Islamic Leader Denies Muslim Link to Terror

Shaker Elsayed, the leader of influential Northern Virginia mosque Dar al-Hijrah, blamed the FBI for recent terrorism cases around the United States in an interview with Iran’s PressTV.  FBI agents “are not investigating to see if the individual is engaged, they are engaging the person in terrorist activities, in conspiracies, in plotting,” Elsayed told the Iranian English-language station. “Our experience here at al-Hijrah was very positive with the FBI leadership in Washington Field Office, until we found out that getting very close to the FBI came at a very serious price.” Elsayed must have missed the terror involvement of previous mosque leaders at Dar al-Hijrah, including the mosque’s employment of al-Qaeda ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki. For more information about Dar al-Hijrah’s double-speak on terror, see the Investigative Project on Terror’s article “Dar al-Hijrah Official’s Deception on Awlaki.”