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Tom Harb, head of the American Middle East Coalition for Democracy, thanked the organizers of President Trump's inauguration for removing Dearborn Imam Husham Al-Husainy from the list of religious leaders giving a benediction in a January 22, 2025 appearance on Al-Mashhad TV (UAE). Harb criticized the decision to initially propose Al-Husainy as a speaker, stating that he should have been properly vetted, because once his name was published in the media, it became known that he had expressed support for Hizbullah.
Harb emphasized that President Trump’s stance against terrorism made it unacceptable for someone who supported such groups to speak at an inauguration. He added that it is important to stop groups that support organizations like Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Houthis.
Tom Harb: "Whoever suggested the name of Sheikh [Husham Al-Husainy] to speak at [Trump's inauguration] should have conducted a background check. When his name was published by the media, it turned out that he had supported terrorist organizations.
"He was asked in 2005 and 2007 whether he supported Hizbullah – I do not remember if it was the Lebanese Hizbullah or the Iraqi one – and he said that he supported those terrorist organizations. Today, President Trump wants to fight terrorism, and if that person did not retract his statements and continues to support organizations that are on the terror lists, he cannot speak at the inauguration ceremony of an American president.
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"The [organizers] of Trump's inauguration decided not to have him, and we thank them, because such a person should not speak at the inauguration ceremony. Furthermore, last week a verdict was announced against an Iran-supporter who was at the CIA. He was in the almost highest intelligence position in the U.S., and he was giving Iranian groups information about the planned Israeli attack against Iran. This was also a scandalous breach, and these things must change."
Reporter: "Do you consider any person supporting Hizbullah to be a terrorist?"
Harb: "Absolutely. Anyone collaborating with Hizbullah supports terrorism, and we are 100% against them. We want to stop all these groups that support terrorist organizations, like Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Houthis."