Islamic Organization of North America (IONA) said that Muslims should not avoid joining hands with likeminded people, even if they are Jews, because "not all of them are bad." He made these remarks in a Friday sermon delivered at the IONA in Warren, Michigan on March 5, 2021. The sermon was posted on IONA’s official YouTube account on March 8, 2021. Elturk said that while most of the Jews are disobedient to Allah, some Jews and Christians are in fact, "doing the work for us." The version of the sermon posted on IONA’s YouTube account seems as though it has been edited. Elturk immigrated to the United States from Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war, and he is active in interfaith initiatives in Detroit area. On March 8, 2020, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) retweeted a video of Imam Elturk endorsing Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for President.
Imam Mustapha Elturk: "'And indeed, We had decreed to the Israelites in the Book that they will cause mischief and corruption on Earth twice,' and then they will go to the heights: '...and you will display great haughtiness.' And I believe, in my humble opinion, that this haughtiness is what we are experiencing today.
"That haughtiness that is oppressive, that is controlling and abusing human rights in Palestine, as we know, right now. And Allah talks about... the rise and the decline...
"And unfortunately and sadly, what was captured by [Caliph] Omar is now under the custody of the Jews, of the Zionists...
"But inshallah... The Muslims will eventually take Jerusalem back.
[...]
"Don't be shy to join hands with the like-minded people, be them – yes – Jews. There are Jews who are with you on this cause. Yes, not all of them are bad.
"As Allah said: 'Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.' Yes, there are believers among them, but most of them are disobedient.
"But there are those among the Christians and the Jews who are doing the work for us, as a matter of fact."
Hassan Qazwini, an Iraqi-born Shi'ite Islamic scholar who is based in Detroit, Michigan delivered a Friday sermon at the Islamic Institute of America on January 8, 2021, following the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6. He said that Allah humiliated the "arrogant dictator" Trump because he had assassinated "one of the most distinguished leaders of Iraq," deputy leader of the PMU Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and a guest, referring to IRGC Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Qazwini said that Trump, who had portrayed himself as a hero, showed his true face as a coward. The sermon was posted on the Islamic Institute of America's official YouTube channel.
For more about Hassan Qazwini, see MEMRI TV clips No. 7508, 7241, 7192, 5710, and 5644.
Hassan Qazwini: "This man, Trump, a month ago, two months ago, had over 75 million people voting for him. He had congressmen and congresswomen, senators lining up – excuse my language – to kiss his boots. Overnight, the closest people to him turned against him.
[...]
"If you would have asked me a week ago how one person can lose all this popularity and leverage he enjoys, I would tell you it is almost impossible or [it is] difficult. But overnight... When Allah wants to humiliate an arrogant [person], when He wants to teach a dictator a good lesson, He can turn things around in a matter of hours.
[...]
"What happened Mr. President? You always acted like a hero. What happened over night? You showed your real side, you are so cowardly, you are afraid, and committing yourself to a peaceful transfer of power. Explain this for me, my dear brothers and sisters, there is one explanation.
[...]
"Do you remember last year... a year ago, exactly a year ago, what happened? When this man sent his drones to Iraq, causing a big carnage there, in Iraq, killing one of the most distinguished Iraqi leaders, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, along with a guest [Qasem Soleimani], a guest, who was protected by all international treaties – that was visiting Iraq. What happened? See how Allah teaches those dictators a big lesson. With so much arrogance he did what he did a year ago, but not even one year later, he is so humiliated. He is begging for support."
In an October 30, 2020 sermon at the Islamic Center of Detroit, Michigan, the imam, Dr. Achmat Salie, said that billionaires like George Soros and others create the problems that they claim to solve. In a November 6, 2020 sermon at the same mosque, he said that both U.S. presidential candidates are Zionist puppets, and that all the decision-making in the world is done by tech companies in Silicon Valley and Israel. In addition, Dr. Salie rejected germ theory and argued that face masks cause illnesses. Claiming that Islam’s enemies want to shut down mosques and keep abortion clinics and bars open, Dr. Salie suggested that there may be a plot to infect Muslims with COVID-19 and encouraged his audience to follow social distancing guidelines.
Dr. Achmat Salie, who immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa, is an Islamic scholar who has established Islamic academic programs at Oakland University and the University of Detroit Mercy. In his LinkedIn bio, Dr. Salie identifies as "spiritual and religious director, marriage officiant and counselor, peace ambassador, global citizen, chaplain, philanthropist, halal consultant, entrepreneur, pioneer, academic."
