The Mosque Foundation is an Islamic religious organization that supports the prayer and religious practices of Muslims in the Chicago, Illinois area. It was originally known as the Mosque Foundation of Chicago. ¹

While the Foundation’s work principally involves providing ordinary Islamic religious services, it has been accused of significant ties to at least two designated terrorist organizations.  ^{2 3}

History

The Mosque Foundation was founded in 1954 to serve immigrant Muslim families in the Chicago area. However, it did not have a permanent location until the mid-1960s, after which it moved several times as its popularity grew. Its services grew significantly late in the 20^th century and in the early 21^st century to include a school, a youth center, and a food pantry. It also became the center of a Muslim community that included homes, schools, and an Islamic cemetery. ¹

In 2005, the Foundation’s donation of $10,000 to Islamic American Relief Agency, a Muslim group under federal investigation. Mosque Foundation’s bank at the time closed its accounts. ⁴

In 2015, a man made a bomb threat against the mosque that led to the mosque seeking additional security and the person making the threats turning himself in to police. No charges were filed against the man, who claimed he never intended to follow through on the threat. ⁵

In 2023, the Foundation raised $700,000 for earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey.  ⁶

A man described as afraid of Muslim attacks on America used a knife to attack a woman and her six-year-old son after the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023. The boy died in the assault, which led to condemnations from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Governor J.B. Pritzker (D), and President Joe Biden. A federal hate crime investigation was announced against the accused killer, who was arrested. The boy’s funeral service was held at the Foundation’s mosque. ⁷

Advocacy

In 2014, the Mosque Foundation signed a letter urging Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist group operating in Nigeria and West Africa, to release several dozen local schoolgirls it had kidnapped that same year. ⁸

In 2016, leaders claimed to stay out of public politics, with the Daily Beast reporting it due to avoid disrespecting a Muslim religious event that happened at the same time. Foundation officials did say they would meet with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and other politicians privately, and a campaign official met with them. ⁹

In a newsletter published by the Foundation, a then-University of Chicago divinity student criticized the Trump administration’s decision to formally acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as historically inaccurate and dangerous. ¹⁰

The group held a rally in 2020 to oppose alleged racial discrimination by police against Black people in America and worldwide. ¹¹

In 2021, the Foundation signed a letter praising the Biden administration for revoking “Muslim ban” restrictions on entry to the United States by nationals of a list of mostly Muslim-majority states determined to sponsor terrorism implemented by the Trump administration. Signed by several other Muslim groups, the letter urged the administration to make changes to both policy and personnel to support American Muslims and Muslim immigrants. ¹²

The Foundation endorsed a pro-Palestinian march in Washington, D.C. that called Israel’s military response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks a “genocide.” ¹³

Alleged Terrorist Ties

The Mosque Foundation has been accused of ties to terrorist groups, with most attention going to principal imam Jamal Said’s alleged involvement with the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) through speaking at these groups’ events. ^{14 15 16} The Foundation has also been accused of raising money for AMP. ¹⁷

IAP and HLF were both found to be involved with terrorism, with HLF convicted under federal law for providing material support to Hamas. ¹⁸ IAP ostensibly went out of business in 2004 after the parents of a 17-year-old murdered by Hamas successfully sued it for $156 million for its relationship with Hamas. Those parents have since accused IAP of continuing to operate under the AMP umbrella. ¹⁹

HLF closed its doors after a federal judge sentenced it to major fines and several of its leaders to prison in 2009. The group had been designated a terrorist group in 2001. ¹⁸

Said and another Foundation leader, Kifah Mustapha, were designated as unindicted co-conspirators in a federal case against Holy Land Foundation. Said was included because of his fundraising for HLF. ^{20 21} Said continues to be a prolific fundraiser, including for AMP. ²²

Mustapha worked for HLF before its closure. He was never prosecuted by the federal government. ^{23 24}

