Controversy
The FBI Director of Counter-Intelligence for the Middle East, Gordon M. Snow was a frequent, weekly, attendee of the services in the spring and summer of 2001, while also completing his Master's Degree 3 miles away.
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. The mosque issued a statement condemning the Fort Hood shootings, and al-Awlaki's praise of them. In addition, the phone number for the mosque was found in the Hamburg, Germany, apartment of one a planner of the September 11 attacks, Ramzi bin al-Shibh. 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.
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.
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. 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. The Washington Post also reported that the mosque is closely affiliated with the Muslim American Society, which has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
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