Dr. Achmat Salie, November 6, 2020: "Unfortunately, when we look at many Muslims, even some of our imams that are popular, when we speak about tragedy, we bring the Holocaust— the Jewish Holocaust — to be the ultimate tragedy, the ultimate pain, and yet there are other communities, that had 600 million [victims], if you look at the global nation of the Muslims, and it is just counting, it is just continuing.
[...]
"It is impossible for me to go with either of these [U.S. presidential] candidates. Both of them are puppets of the Zionists, and they just hope that [saying] inshallah — which one of them said — or getting a few Muslim [supporters]... [They hope this] will fool Muslims.
[...]
"Most of the world, and the things that are happening in the world, are being controlled by the 1%, or what [we] can actually say is the 0.001%. Unfortunately, everyone is just following like sheep. And we have powerful groups, whether it is tech companies in Silicon Valley... There is another Silicon Valley that is twice more cutting edge, and it is in Israel... Most of the decisions are made there, most of the things are happening from there. So we need to be aware of how things are operating in this world, how Google has become sometimes a Gestapo in the way they censor things.
[...]
"The masks don't make sense to me. They create a lot more illnesses than they should be creating.
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"So the 'terrain theory' by homeopaths — that it is the terrain that is dirty and causes the virus and not the germ theory, where the germ itself causes the virus... That is my opinion, and I don't want to force my opinion on anyone else. But it is also a hadith of the Messenger that those who frequent the mosques — Allah protects them much more. Unless, of course, other people plan, and they make Muslims targets of these viruses.
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"There are so many enemies of Islam out there. They want to close down the mosques. They want to keep open abortion clinics, they want to keep open the bars — but mosques, they want to close down. Follow the [social distancing] rules just for that — I don't believe in much of it.
[...]
Salie, October 30, 2020: "We have billionaires, much of their philanthropy is fake philanthropy. Much of their philanthropy is just a veneer to cover all the evil actions. Whether it is Bill Gates, whether it is Rockefeller, whether it is George Soros, who sponsored the Black Lives Matter movement... Many of these philanthropists, they are working within a broken system, a system that they have broken themselves, ensuring that they stay in power and their wealth would be growing astronomically.
"So everything must be seen in the light of these fake billionaires and how they are actually controlling things behind the scenes. It would be very naïve to think that there is actually no plot, that there is no conspiracy. Today, all the people who speak the truth or present alternative narratives are suddenly called conspiracy theorists, whereas, they are actually mythbusters and conspiracy realists, conspiracy activists, or researchers.
[...]
"The people who created problems in the first place are the people who are now the problem solvers."
Usama Abdulghani, an American Shi'ite Islamic scholar, was featured in a two-hour-long tribute to the leader of Iran's Revolution, Imam Khomeini, in honor of the 31st anniversary of Khomeini's death. The tribute was streamed live on June 6, 2020 on the AIM Islam YouTube channel, which belongs to the U.K.-based AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM). Abdulghani said that after the U.S. killing of IRGC Qods Force Commander General Qasem Soleimani and PMU Deputy Commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, whom he referred to as martyrs, the world started to change rapidly, and he said that after the death of George Floyd, things have been "really picking up."
He elaborated that the death of George Floyd was "the straw that broke camel's back" and said that it has brought the people of the world out to protest and riot against systemic racism. Abdulghani said that the response to these protests in America has been more police brutality and savagery, and that the time has come for the oppressed to demand their rights from the tyrants. In addition, he said that Imam Khomeini's mission had been to liberate the oppressed in the entire world, and not only in Iran, and he added that Soleimani and Al-Muhandis had been murdered for carrying out this mission. Quoting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameni, he said that the goal of the IRGC's Qods Force is to "protect the dignity of the oppressed." Abdulghani further said that this is why it is important for Iran to send oil tankers to Venezuela and to aid the Syrian people. Referring to his viewers and himself as Imam Khomeini's "students," he asked how Khomeini would want his students to address systemic racism around the world.
The AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM) is a Shi'ite Islamic organization based in the United Kingdom, and it is endorsed by Khamenei's representatives in the U.K. and the Red Crescent. Abdulghani was born in Washington, D.C. and studied in Qom, Iran for many years. He currently resides in Dearborn, Michigan. In May 2019, Abdul Ghani spoke at a Qods Day rally in Dearborn, at which he said that Israel is the "head of the snake" behind all the oppression in the world. For more information about this speech, see MEMRI TV clip no. 7284.
