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Non-profit

Dar Al-Hijrah (DAH)

Website:

hijrah.org/
Location:

Falls Church, VA
Tax ID:

31-1256417
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Type:

Local Religious Center
Formation:

1983
Executive Director:

Samir Abo-Issa

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Dar Al-Hijrah (DAH) Islamic Center is a mosque in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Falls Church, Virginia. 1 It was one of Northern Virginia’s first mosques and is one of the largest and most influential in the state. 2 DAH offers prayer services, religious sermons, seminars, lectures, and community outreach services. 3

The mosque and people associated with it have faced several allegations of ties to terrorism and Islamic extremism. 4

History and Background

Dar Al-Hijrah was founded in 1983 by university students who parted ways with the Islamic Center of Washington to create an alternative, more youthful community. 5 The original mosque was established in a house that still sits on DAH’s property today, serving its original 30 congregants. 6

A group of families partnered with The National American Islamic Trust (NAIT) to purchase the original land, which now spans 3.4 acres and was fully developed in 1991 for $5 million with financial support from the Saudi Embassy’s Islamic Affairs Department. 7 Since 1999, the mosque has been associated with the Muslim American Society (MAS), a non-profit that has been accused of being a front group for radical Islamism in the United States. 2

The community has been the victim of anti-Muslim violence. In 2015, a man threw smoke bombs and a Molotov cocktail at the mosque. 8 In 2021, a man was arrested after attempting to stab a security guard at the mosque with a knife. 9

Initiatives

The Islamic Center has numerous initiatives and offers several services, including daily and weekly educational programs, social services, counseling, and community outreach programs. Social services include a family assistance program that distributes food and provides health insurance and legal assistance, and a professional development program. 10

Through its “Da’wah,” or outreach programs, Dar Al-Hijrah invites new Muslims and non-Muslims to spread Islam in the community. 10 It also hosts community and political engagement events where its members can interact with elected officials. In 2015, leading Democratic Party members of Congress attended a prayer service and community event at the mosque despite its ties to major terrorist activity. 11 Democrats said they were trying to show unity with Muslims to reduce alleged islamophobia in America. 8

Alleged Terrorism Ties

The Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center has several alleged links to terrorism as an organization and through its former Imam, Anwar al-Awlaki. 12

Muslim American Society

The Dar Al-Hijrah mosque’s is associated with the Muslim American Society (MAS),  which has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist group. 13 14

Criminal Convictions

In 2005, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a teacher and youth camp counselor at Dar Al-Hijrah, was convicted for providing material support to Al-Qaeda in an assassination plot to kill President George W. Bush. 15

In November 2007, Abelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar, a member of the mosque’s executive committee, was convicted of contempt and obstruction of justice for his refusal to testify regarding Hamas terrorist activities; he was sentenced to 135 months in prison. 16

Connections to Attacks

The mosque’s phone number was found in the apartment of Ramzi bin al-Shibh, one of the orchestrators of the September 11 terrorist attacks. 17

Further controversy surrounding DAH’s links to September 11 and Fort Hood arose when the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) signed a $23,000 per month lease at a Dar Al-Hijrah owned facility for a U.S. Census Bureau Office in 2010. Then-House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ranking member U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) sent a letter to the GSA questioning its vetting system for contractors, claiming that “even the most cursory review using publicly available research tools would have raised red flags when GSA considered entering into a lease with Dar Al-Hijrah.” 18

Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki preached as an imam at Dar Al-Hijrah from 2000 through 2001. 19 Nidal Hasan, a military officer who who killed 13 and wounded 32 people in a 2009 spree shooting attack at Fort Hood, Texas (now Fort Cavazos) attended the mosque in 2001. 20 19 That same year, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour, two of the September 11 hijackers, attended the mosque. 19

Al-Awlaki admitted in an interview with Al Jazeera that he exchanged over 18 emails with Hasan discussing whether it was just under Islamic law to kill U.S. soldiers. Al-Awlaki did not confirm that he approved Nasan’s plan to attack Fort Hood, but shared his support of the shooting as a “heroic action.” 12

Anwar al-Awlaki also educated and supported Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the failed 2009 Christmas Day “underwear bomber” who was radicalized and received bomb training in Yemen before his attempt to suicide-bomb an international flight failed. 21 22 Al-Awlaki was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen in September 2011, and was considered to be an open al-Qaeda recruiter by Yemen and the United States prior to his death. 23 21 24

Leadership

The mosque’s nine-member board of directors consists of prominent members of the American Muslim community, including the secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the general manager of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), the president of the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA), the president of Muslim American Society (MAS), the president of the Dar Al-Hijrah Executive Committee, and four other members. 25

