An imam who addressed a March 7 rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Dearborn, Mich., has said that the Islamic State “somehow is connected to Israel,” and that “ISIS is playing the role of the arm of the Zionists.”
Imam Sayed Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, spoke at the TCF Center in downtown Detroit before the Michigan primaries on Tuesday.
“I believe we need to send someone who cares about all Americans, and he treats them equally,” said Qazwini in a speech before Sanders appeared on stage. “We need someone who does not promote anti-Semitism in this country, someone who does not promote Islamophobia in this country, someone who does not promote white supremacy in this country—someone like Bernie Sanders who loves all and supports all.”
However, in previous sermons, Qazwini said Sanders is an “honorable man, even though he is a Jew, but you know we have no problem with the Jewish people.”
He said that because Israel “has been completely safe” from ISIS, “This speaks out. This speaks volumes: That ISIS somehow is connected to Israel, and ISIS is playing the role of the arm of the Zionist in the Muslim world to kill more Muslims and non-Muslims so it can define the name of Islam, so people can blame Islam for its atrocities.”
ISIS has threatened war with Israel.