Usama Abdul Ghani: "After the deaths of the martyr Qasem Soleimani and the martyr Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, things started to change very rapidly in the world. You could feel it. You could see it. You are watching events, after events, after events... And now after the murder of George Floyd, again, you are seeing that things are really picking up.
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"After that happened - it was the straw that broke the camel's back - people started protesting, they started rioting. Not only that, the world got upset.
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"People marching globally. Here, in America - America [is] on fire. When that happened, what happened? More police brutality. You are seeing what a police state is like. What is a police state like? People brave bullets, rubber bullets, beatings, savagery, and they say: 'No, enough is enough!' They came out to the streets. After that, the police still didn't stop. You see them shooting reporters, blinding reporters, and arresting reporters on TV! This is the savagery of America.
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"The masses have realized you can't beg a tyrant for your lawful rights - that's what George Floyd did. Begging the tyrant doesn't work, you have to demand your rights from that tyrant. Now, knowing a little bit about what systemic racism is, what can we learn about the life of Imam Khomeini that will empower us to do this mission that we have and restore dignity to the oppressed? Not only to the oppressed here, brothers and sisters - to liberate the globe.
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"Imam Khomeini's mission was not only to give dignity to Iran, or just to the Muslims, but to the oppressed on the Earth.
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"The students of Imam Khomeini - people like the martyr Qasem Soleimani or Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis - they died trying to realize this goal of giving dignity to the oppressed. Do you remember what Khamenei said after the martyr Soleimani was murdered? He said that the mission of the Qods Force is to protect the dignity of the oppressed. [This is] why is it so important that oil tankers go from Iran to Venezuela, that the Syrians not be left alone, when the tyrants say openly: 'We are there to secure the oil.'
"How would Imam Khomeini want you and I - as his students - to look at this opportunity to take on global systemic racism, here in America - towards the African-American community - but [also] all over the world? The rest of the world... The cries of 'I can't breathe' - the people in America are saying this. The rest of the world, that's their words. The knee is still on their neck."
Iraqi-American Sheikh Ibrahim Kazerooni of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, said in a Friday, January 3, 2020 sermon that America's killing of IRGC General Qasem Soleimani and PMU Deputy Chairman Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis earlier that day had been a "cowardly and heinous act" and that the only countries celebrating his death are the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. He led a prayer for the souls of Soleimani and Al-Muhandis and told the congregation that Soleimani had "brought hope to the marginalized [and] hatred and fear to the enemies of Islam." He explained that Soleimani had been instrumental in keeping the Syrian regime in power despite American and Zionist attempts to destabilize it, in defending Iraq against ISIS alongside the PMU, and in ultimately defeating ISIS in Iraq, which Sheikh Kazerooni described as the "extended arm of American foreign policy." He cited several examples from Islamic literature that speak of martyrdom as a virtuous act and added: "Let's wait and see what happens next."
Ibrahim Kazerooni: "The cowardly and heinous act of assassinating General Qasem Soleimani changed the plot [of my original sermon] and I would be doing a disservice if I did not address that issue first.
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"Please join me in reciting the Al-Fatiha verse for the soul [of a deceased congregant] and the soul of the late General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, who were assassinated together. 'In the name of Allah the Merciful and Compassionate...'
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"Who was this general? His presence brought hope to the marginalized and to those who were afraid, and it brought hatred and fear to the enemies of Islam – particularly the United States.
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"He was instrumental in keeping the government in Syria intact against all attempts and the billions of dollars that were spent on arms and guidance that were given by the United States, Zionists, and everybody else [in order] to destabilize and turn Syria into a dysfunctional state. Particularly, his importance was felt in the war in 2014 and 2015 against ISIS in Iraq – in Mosul – where ISIS became an extended arm of American foreign policy to destabilize the region and to fracture Iraq. And he, with a team of his own advisors and supporters, worked with the PMU to defend Iraq against ISIS and everything else. They succeeded.
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"The three countries that primarily were celebrating his absence are the United States, the Israeli government, and the government of Saudi Arabia.
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"Only God knows what is going to happen next, but let me remind the Americans [and] Europeans that the one who laughs last, laughs the most.
