Manassas Mosque is a Shia Muslim religious center in northern Virginia near Washington D.C. Manassas Mosque has attracted controversy and criticism for its cultural and alleged financial connections to the government of Iran and antisemitic comments made by its imam. ¹

After the October 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, the Manassas Mosque explicitly expressed public support for “the Palestinian Resistance (Hamas).” ²

Connections to Iran

In 2023, U.S. Congressional Republicans issued a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warning of Iran’s influence on the American Muslim population. The letter identifies four mosques and Islamic organizations that the authors allege have ties to Iran, including the Manassas Mosque. The letter cites a video from inside the Mosque showing it “adorned with pictures of ‘martyrs’ of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S. designated terrorist group,” alongside a “cutout” of the late former Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Iranian flags. Manassas Mosque also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1978 Islamic Revolution in Iran. ³

The Congressional letter cited findings that the Manassas Mosque had received almost $200,000 from the Alavi Foundation, an American-based charitable group that has been alleged to be tied to the Iranian government. ⁴

Following up on the Congressional letter, a Fox News investigation found a blog section on Manassas Mosque’s website featuring a tribute to Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officer responsible for the deaths of over 600 American military personnel who was killed in a targeted strike by the U.S. government in 2020. ⁵

In 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 750 pounds of Iranian-made ceramic tiles donated to the Manassas Mosque for alleged violations of economic sanctions against Iran. The Council on American-Islamic Relations assisted the Manassas Mosque in challenging the seizure. ⁶ Later in the week, CBP released the tiles to the Manassas Mosque. ⁷

Support for Hamas

In November 2023, following the October terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, the Manassas Mosque issued a newsletter explicitly endorsing Hamas: “We stand firmly with the Palestinian Resistance (Hamas) and the courageous people of Palestine. With the help of Allah (swt), they will bring liberation and justice to Palestine and to the rest of the world. The Israeli regime is weak and afraid of all the calls for the freedom of Palestine taking place all over the globe. The regime’s days are numbered.” ⁸

Antisemitism

In 2010, Manassas Mosque Imam Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian gave a speech at a Quds Day rally in Washington, D.C. in which he claimed that Israel orchestrated the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to “create hatred” of Muslims and encourage public support for Israel. He also said of Israelis: “all the plots and the schemes that they make are to destroy humanity” and that “they are the chosen people of God – to be the most devilish ones on the Earth.” ⁹

Racial Advocacy

In June 2020, the Manassas Mosque published a blog post expressing solidarity with protestors demonstrating against the killing of George Floyd: “George’s murder underscores America’s perennial disenfranchisement of racial minorities, accentuates the inequality and inequity afforded to her Black ‘citizens,’ and exposes the facade of freedom and justice for all.” ¹⁰

1. Weinthal, Benjamin. “GOP Reps Raise Alarm Bells over Iran’s Influence in American Mosques.” Middle East Forum. August 1, 2023. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/64654/gop-reps-raise-alarm-bells-over-iran-influence-in.
2. Mauro, Ryan. “Virginia Mosque: We Support Hamas.” Capital Research Center. November 15, 2023. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://capitalresearch.org/article/virginia-mosque-we-support-hamas/
3. Weinthal, Benjamin. “GOP Reps Raise Alarm Bells over Iran’s Influence in American Mosques.” Middle East Forum. August 1, 2023. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/64654/gop-reps-raise-alarm-bells-over-iran-influence-in.
4.  Weinthal, Benjamin. “GOP Reps Raise Alarm Bells over Iran’s Influence in American Mosques.” Middle East Forum. August 1, 2023. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/64654/gop-reps-raise-alarm-bells-over-iran-influence-in
5. Weinthal, Benjamin. “GOP Reps Raise Alarm Bells over Iran’s Influence in American Mosques.” Middle East Forum. August 1, 2023. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/64654/gop-reps-raise-alarm-bells-over-iran-influence-in
6. Kellner, Mark A. “Iranian-made tiles spark dispute between Manassas Mosque, Feds.” The Washington Times. August 10, 2021. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/aug/10/iranian-made-tiles-spark-dispute-between-manassas-/.
7.  Asbury, Nicole. “U.S. releases religious tiles to Manassas mosque after confiscating them for violating Iran sanctions.” Washington Post. August 20, 2021. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/08/20/va-mosque-tiles-iran/.
8. Mauro, Ryan. “Virginia Mosque: We Support Hamas.” Capital Research Center. November 15, 2023. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://capitalresearch.org/article/virginia-mosque-we-support-hamas/.
9. “Virginia Imam Abolfazl Nahidian: Israel Carried Out 9/11, the CIA Is Working to Divide the People – Archival.” MEMRI TV. September 19, 2010. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.memri.org/tv/virginia-imam-abolfazl-nahidian-israel-perpetrated-911-cia-working-to-divide-the-people.
10. “Justice for George Floyd: Protesting Systematic Racism and Police Brutality.” Community Blog. June 1, 2020. Accessed September 3, 2024. https://www.manassasmosque.org/blog/justice-for-george-floyd-protesting-systematic-racism-and-police-brutality