The Alkalam Institute is a San Diego-based organization devoted to using the sciences, particularly computer science, for the benefit of Muslim communities. The organization endorsed the January 13, 2024 “March on Washington for Gaza” in Washington, D.C. that called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war and an end to U.S. funding for Israeli military operations. Founder of Alkalam Institute Souhayl Maronesy has claimed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, called Israelis “Satan,” and claimed that Christians will eventually turn on the Jewish people and commit a genocide against the Jews worse than the Holocaust. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Activities

The Alkalam Institute is a tax-exempt organization that focuses on supporting Muslims in the face of technological change. The organization’s mission is driven by three objectives. The first is to inspire communities to take an active role in technological revolutions by promoting what it considers the beauty of Islam. The second is to empower communities to use science to understand and implement the Qur’an and the Islamic prophetic tradition. The organization envisions integrating fields like biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, math, psychology, and computer science to serve the Qur’an. The third objective is to leverage modern sciences to address common challenges faced by Muslims. ⁶

The Alkalam Institute also offers educational courses, including a fundamentals program designed to take 18 months of study, an intermedia program designed to take 30 months, and an advance program designed to take 36 months. The fundamentals program includes courses on the Nasafi creed, Islamic jurisprudence, purification, grammar, morphology, the prophetic tradition, and computer science. ⁷  In addition to these courses, Alkalam Institute founder Souhayl Maronesy has published YouTube lectures on subjects such as guarding the tongue, the first verse of the story of Adam and Eve, and Arabic grammar. The YouTube videos are conducted in Arabic. ⁸

The Alkalam Institute also endorsed the January 13, 2024 “March on Washington for Gaza” in Washington, D.C. ⁹ The March was organized in response to the Israeli invasion of Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. The March called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war operations, the unconditional end of U.S. funding for what the organization calls “Israel’s genocide against Gaza and the occupation of Palestine,” and for Israel to be charged with war crimes in the International Criminal Court. ¹⁰

People

The Alkalam Institute was founded by Souhayl Maronesy, a resident of San Diego, California, who was born of Iraqi Kurdish parents in Iran. Maronesy is a preacher of “Islamic sciences including Islamic theology and philosophy, Islamic legal theory, Arabic grammar and morphology, and poetry.” Additionally, Maronesy is an Android Developer who works for ResMEd and was previously employed as a software engineer for Ericsson and a developer for Plaid. ^{11 12}

During the Israeli military operations in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas, Moronesy reposted a post on Twitter/X claiming that “Israel is now bombing more than 1.7 million civilians trapped in Rafah” and that a “massacre is happening in Rafah right now.” ¹³ Moronesy also reposted a post calling the United States “pure evil” for supporting Israeli military operations in Gaza. ¹⁴

Likewise, Maronesy claimed that Israeli Zionists were “justifying their #genocide” by citing Allied “war crimes” in World War II and asserted that Christians will turn on Jewish people and “unleash something upon you that will make the holocaust [sic] look insignificant.”  ¹⁵ In another post, Maronesy claimed that Gazans were “fighting non [sic] other than Satan himself.” ¹⁶

History and Expenses

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) granted the Alkalam Institute tax-exempt status on August 17, 2022. That year, Alkalam reported gross receipts of less than $50,000. ^{17 18}

1. “About.” Alkalam Institute. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://alkalam.org/about.
2. “Endorsers.” March on Washington for Gaza.” Accessed April 22, 2024. https://march4gaza.org/endorsers/.
3. “What We Want.” March on Washington for Gaza. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://march4gaza.org/what-we-want/.
4. @Souhayl Maronesy. Tweet on February 19, 2024. Twitter. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://twitter.com/SouhaylMaronesy/status/1759640294226821405.
5. @Souhayl Maronesy. Tweet on February 17, 2024 at 1”30pm. Twitter. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://twitter.com/SouhaylMaronesy/status/1758937012009394405.
6. “About.” Alkalam Institute. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://alkalam.org/about.
7. “Courses.” Alkalam Institute. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://alkalam.org/courses.
8. “Media.” Alkalam Institute. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://alkalam.org/media.
9. “Endorsers.” March on Washington for Gaza.” Accessed April 22, 2024. https://march4gaza.org/endorsers/.
10. “What We Want.” March on Washington for Gaza. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://march4gaza.org/what-we-want/.
11. “Team.” Alakalam Institute. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://alkalam.org/team.
12. “Souhayl Maronesy.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/smaronesy/.
13. @mhdksafa. Tweet on April 20, 2024 at 1:52pm. Twitter. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://twitter.com/mhdksafa/status/1781757811107541044
14. @johnsuack. Tweet on April 20, 2024 at 12:21am. Twitter. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://twitter.com/johncusack/status/1781553818838208683.
15. @Souhayl Maronesy. Tweet on February 19, 2024. Twitter. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://twitter.com/SouhaylMaronesy/status/1759640294226821405.
16. @Souhayl Maronesy. Tweet on February 17, 2024 at 1”30pm. Twitter. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://twitter.com/SouhaylMaronesy/status/1758937012009394405.
17. “Determination of Tax-Exempt Status: Alkalam Institute Inc.” Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service. January 4, 2023. Tax Exempt Organization Search Details | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)
18.  “Alkalam Institute Inc.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed April 22, 2024.