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"These people are not afraid of death. For them, martyrdom is a lofty idea that they chase. Just listen to his wife, and the comment that she made this morning. She borrowed the phrase from Zaynab and said: 'This meager offering, accept it from us.' [She said] 'Blessed be your soul – you were chasing death and martyrdom in the mountains, valleys, and plains, and look ultimately where it came to you – in the middle of Baghdad. Remember me on the Day of Judgement.' These people are not afraid of death. The panic is on the other side. Immediately, we have to send Hercules airplanes to evacuate everything, shut down the embassy, and give a warning here and there to all the [U.S.] citizens to get out. [Ali Ibn Abi Talib said:] 'Are you threatening me with death, oh son of a freed slave? Death is inevitable, and martyrdom is an honor for us from Allah.'
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"The verse is clear: 'There are two good alternatives for us, and two equally bad and cursed alternatives for you. For us, there is either martyrdom or victory. For you, [there is either] punishment from Allah or defeat in our hands.' Let's wait and see what happens next."
An International Quds Day Rally was held in Dearborn, Michigan on May 31, 2019, in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library. A speaker whose identity is not known said that every U.S. President – not only the "idiot" Trump – was a criminal and a terrorist, and that it is only economic sanctions and "political arrogance" that is maintaining America's standing in the world. He cursed America and the world powers for "wishing for the masses to remain silent" and abandon Palestine, and he said: "Not only will we witness the liberation of Palestine, but Allah willing, we are going to play an active role in it with our own hands." He said that Palestine will only be liberated by Muslims, and not through American legislation or deals drawn up by "hypocrites" and "traitors." He also said that the "beloved Leader" Imam Khamenei said that Israel will crumble in less than 25 years and that the "cancer" of Israel can only be removed through resistance and reliance on Allah. Referring to American politicians and the U.S. government as satanic, he said that Hamas, Hizbullah, the IRGC, and anybody else fighting against Israel have a God-given right to resist.
Sheikh Usama Abdulghani, a D.C.-born Shiite imam who studied at the Islamic Seminary in Qom, Iran, also spoke at the event, saying that Israel is the "head of the snake" behind all the oppression in the world. He also referred to Israel as a "system of cancerous oppression." The audience chanted: "Away with the humiliation!" The video was streamed live on Facebook by the Al-Quds Committee, which describes itself as "an effort to peacefully raise the voice against atrocities and human rights violations of Zionism."
Speaker 1: "Many people from across the community and across the Muslim world at large have been swept away by the tide of American patriotism. They are proud of America, its freedom, its democracy, free speech, freedom of religion... At the same time, they look down upon the Islamic countries from the high horse of American exceptionalism. How these countries are backwards, corrupt, unorganized, and you have heard more...
"For that I would like to call the attention of those individuals – however they might hear this – that the amenities and luxuries that they are enjoying in this country are attained at the expense of the rest of the world. American military campaigns, economic sanctions, and political arrogance are the only things that keep America where it is. it has been so since they first came to slaughter natives and enslave Africans. We don't point our fingers at the current idiot in the White House, but at all of the criminals and terrorists who held his position before him.
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"And I would like to make it clear to those individuals who like to sing the national anthem and claim that America has given us so much opportunity that America has not given us anything that Allah did not intend on giving us. Just as the Pharaoh did not do Moses a favor by raising him in his corrupt palace. Because the only reason Moses was there in the first place was because of Pharaoh's slaughtering and enslaving of Moses' people. Likewise, America has not given us anything that we would not have gotten in our homelands, in the company of our own people – were our lands not invaded and colonized and were our people not slaughtered and exploited.
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"As the martyr Malcolm [X]: 'It is liberty or death, it is freedom for everybody or freedom for nobody.' And we see all too clearly that 'freedom for everybody' begins in Palestine. And we repeat that every land is Karbala, every day is Ashura.
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"The world powers now wish for the masses to remain silent. They wish that the masses would simply abandon the issue of Palestine. To them we respond as Abu Al-Fadhl Al-Abbas responded: May God curse you and may God curse the security that you offer us.
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"There is no doubt that not only will we witness the liberation of Palestine, but, Allah willing, we are going to play an active role in it with our own hands. For us to experience this, we have to keep in mind what was said first by Musa Al-Sadr: 'The honor of Jerusalem refuses to be liberated except at the hands of the noble believers.'
