Boston Islamic Seminary (BIS) is an Islamic center and religious college based in Boston, Massachusetts. It offers degree-seeking and non-degree courses, as well as the only Master of Islamic Religious Leadership program in the United States. The college is accredited through the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. ¹

BIS was originally a project of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) which has since changed its name to the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston) as of 2024. ^{1 2} MAS-Boston was previously accused of having ties to Islamic terrorist funding and extremist rhetoric. ^{3 4} BIS has been accused of providing training for radical Islamic imams and other religious leaders. ⁵

Background

Boston Islamic Seminary (BIS) initially formed as a project of the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston), which was previously known as the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB). BIS operated out of the ISB’s facilities in Boston until 2019, when it moved its operations to ISB’s office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2020, BIS became an independent entity and moved its operations to Chelsea, Massachusetts. BIS later joined the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium (BTIC) as an associate member in 2021. ¹

Degrees and Programs

In 2017, the Boston Islamic Seminary (BIS) started its Iqra Fellowship Program for college and graduate students in addition to its first certificate program in Islamic Intellectual History. By 2020, BIS was approved by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education as an accredited, degree-offering college. That same year, BIS began its Master of Islamic Religious Leadership program. Its first graduating class finished the program in 2024. ^{1 6}

In addition to its degree programs, BIS offers education and certificate courses for youth and adults, professional skills courses, and other educational workshops. ^{7 8 9}

Parent Organization

Boston Islamic Seminary (BIS) began as a project of the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston), then-called the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) as of 2024. BIS utilized the facilities of MAS-Boston and received what it claimed was “significant operational support during [its] startup phase.” ¹ MAS-Boston has been accused of holding ties to radical Islamic terrorism funding and extremist rhetoric. ^{3 10 5 3}

Alleged Ties to Terrorism

According to a story by the New York Post, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the perpetrators of the 2013 Boston Marathon, attended the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston) (then-named the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB))  mosque. ³

In 2004, ISB’s founder and president Abdurahman Alamoudi was sentenced to 23 years in prison for allegedly plotting acts of terror within the United States. In 2005, the United States Treasury Department released a report alleging Alamoudi had also been accused and sentenced for raising money for the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. ³

Aafia Siddiqui, a former MIT scientist who was radicalized and later joined al Qaeda, was an attendee of the ISB. In 2010, Siddiqui, whom had been dubbed “Lady Al Qaeda,” was sentenced to 86 years in prison for planning a chemical terrorist attack in New York City. ³

In 2012, Tarek Mehanna, whom had previously attended the ISB mosque, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for planning to carry out a terrorist attack on a suburban Boston mall. ³

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an ISB mosque trustee and “spiritual leader” of the Muslim Brotherhood was banned from the United States in 1999 after he released a statement, or “fatwa,” where he called for the murder of U.S soldiers. ^{3 11}

In 2007, Jamal al-Badawi, a former trustee of the mosque, was listed as a co-conspirator towards funding suicide bombing plots. Badawi was involved in the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole. ^{3 12}

Ahmad Abousamra, named by the Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI) as a member of terror group ISIS’ “media wing” that publishes graphic content including online videos of beheadings, was listed as an attendee of the mosque. ³

Other Controversies

In 2005, the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston), then-called the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) filed a defamation lawsuit against several organizations and individuals, including the executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) Steven Emerson in 2005. IPT was investigating the Islamic Society of Boston’s connections to terrorist financing. ² The lawsuit was dropped by ISB in 2007. ¹³

Political Influence

In June 2019, Yusufi Vali was appointed as the head of Boston’s Office for Immigrant Advancement (OIA) which oversees citizenship-application assistance, legal clinics, and classes in civic engagement. At the time of their appointment, Vali was the executive director of the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston), then-called the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB). ⁴

Leadership

Basyouny Nehela is the president and dean of academic affairs at Boston Islamic Seminary (BIS) as of 2024. He holds a master’s in fundamentals of religion and a Ph.D. with Honors in Da’wah and Islamic Culture, both from Al-Azhar University. Nehela previously worked as an associate professor in the Department of Islamic Creed and Da’wah at Qatar University’s Faculty of Shari’ah and Islamic Studies and a faculty member at Al-Azhar University and Islamic American University. ¹⁴ Nehela, who was also the imam of the Islamic Society of Boston’s Cambridge mosque, also sat on the board of directors for the Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS-Boston). ¹⁵

