Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper called on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to condemn an imam in her district who preached against a “Zio-Crusader agenda” in a recent sermon.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported that Imam Shaaban Aboubadria said in a March 15 sermon at the Minneapolis Masjid Al-Huda Islamic Center that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is “carrying the Zio-Crusader agenda.” The term “Zio” is an anti-Semitic slur that has been popularized by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.
“Throughout history, he has been carrying out the agenda of the Zionists, and the agenda of the tyrannical and criminal Templar Crusaders, and yet he claims to be a Muslim,” Aboubadria said.
Aboubadria also reportedly said that “Western civilization is built on shedding blood, killing, and terrorism.”
“Who is the one that is killing Muslims in Syria? Isn’t it Russia? Are the Russian planes dropping chocolate on the innocent and unarmed civilians? Or are they dropping lethal and destructive incendiary bombs on them?” Aboubadria said. “And what about the bombs that criminal Israel is dropping on Gaza… we went to sleep with the bombing of Gaza, and woke up with the crime in New Zealand.”
Cooper told the Journal in a statement via email, “Congresswoman Omar will be in Southern California this Saturday and Sunday to speak at a CAIR [Council for American Islamic Relations] event and appear at a fundraiser on her behalf. This week, The Washington Post published an op-ed bearing her name trying to step away from her virulent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rants.”
“Congresswoman Omar, now is the time to let your constituents and concerned Americans know whether you condemn or endorse these views delivered to your community from the pulpit of a Minneapolis mosque,” Cooper said.
Omar will be speaking at a CAIR-LA banquet at the Woodland Hills Hilton hotel on March 23. The congresswoman’s office did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.
