Muhammad al-Asi

Imam Muhammad al-Asi (Arabic: محمّد العاصي) is an imam who formerly led prayer at the Islamic Center of Washington, and teaches and works on the first Quranic exegesis to be written originally in English. Al-Asi was elected as the Imam of the masjid in 1981. In March 1983, al-Asi was expelled from the center for preaching views that were deemed antithetical to the Saudi establishment. Although he still identifies himself as Imam of the Islamic Center, the Center has stated that it has no affiliation with him.[1] He still holds Jumu'ah khutbahs [2] every Friday on the sidewalk in front of the Islamic Center.

Muhammad al-Asi was born in Grand Rapids, MI in 1951. At the age of 11 he moved to Lebanon. There, he completed high school and attended the Arab University of Beirut, where he intensively studied the Arabic language. In 1973, al-Asi returned to the U.S. and attended the University of Maryland, graduating with a degree in Government and Politics in 1979.

Al-Asi is active in the global Islamic movement, most notably through his involvement with the Crescent International news magazine. He frequently speaks at universities across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

US Government and 9/11

On September 10, 2006, in an interview on Iranian Channel 2 (as translated by the MEMRI), al-Asi stated that attacks of 9/11 were planned by the United States Government. Specifically, al-Asi stated that "The events of 9/11 were planned by the American administration, to be used as a pretext and justification to fight terrorism."[3]

Al-Asi had also stated in reference to the first Gulf War, "if Americans are placing their forces in the Persian Gulf, we should be creating another war front for the Americans in the Muslim world - specifically where American interests are concentrated."[3]

Opinion of Israel

In an undated article, entitled "The Qur'an says: Zionist Israel will be shattered," posted on the website Muslimedia.com, a publication of Crescent International, al-Asi wrote that "the Israeli Zionists have convinced themselves that their presence in Palestine is permanent. They have even managed to deceive world public opinion into believing this myth. The brainwashing that has gone into this effort is phenomenal ... To bolster their argument, they tell us indefatigably that the Jews are politically as strong as ever because they are in virtual command and control of the American and Russian administrations; not to mention their political and foreign policy clout in the European continent."[4]

Regarding the Israeli lobby, an article in the Arab American News quotes al-Asi as stating that "Very rarely we have American officials who can say no to the 700 pound gorilla on Capitol Hill that is the Israeli lobby. Many of us are wrong when we think that the U.S. government has the flexibility to adjust to the new reality. It doesn't have the flexibility when it has the toxins of the Israeli lobby in its bone marrow."[5]

Travel to Iran

Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Asi publicly expressed his support for the Islamic Republic and its leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Since the early 1980s he made several visits to Iran as a representative of Muslims in the United States and a supporter of the Islamic revival.

References
  1. Islamic head blasts U.S. ties to Israel
  2. Imam Muhammad al-Asi's website
  3. "Special Dispatch Series No. 1287". MEMRI. September 13, 2006.
  4. "The Qur'an says: Zionist Israel will be shattered". Muslimedia.
  5. "Community gathers to remember Khomeini". The Arab American News.
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