"No one will liberate Palestine except for us. That is because we have stubbornly and uncompromisingly set our sights on returning every inch, every centimeter, every pebble of Palestine back to the people of Palestine. And this goal will not be reached through American legislation. This goal will not be reached through deals drawn up by hypocrites, enemies traitors – not in this century and not in any century to come. Imam Ali has said that one usurped brick is enough to cause a building to crumble. Israel is crumbling – less than 25 years to go, according to the calculations of our beloved Leader Imam Khamenei.
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"Until we fight, struggle, and resist against the enemy, indifferent to materialistic calculations, and until we stop relying upon America, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and whoever else to solve this problem... until we start relying upon Allah, this problem will not be solved – this cancer will not be removed, and Palestine will not be liberated.
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"Everywhere the Muslims stood up and fought back, with faith and reliance upon Allah as the basis and foundation of their resistance, they found victory in the most impossible circumstances. From the Islamic Republic [of Iran] – from the Islamic Revolution – to the resistance fighters of the believers in Lebanon [i.e. Hizbullah]. Resistance was always the answer and victory was always the outcome. And in Palestine, too, resistance is the only answer in the face of an arrogant oppressive regime like the Zionist occupier.
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"As the brothers and sisters have chanted before, it is true: There is only one solution – Intifada, revolution. Nothing else will bring about the liberation of Palestine. Nothing else will stop the oppression in Yemen. Nothing else will return all of Syria back to Syria.
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"The same people bombing, exploiting, terrorizing, and colonizing our lands overseas are the same people oppressing, corrupting, brainwashing the people over here. Our quarrel is not with the people of America, but with the Satanic government and the Satanic politicians.
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"Resistance is justified when people are occupied."
Crowd: "Resistance is justified when people are occupied."
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Sheikh Usama Abdulghani: "We haven't forgotten any of those struggles all around the world. Brothers and sisters, I tell you this: None of those obvious forms of oppression make us neglect the head of the snake. The head of the snake is Israel. They don't get out of it.
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"This is believers, Muslims, people of conscience all around the world, standing for divine values, and standing against a system of cancerous oppression."
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Speaker 1: "We are here this year, and we will be here next year, Allah willing, and every year after that despite the fact that each successive year sees another resistance group on the terror list, another group that we are supposedly not allowed to talk about. We are going to be here to say that Hamas has the right to resist, and the Revolutionary Guards of Iran have the right to resist – and whoever is sensitive about it or not – Hizbullah has the right to resist. And everybody who fights against Israel has the right to resist. And this right is from God fist and it's from God only, and we don't need it from anybody else, so we will express it every year."
Man in Crowd: "Away with the humiliation!"
Crowd: "Away with the humiliation!"
On January 27, 2019, an antisemitic lecture by Michigan-based Shi'ite Imam Bassem Al-Sheraa was uploaded to the YouTube channel of the Al-Zahraa Islamic Center, which is in Detroit. Al-Sheraa said that the Jews have distorted sacred texts and sanctioned the killing of prophets such as Jesus and John the Baptist. He accused the Jews of employing tricks and fraud in matters of religion and morality, and of amassing gold and spreading usury. Explaining that usury is a "peculiar Jewish philosophy," Imam Al-Sheraa said that the Jews have used it as a means of attaining power, even though it contradicts their religious teachings, and that even the modern banking system is based on the Jews’ "instructions and vision." He further said that Jewish women have historically established and managed "dens of female iniquity" and headed the brothels of Europe, and that the Jews allow their faith to be passed down maternally so that their women could increase the Jewish population through prostitution. Al-Sheraa is a graduate of the Najaf Hawza in Iraq. He emigrated to the United States and serves as the imam of the Al-Zahraa Islamic Center of Michigan. He also founded the Scholarly Najaf Hawza in Northern America – Michigan.
Bassem Al-Sheraa: "Yahya [John the Baptist], with all his greatness and his glory, was a prophet, as was his father... [The Jews] excommunicated him and then sanctioned his killing. He wasn't just killed – he was declared a heretic and his head was chopped off. Jesus, son of Mary, was also declared a heretic by them. They excommunicated him. They said that he was not a Jew. Then the Romans killed him. They arrested him in order to crucify him. But it was the Jews who issued the religious ruling about it. The Roman ruler... When the Romans wanted to arrest Jesus, they got a religious ruling from the Jews that said that he did not represent them and that he had been excommunicated. The Jews sanctioned his killing.