Although the mosque published a statement denouncing antisemitism and Islamophobia on October 23, 2023, DAH Imam Farhan Siddiqi defended the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas against the State of Israel, claiming that the accusations of child mutilation and rape by Hamas terrorists “are all lies.” 26He argued that the media’s insistence on these alleged lies shows that “Allah’s victory is near.” 27

In 2020, DAH Imam Shaker Elsayed claimed that the COVID-19 virus was Allah’s punishment of homosexuality, Jewish usury, and abortion. 28 In 2017, the same Shaker Elsayed had supported female genital mutilation (FGM) in a recorded lecture, likening it to circumcision for men as a way to inhibit girls from becoming “hypersexually active.” 29

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik resigned in wake of these comments, despite Elsayed’s apology. 30 Malik was central to DAH’s resurgence after September 11, and was a prominent member of the Washington, D.C.-area Muslim community who also was a board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 31 However, he claimed that he could no longer defend the mosque’s rhetoric. 32

Financials

The mosque’s main source of revenue is from donations and endowments from major U.S. and global Muslim organizations as well as from private and institutional donors, including Islamic Relief USA and the Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund. 33

In 2020, the Biden Administration allocated $340,000 in grants to the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center to promote the COVID-19 vaccine in minority communities. 34 Critics of the grant cited the fact that mosque co-founder Ismail Elbarasse was accused of wiring $735,000 to a Hamas operative in 2004. 35

The mosque’s annual report from 2022 shows an income of $5,552,590.63 and a total expense report of $4,754,920.56. 36