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) co-founder and former IAP president Rafeeq Jabar was a board member of the Mosque Foundation. ^{25 26} He is a major supporter of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN). ²⁷

Leadership

Raed Abysuwwa is president and board chairman of the Mosque Foundation. In 2020, he spoke at a rally to support Black Lives Matter, saying that Muslims had a role to play in changing society. He argued, “It doesn’t matter your race, ethnicity, or gender. What matters is what you live for, what you stand for in history, and your actions.” ²⁸

Jamal Said is principal imam and a director of the Mosque Foundation. He has worked in that role since 1985. He grew up in the West Bank and has said that he was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood as a child. In 1993, fellow leader Muhammad Salah was arrested in the Gaza Strip on charges of financing Hamas military operations, and jailed in Israel for five years. During questioning, Salah said that Said was responsible for recruiting him into the Muslim Brotherhood. In 2004, the Chicago Tribune reported that Said led a fundraiser for Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian activist accused by the U.S. government of aiding terrorists. The same report noted that the theocratic government of Saudi Arabia paid part of Said’s salary at the mosque. ³⁰

1.  “Mosque Foundation History and Timeline.” Mosque Foundation. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://mosquefoundation.org/history-timeline/
2. ^[1] House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. “Following the Money: Examining Current Terrorist Financing Trends and the Threat to the Homeland.” May 12, 2016. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg22761/pdf/CHRG-114hhrg22761.pdf
3. “U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations Raises Funds for Islamic Relief USA.” Center for Security Policy. October 28, 2014. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://centerforsecuritypolicy.org/u-s-council-of-muslim-organizations-raises-funds-for-islamic-relief-usa/
4.  “Bank Closes Mosque Account.” Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2005. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/03/11/bank-closes-mosque-account/
5. “No Charges for suspect in Bridgeview mosque terror threat who turned himself in.” ABC7 Eyewitness News Chicago. January 23, 2015. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://abc7chicago.com/bridgeview-mosque-threat-terror-foundation-social-media/488544/
6. The Mosque Foundation on YouTube: “$700K Reaches Syria and Turkiye For Earthquake Relief from the Mosque Foundation Controversy.” February 18, 2023. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sE7Ynmpm8w
7. Sophia Tareen and Ed White. “Killing of Muslim Boy outside of Chicago was hate crime in response to Israel-Hamas war, police say.” PBS. October 16, 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/killing-of-muslim-boy-outside-of-chicago-was-hate-crime-in-response-to-israel-hamas-war-police-say
8. Ameh Comrade Godwin. “’Chibok girls: You have disrespected Islam’ – US Muslim clerics write Shekau.” Daily Post. May 25, 2014. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://dailypost.ng/2014/05/25/chibok-girls-disrespected-islam-us-muslim-clerics-write-shekau/
9.  Tim Mak. “America’s Mosques Say ‘Hell No’ to Hosting Donald Trump.” The Daily Beast. April 13, 2017. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.thedailybeast.com/americas-mosques-say-hell-no-to-hosting-donald-trump
10. Sheik Ahmed Arafat. “Jerusalem, Trump, and Deliberate Decisions.” The Mosque Foundation Community Pulse. January 2018. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.mosquefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/English_Jan_2018.pdf
11. “In Solidarity with Black Lives.” The Mosque Foundation. June 6, 2020. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://mosquefoundation.org/in-solidarity-with-black-lives/
12. U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations. Letter to President Joseph Biden. January 29, 2021. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://uscmo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Official-USCMO-Letter-to-President-Biden-P.pdf
13.  “Endorsers.” March on Washington for Gaza. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://march4gaza.org/endorsers/