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"[The Jews] employ tricks and fraud in matters of religion and moral values. They distort [sacred texts], and therefore it is said that the Jews would often kill their own prophets. They would sanction the killing of one another. In addition, they allowed their women to engage in prostitution, God forbid. Following the [Babylonian] captivity, when Nebuchadnezzar exiled them and destroyed the Temple, the Jews said: 'Money and women are our most powerful weapons.' So they would amass gold and money, and they would spread usury.
"Usury constitutes a peculiar Jewish philosophy... Even in the modern world, global banks are based on the culture of usury, which is a Jewish concept. Since a long time ago, the Jews have been lending people money and collecting interest, even though it is forbidden according to their religious law. Allowing usury is one of the things they did to circumvent their [scriptures]. The Jews permitted usury and have been usurers. They are still proud of this. Look at the global banks, the billionaires... All those are from among [the Jews]. Their culture is a culture of usury. The financial culture of the world was founded according to their instructions and their vision. Why? Because they consider [usury] to be an instrument of control.
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"In addition, they allowed their women to engage in [prostitution]. Pardon my language, but the brothels of Europe were established by them. Their women would manage those dens of female iniquity. Most dens of gambling, usury, and so on were run by them. They are always like that. They control people's resources through such tricks and deception. They consider it to be a reward and a way to serve their religion.
"They employ these means to control rather than be controlled. So they said that the son of a Jewish woman is a Jew, even if his father is not Jewish. They even issued a religious ruling to that effect. The Old Testament and the Torah say that a child belongs to his father. If the father is Jewish, then the son is Jewish as well, and if the father is not Jewish, then the child is not Jewish, either. But in the Talmud, the priests changed this. They said that the son of a Jewish woman is a Jew. Therefore, they sent their women around and said to them: "Go [fornicate], and if you get pregnant, bring us the children and we will accept them as Jews." This is their way to increase their numbers."
U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said at a May 16, 2022 Nakba Day Rally in Dearborn, Michigan that the demonstrators are Americans and have the right to fight against apartheid. She also said that their right to dissent is protected by the U.S. Constitution. While Rep. Tlaib was still on stage, an announcer led the crowds in a chant of: "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!"
After Rep. Tlaib spoke, Osama Siblani, the publisher of the Michigan-based Arab News (see MEMRI TV Clip No. 9566 for more information) praised Palestinian factions' use of rockets against Israel, saying that Arabs are good at making children and rockets. Demonstrators then chanted: "Intifada! Intifada!" Professor Hani Bardawi, of the University of Michigan-Dearborn led the crowd in chants praising the Israeli Arabs in Lod and the Triangle region inside Israel, who were rioting against the authorities and Jewish-Israeli civilians at the time of the rally. He said: "Oh free people of Lod and the Triangle (region), you are the most honorable rebels!" The video was posted on the Sada Al-Watan USA Facebook page. See MEMRI TV Clip 9543 for more information about the 2022 Quds Day Rally in Dearborn, Michigan.
Crowd: "With our spirit and our blood we will redeem you, oh Al-Aqsa! Free, free Palestine."
Professor Hani Bawardi, University of Michigan in Dearborn: "Oh free people of the Triangle region [in Israel], you are the most honorable rebels! Oh the free people of Lod, of the Triangle [of Arab-Israeli cities], you are the most honorable rebels!"
Crowd: Oh the free people of Lod, of the Triangle [of Arab-Israeli cities], you are the most honorable rebels!"
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U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib: "We are American, and we have a right to dissent. We have a right to fight against apartheid. And remember that we are seeds, so if you try to shut our mouths, we will use the United States Constitution to take you to court, because we are voters too.
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Woman Announcer: "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!"
Crowd: "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!"
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Osama Siblani, Editor and Publisher of the Arab News: "You will see a victory! You will see that Israel will be defeated! So let me first start by saying: Assalaam alaykum!"
Crowd: "Alaykum assalaam!"
Siblani: "Peace be upon the free people in Palestine. Peace be upon their stones, peace be upon their cell phones, and peace be upon their rockets!"
Crowd: "Intifada! Intifada!"
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Siblani: "Go ahead, kill us, but the 39 children [supposed casualties of the 2021 war], overnight, they became 3,900 children. We are good, we make children, and we make rockets too. Never apologize for defending yourself with everything you've got.
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"We will fight every day, because... To Palestine, take me with you, oh heroes!"
