The Brooklyn imam with ties to terror who recently took part in a photo opportunity alongside socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has a history of calling for “jihad” in New York City.
Imam Siraj Wahhaj, considered one of America’s prominent Muslim figures, conveyed his extremist views during a sermon in the early 2000s. He urged his followers to engage in a gun-free jihad and “march through the city of New York,” as revealed in a foreign intelligence report that The Post obtained on Saturday.
“I sincerely pray one day that Allah will allow us to raise an army,” Wahhaj stated during the sermon, which was initially highlighted by Islamist Watch and referenced in the intelligence document.
“We were quite close recently. We intended to gather an army of 10,000 men right here in New York City,” he declared.
“Muslim men to fight in the name of subhanahu wa ta’ala,” the Imam added, using a term that essentially translates to “glory be to Allah.”
“Imagine if 800,000 Muslims were to march daily in New York City,” he remarked.
“I’m not suggesting you should never pick up a gun. Just march. March throughout New York City. Make your presence known. Let them hear you at night; let them hear you constantly, until the entire city is restless.”
The Imam indicated that a primary objective was to rally aid for Muslims facing conflict in Bosnia.
“I urge us to accept the duty of jihad here in America,” the 75-year-old Imam of a Bedford-Stuyvesant mosque emphasized. “How? By supporting our Muslim brothers and sisters by sending financial aid and, if necessary, arms to Bosnia.”
He continued, “But we shouldn’t stop there. Fundraise for the Muslims suffering by the millions in Somalia. And we mustn’t halt there. Let us march to Palestine to liberate our brothers and sisters. And don’t stop there. Let’s push for liberation in Algeria. Don’t stop; extend our efforts globally.”
Mamdani cheerfully campaigned on Friday alongside Wahhaj, a controversial imam known for his anti-LGBT views, who was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and has been associated with various acts of terrorism in the U.S.
The Democratic frontrunner for mayor was photographed laughing and smiling, while standing arm-in-arm with Wahhaj at the imam’s Bedford-Stuyvesant mosque, in a picture the socialist shared on X just a day after the initial mayoral debate.
