Dar Al-Hijrah: Difference between revisions

The Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center (Arabic: مركز دار الهجرة الاسلامي, Template:Lang-en) is a mosque in Northern Virginia. It is located in Seven Corners, unincorporated Fairfax County, in the Falls Church area.^[1][2][3]

Founded in 1982 by a group of mostly Arab university students,^[4][5] it is one of the first masjids to be established in Northern Virginia, near Washington, DC.^[6] The Saudi-backed North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) purchased the mosque's grounds on June 19, 1983.^[7] The mosque was first established in a house that is still on the Center's campus, and now serves as a food bank. The current building, on a 3.4 acre plot, was finished for $5 million in 1991 ($11,184,950 in current dollar terms) with financial help from the Saudi Embassy's Islamic Affairs Department.^[5] It is one of the area's oldest, largest, and most influential mosques.^[5]

The mosque sits at the corner of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and Row Street, near a number of apartment units and single-family homes in which many Muslim families live. Numerous halal restaurants, grocery stores, and other Muslim businesses are also located nearby.

In 1993 some area residents attempted to force the closure of the mosque, saying that it violated Fairfax County zoning ordinances. Worshipers reacted negatively towards the attempt and believed that it was anti-Islamic bigotry.^[3]

The mosque holds prayers five times daily, and Friday prayer attendance exceeds 3,000 people.^[5][8] In September 2004, about 60 per cent of its membership was Arab, with an increasing percentage coming from countries such as Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh.^[5]

Activities in addition to prayers include lectures, conferences, youth recreation and outdoor activities (such as camping and field trips) through its Youth Center, women's classes, health fairs, and financial assistance. It also operates an Islamic School called the "Washington Islamic Academy in Northern Virginia". In addition, Dar Al-Hijrah co-sponsors an annual civic picnic, along with other Northern Virginia organizations, at which candidates for local office meet Muslim voters.^[5][9]

Dar Al-Hijrah is open for group tours.

The mosque's Imam from 1995-99 was Mohammed al-Hanooti, born in Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine.^[10] He spoke up for Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, who was deported in 1997 and indicted years later on charges of arranging financial support for Hamas, which the U.S. views as a terrorist organization.^[11] In 1998, al-Hanooti criticized President Clinton for ordering U.S. military strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan, saying there was not enough convincing evidence to justify the violence.^[12]

Al-Hanooti was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.^[13][14] In 1999 he testified in support of Ihab M. Ali, who refused to testify before a grand jury investigating the 1998 United States embassy bombings, telling the federal judge that Islamic law "gives him the right to abstain from giving testimony in case it hurts him or it hurts any other Muslim."^[15]

Anwar al-Awlaki, who was Imam at the mosque between January 2001 and April 2002,^[16] has been accused since of being a senior Al-Qaeda recruiter and motivator linked to various terrorists, including three 9/11 hijackers, the accused Fort Hood shooter, and the accused Christmas Day 2009 bomber.^[17][18][19] Supporters of the mosque say that al-Awlaki publicly condemned the 9/11 attacks, and was not known to give radical speeches at the time.^[20]

Board member Esam Omeish was reported by the Washington Post as having been one of the mosque officials who hired al-Awlaki (Paul Sperry says he "personally" hired him).^[21][22] Omeish said in 2004 that he was convinced that al-Awlaki: "has no inclination or active involvement in any events or circumstances that have to do with terrorism."^[23]

Johari is a convert to Islam,^[24] and has been the Director of Outreach for the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Northern Virginia since June 2002.^[25] He has spoken in defense of congregation members accused of terrorism.