14. Boim vs. Quranic Literacy Institute. United States District Court, N.D. Illinois. Eastern Division. 340 F. Supp. 2d 885 (N.D. Ill. 2004). November 10, 2004. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://casetext.com/case/boim-v-quranic-literacy-institute
15. “CAIR-Chicago Speaks Out Against Anti-Muslim Innuendo.” CAIR-Chicago. August 6, 2008. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.cairchicago.org/blog/blog/2008/08/cair-chicago-speaks-out-against-anti-muslim-innuendo
16. @AMPalestine on Instagram: Meet Our Speakers Sheikh Jamal Said….” November 15, 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.instagram.com/ampalestine/p/CzqGz48gzRv/
17. Loren D. Lybarger. “The Religious Turn: American Muslims for Palestine.” In Palestinian Chicago: Identity in Exile, 1st ed., 1:85–107. University of California Press, 2020. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.luminosoa.org/site/chapters/10.1525/luminos.90.d/download/4402/
18. “Federal Judge Hands Down Sentences in Holy Land Foundation Case.” Department of Justice. May 27, 2009. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-judge-hands-downs-sentences-holy-land-foundation-case
19. Chuck Goudie, Barb Markoff, Christine Tressel, Tom Jones. “Family’s fight Against Hamas targets local pro-Palestinian nonprofit.” ABC7 Chicago. November 1, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://abc7chicago.com/hamas-david-boim-terrorism-american-muslims-for-palestine/14001029/
20. List of Unindicted Co-conspirators and/or Joint Venturers. United States District Court for the Northern Division of Texas. Case 3:04-cr-00240. Document 656-2. Filed May 29, 2007. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.osenlaw.com/sites/default/files/uploaded/Counter-Terrorism/Arab_Bank/ab_accounts/HLFUnindictedCo-conspiratorList.pdf
21. House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. “Following the Money: Examining Current Terrorist Financing Trends and the Threat to the Homeland.” May 12, 2016. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg22761/pdf/CHRG-114hhrg22761.pdf
22. “Israel Imperiled: Threats to the Jewish State.” Jonathan Schanzer. Joint Hearing before House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. April 19, 2016. Accessed March 11, 2024.  https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA18/20160419/104817/HHRG-114-FA18-Wstate-SchanzerJ-20160419.pdf?ref=stanfordreview.org
23. Kifah Mustapha on LinkedIn. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kifahmustapha/
24. “I-Team: Rebuke for well-known Muslim cleric.” ABC7 Chicago. March 12, 2013. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://abc7chicago.com/archive/9024968/
25. “Profile: American Muslims for Palestine.” Anti-Defamation League. 2013. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/american-muslims-for-palestine-2013-03-29-v1.pdf
26. James Brooke and Elaine Sciolino. “Bread or Bullets: Money for Hamas – A special report.; U.S. Muslims Say Their Aid Pays for Charity, Not Terror.” New York Times. August 16, 1995. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/16/us/bread-bullets-money-for-hamas-special-report-us-muslims-say-their-aid-pays-for.html
27. Harriet Alexander. “’Squad’ firebrand Rashida Tlaib’s astonishing links to shady Hamas group held liable for death of an American Jew: Charity boss co-hosted her Congress campaign event… and more of her backers have clear ties to murderous terrorists.” Daily Mail. November 28, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12781431/rashida-tlaib-hamas-terror-fundraiser-campaign.html
28. “Solidarity with Black Lives.” Mosque Foundation. June 6, 2020. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://mosquefoundation.org/in-solidarity-with-black-lives/
30.  Kim Barker, Laurie Cohen, Sam Roe, Stephen Franklin. Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah. “Hard Liners won Battle for Bridgeview Mosque.” Chicago Tribune. February 8, 2004. Accessed March 2024. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/02/08/hard-liners-won-battle-for-bridgeview-mosque/[/not]e

    Financials

    Since fiscal year 2021, the Illinois Legislature has provided $150,000 in annual funds to the Mosque Foundation for what it calls “community preservation and educational purposes.” ²⁹ Susannah Johnston. “Illinois Mystery: Why is the Legislature Earmarking Funds for Hamas-Tied Mosque?” Middle East Forum. March 6, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://www.meforum.org/64240/illinois-mystery-why-is-the-legislature