Simon Wiesenthal Center associate dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper called on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to condemn an imam in her district who preached against a “Zio-Crusader agenda” in a recent sermon.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported that Imam Shaaban Aboubadria said in a March 15 sermon at the Minneapolis Masjid Al-Huda Islamic Center that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is “carrying the Zio-Crusader agenda.” The term “Zio” is an anti-Semitic slur that has been popularized by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.
Aboubadria also reportedly said that “Western civilization is built on shedding blood, killing and terrorism.”
“Who is the one that is killing Muslims in Syria? Isn’t it Russia? Are the Russian planes dropping chocolate on the innocent and unarmed civilians? Or are they dropping lethal and destructive incendiary bombs on them?” said Aboubadria. “And what about the bombs that criminal Israel is dropping on Gaza. … we went to sleep with the bombing of Gaza, and woke up with the crime in New Zealand.”
Cooper told the Jewish Journal in a statement via email, “Congresswoman Omar will be in Southern California this Saturday and Sunday to speak at a CAIR [Council for American Islamic Relations] event and appear at a fundraiser on her behalf. This week, The Washington Post published an op-ed bearing her name trying to step away from her virulent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rants.”
“Congresswoman Omar, now is the time to let your constituents and concerned Americans know whether you condemn or endorse these views delivered to your community from the pulpit of a Minneapolis mosque,” said Cooper.
Omar will be speaking at a CAIR-Los Angeles banquet at the Woodland Hills Hilton hotel on March 23.
The congresswoman’s office did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.
Article originally posted at the Jewish Journal.