Sheikh Mohammed Adam El-Sheikh, formerly a Muslim Brotherhood member in the Sudan, and one of the founders of both the mosque and the Muslim American Society (MAS), was the mosque's Imam between August 2003 and May 2005 (leaving to become the executive director of the Fiqh Council of North America, an association of Islamic legal scholars).^[5][26]

Commenting in 2004 on the beheadings of American hostages Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl, he said:

"beheadings are not mentioned in the Koran at all. According to Islamic penal law, killers will be sentenced to death, but the means of execution are not mentioned. ...we don't condone this. They are not following Islam. They are following their own whims."^[27]

The resident Imam since June 1, 2005, has been Shaker Elsayed, a Shariah law scholar, who was born in Cairo, Egypt.^[28] From 2000-05 he was the Secretary General of the MAS.^[29]

He served as an unofficial spokesman for the family of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who had worshiped at Dar Al-Hijrah, and was charged with plotting to assassinate President Bush. Elsayed said the case against Abu Ali was based on a confession to Saudi authorities he termed "laughable,"^[30] and Elsayed accused the Justice Department of unfairly targeting Abu Ali and other young Muslims for prosecution.^[31][32][32] Abu Ali was convicted, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The mosque's 9-member Board of Directors consists at any time of the then-current Secretary General of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), President of Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA), General Manager of North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), President of Muslim American Society (MAS), and President of the Executive Committee, and four members.^[33] Directors serve for 5-year terms, and new Directors are elected by the then-current Directors. Dr. Esam Omeish, former President of the MAS, is a member of the Board.^[34]

In 2004 Omeish, at 36 then the youngest member of the mosque's Board, said there is "no question" that the mosque leadership needs to be more open and inclusive of younger people, including women. "The bottom line is that this is a mosque that is in the heart of Washington," he said. "Our goal is to make the congregation reflect that reality."^[35] Omeish acknowledged that some mosque members raised acceptable questions about the mosque's constitution, and that proposals under consideration in 2004 included direct elections to the mosque's board of directors, director term limits, and phasing out the board seats that the constitution assigns to officials of certain Muslim organizations.^[35]

Dar Al-Hijrah has a 7-member Executive Committee; every two years four committee members are appointed by the mosque's Board, while the other three are elected by its membership.^[5] Imams Shaker Elsayed and Johari Abdul-Malik serve on the Executive Committee.^[36]

The mosque had 250 voting member families as of September 2004.^[5]

Dar Al-Hijrah is active in community outreach and service,^[37] and promoting mutual understanding in the local area.^[5] It participates in community food, back-to-school supply, and clean-up drives, is engaged in interfaith projects, and participates in civil rights work.^[5] It's social services department provides food, clothing, and other household items to needy local families of all faiths.

During the Islamic month of Ramadan, Dar Al-Hijrah serves everyone who wants to come eat, whether Muslim or non-Muslim; over 800 free meals every night.^[38] Also during Ramadan, it sponsors interfaith and civic iftar dinners with different faith groups to promote mutual understanding. It also distributes tens of thousands of dollars in zakat every Ramadan.

Several sources indicated that Nidal Malik Hasan, the sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shootings, attended the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque at the same time in 2001 as Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour (two of the September 11 hijackers), who attended the mosque for several weeks during 2001 when Anwar al-Awlaki was Imam there; a law enforcement official said that the FBI will probably look into whether Hasan associated with the hijackers.^{[5][39][40][41][42]} In addition, it has been reported that the phone number for the mosque was found in the Hamburg, Germany, apartment of one of the planners of the September 11 attacks, Ramzi Binalshibh, though the significance of this finding was not stated.^[43] The mosque issued a statement condemning the Fort Hood shootings, and al-Awlaki's praise of them.^[44]

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who was convicted of providing material support to al Qaeda and conspiracy to assassinate President George W. Bush, worshiped and taught Islamic studies at the mosque around that time, where he was also a camp counselor.^[45][46][47]

Abelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar, a member of the mosque's Executive Committee, was convicted in November 2007 of contempt and obstruction of justice for refusal to testify before a grand jury with regard to Hamas, and sentenced to 135 months in prison.^[48][5][49]

Jeffrey Goldberg, in his 2008 book Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror, characterizes Dar Al-Hijrah as an openly political mosque that has conducted militant Friday sermons, especially prior to the September 11 attacks.^[50] The Washington Post reported that its leaders have strongly criticized U.S. law enforcement actions against Muslims and U.S. policies in the Middle East.^[5] The Washington Post also reported that the mosque is closely affiliated with the Muslim American Society, which has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.^[5][51]

• Dar Al Hijrah official website
• Dar Al Hijrah--Outreach Committee blog