Suheil Laher is the lead faculty and assistant professor at BIS. He holds a master’s in religious studies from Boston University and a Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University. He previously worked as an academic dean at Fawakih Institute, where he taught Classical Arabic. He has previously taught at Harvard, Brandeis, and Boston Universities, and he spent nearly 20 years as a Muslim chaplain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). ^{16 17}

Laher was accused of religious extremism and having alleged ties to terrorism. During his time at MIT, Laher also worked as head of Boston-based charity CARE International which was originally named the Al Kifah Refugee Center. The charity was founded by Abdullah Azzam, a founding member of al-Qaeda and a mentor to Osama Bin Laden. ¹⁷

Finances

In 2023, the Boston Islamic Seminary (BIS) reported $743,592 in revenue, $856,325 in expenses, and $618,286 in net assets. ¹⁸

1. About Us. Boston Islamic Seminary. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.bostonislamicseminary.org/about-us/
2. “Islamic Society of Boston, et al. v. Boston Herald, et al.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. May 2005. Accessed September 29, 2024.  https://dev.investigativeproject.org/case/367/isb-et-al-v-boston-herald-et-al
3. Sperry, Paul. “Boston bombers’ mosque tied to ISIS.” NY Post. September 7, 2014. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://nypost.com/2014/09/07/jihadi-behind-beheading-videos-linked-to-notorious-us-mosque/
4. Litwin, Oren. “LITWIN: Islamist Influence Can Hack Elections.” Daily Wire. June 24, 2019. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.dailywire.com/news/litwin-islamist-influence-can-hack-elections-oren-litwin
5. Westrop, Sam. “The Boston Islamic Seminary Is Training the Next Generation of Extremists.” Middle East Forum. November 19, 2017. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/boston-islamic-seminary-training-extremists
6. “A Historical Milestone: First MIRL Graduation.” Boston Islamic Seminary. August 28, 2024. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.bostonislamicseminary.org/2024/08/28/a-historical-milestone-first-mirl-graduation/
7. Certificate Courses (Summer ’24). Boston Islamic Seminary. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.bostonislamicseminary.org/certificate-courses-summer-24/
8. Mastering Public Speaking. Boston Islamic Seminary. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.bostonislamicseminary.org/mastering-public-speaking/
9. Professional Development. Boston Islamic Seminary. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.bostonislamicseminary.org/professional-development/
10. Westrop, Sam. “The Islamic Society of Boston: From One Scandal to Another.” Middle East Forum. November 17, 2017. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/islamic-society-of-boston-scandal
11. Bob, Yonah Jeremy. “How did a radical Islamist fool the West? – analysis.” The Jerusalem Post, October 24, 2022. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-720469
12. Siemaszko, Corky. “Qaeda militant tied to deadly USS Cole bombing killed in airstrike.” NBC News, January 4, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast/al-qaeda-militant-tied-deadly-uss-cole-bombing-believed-killed-n954916
13. Abrams, Floyd. “Islamic Society of Boston Dismisses Defamation and Civil Lawsuit.” Cahill, Gordon, and Reindel. June 6, 2007. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.cahill.com/news/firm-news/100187
14. Dr. Basyouny Nehela. Boston Islamic Seminary. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.bostonislamicseminary.org/personnel/dr-basyouny-nehela/
15. Dorell, Oren. “Mosque that Boston suspects attended has radical ties.” USA Today. April 23, 2023. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/23/boston-mosque-radicals/2101411/
16. Dr. Suheil Laher. Boston Islamic Seminary. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.bostonislamicseminary.org/personnel/dr-suheil-laher/
17. Westrop, Sam. “Brandeis Hires Anti-Semitic Islamist With Al-Qaeda Links.” PJ Media. January 17, 2017. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://pjmedia.com/sam-westrop/2017/01/17/brandeis-hires-anti-semitic-islamist-with-al-qaeda-links-n95007
18. Boston Islamic Seminary – 2023 Federal 990 Form. ProPublica. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/815432436/202420819349301307/full