References

  1. About/Contact us. Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://hijrah.org/about-us/contact-us/
  2. About/History. Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://hijrah.org/about-us/history/
  3. Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center. PBS. Accessed April 29, 2024.  https://www.pbs.org/thecongregation/churches/daralhijrah.html
  4.  Nazar, Elliot. “Biden Admin Paid Hamas-Linked Mosque $340K to Push COVID-19 Vaccines.” The Foreign Desk. October 28, 2023. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://foreigndesknews.com/trending/biden-admin-paid-hamas-linked-mosque-340k-to-push-covid-19-vaccines-2/
  5.  Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Archnet. Accessed April 29, 2024.   https://www.archnet.org/sites/14713
  6.  “Dar Al-Hijrah Celebrates 30 Years of Service.” The Muslim Link. March 16, 2023. Accessed April 29, 2023. http://www.muslimlinkpaper.com/community-news/3319-dar-al-hijrah-celebrates-30-years-of-service
  7. Murphy, Carlyle. “Facing New Realities as Islamic Americans.“ Washington Post. September 11, 2004. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/09/12/facing-new-realities-as-islamic-americans /0f2cc52b-1fc5-44ce-a8d2-68629f533302/
  8. Bowman, Bridget. “Democrats Visit Mosque to Support Muslim Community.” Roll Call. December 6, 2015. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://rollcall.com/2015/12/06/democrats-visit-mosque-to-support-muslim-community/
  9. Torres, Matthew. “Police: Man tried to stab security guard at Fairfax County Islamic center.” WUSA9. May 10, 2021. Accessed April 29, 2021. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/suspect-accused-of-trying-to-stab-security-guard-at-virginia-islamic-center/65-946dfd04-fdce-4b89-9206-f4cc0026b7f7
  10. What We Offer. Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://hijrah.org/about-us/what-we-offer/
  11. Kredo, Adam. “Democrats to Attend Prayer Service at Radical Mosque.” Washington Free Beacon. December 4, 2015. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://freebeacon.com/national-security/democrats-to-attend-prayer-service-at-radical-mosque/
  12. “Fort Hood: Hasan Asked Awlaki If It Was Okay to Kill American Soldiers.” ABC News. December 23, 2009. Accessed April 29, 2024.  https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/FtHoodInvestigation/fort-hood-hasan-asked-awlaki-kill-american- soldiers/story?id=9410718
  13. Sheridan, Mary Beth. “Leader Named at Mosque.” Washington Post. June 11, 2005. Accessed April 29, 2024.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/10/AR2005061001869.html
  14. Laub, Zachary. “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.” Council on Foreign Relations. August 15, 2019. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/egypts-muslim-brotherhood
  15. “Virginia man sentenced to life in prison for Bush assassination plot,” The Guardian. July 27, 2009. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/27/al-qaida-american-bush-plot
  16. United States v. Ashqar (2009). No. 07-3879. CaseLaw. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-7th-circuit/1498854.html
  17.  “Report of the Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001.” United States Government Publishing Office. December 2002. Archived from the original October 5, 2008. Accessed April 29, 2024.  https://web.archive.org/web/20081005014507/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/pdf/ fullreport_errata.pdf
  18. “Issa Questions GSA Lease Agreement with Mosque Linked to 9/11 and Fort Hood Attacks.“ Committee On Oversight and Accountability. May 19, 2010. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://oversight.house.gov/issa-questions-gsa-lease-agreement-with-mosque-linked-to-911-and-fort- hood-attacks/
  19. Johnston, David and Shane, Scott. “U.S. Knew of Suspect’s Tie to Radical Cleric.” New York Times. November 9, 2009. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/us/10inquire.html
  20. Rubin, Josh and Smith, Matt. “ ‘I am the shooter,’ Nidal Hasan tells Fort Hood court-martial.” CNN. August 6, 2013. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/06/justice/hasan-court-martial/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
  21. Heffelfinger, Christopher. “Anwar al-`Awlaqi: Profile of a Jihadi Radicalizer.” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. March 2010. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/anwar-al-awlaqi-profile-of-a-jihadi-radicalizer/
  22. “’Underwear Bomber’ Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab sentenced to life.” United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “February 15, 2011. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/underwear-bomber-umar-farouk-abdulmutallab-sentenced-life
  23. “Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki killed in Yemen.” BBC. September 30, 2011. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15121879
  24. “U.S. imam wanted in Yemen over al Qaeda suspicions.” CTV News. November 11, 2009. Accessed April 29, 2024. http://www.ctvnews.ca/u-s-imam-wanted-in-yemen-over-al-qaeda-suspicions-1.453376
  25. By-laws of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://hijrah.org/about-us/by-laws/
  26.  “At Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque In Virginia, Which Is Tied To Slain American Al-Qaeda Leader Anwar Al-Alwaki And Two 9/11 Hijackers, Imam Farhan Siddiqi Says: Reports That Hamas Beheaded Babies, Raped Women ‘Are All Lies.’” Middle East Media Research Institute. October 13, 2023. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.memri.org/tv/imam-washington-dar-al-hijrah-mosque-farhan-siddiqi-hamas-rape- women-beheaded-babies-lies-terrorism
  27. “Imam of US mosque with ties to 9/11 attackers denies October 7 Hamas atrocities.” The Times of Israel. October 30, 2023. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/imam-of-us-mosque-with-ties-to-9-11-attackers-denies-october-7-hamas -atrocities/
  28.  “Northern Virginia’s Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center Friday Sermon By Imam Shaker Elsayed: COVID-19 Is A Divine Wake-Up Call, Punishment For Jewish Usury, Abortion, Homosexuality.” Middle East Media Research Institute. May 1, 2020. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.memri.org/reports/northern-virginias-dar-al-hijrah-islamic-center-friday-sermon-imam- shaker-elsayed-covid-19
  29. MEMRI. @MEMRIReports. “Shaker Elsayed, Imam of Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Fairfax County, VA, Endorses FGM: It Prevents Girls from Becoming Hypersexually Active.” Twitter. June 1, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports/status/870231060080152576
  30. “Mosque Leader Quits After Imam’s Genital Mutilation Comment.” Voice of America. June 9, 2017. Accessed April 29. 2024. https://www.voanews.com/a/mosque-leader-quits-imam-genital-mutilation-comment/3893933.html
  31. “CAIR Welcomes Imam Johari Abdul-Malik and Dr. Saleh Mubarak to National Board, Thanks Outgoing Member Haitham Abulhaija for Service.” Council on American-Islamic Relations. March 24, 2022. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-welcomes-imam-johari-abdul-malik-and-dr-saleh-mubarak-to-national-board-thanks-outgoing-member-haitham-abulhaija-for-service/
  32. Bailey, Sarah Pulliam and Hauslohner, Abigail. “Leading imam quits as debate over women’s ‘hypersexuality’ boils over at major U.S. mosque.” Washington Post. June 9, 2017. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/06/09/imam-resigns-mosque-cleric- female-genital-mutilation-hypersexuality/
  33. Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center. Instrumentl. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://www.instrumentl.com/990-report/dar-al-hijrah-3dbc3b95-5ae9-4d2e-9871-1e43e1fcc17b
  34. Nazar, Elliot. “Biden Admin Paid Hamas-Linked Mosque $340K to Push COVID-19 Vaccines.” The Foreign Desk. October 28, 2023. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://foreigndesknews.com/trending/biden-admin-paid-hamas-linked-mosque-340k-to-push-covid -19-vaccines-2/
  35. Ross, Chuck. “Biden Admin Paid Hamas-Linked Mosque $340K to Promote COVID Vaccines.” Washington Free Beacon. October 28, 2023. Accessed April 29, 2024.  https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-admin-paid-hamas-linked-mosque-340k-to-promote -covid-vaccines/
  36. 2022 Annual Report. Dar Al-Hijra Islamic Center. Accessed April 29, 2024. https://hijrah.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WEB-Annual-report-2022.pdf
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: February 1, 1999

    • Available Filings

    No filings available.

    Dar Al-Hijrah (DAH)


    Falls Church, VA