A Middle East Forum investigation identified 928 statements from 36 Michigan Islamic institutions, including sermons calling America the “House of Satan” and advocating violence against Jews, while documenting $47.4 million in public funding to 12 organizations.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
An investigation into Islamic organizations across Michigan has uncovered recorded sermons calling for the killing of Jews, praising terrorist organizations and describing America as the “House of Satan,” while documenting more than $47 million in government funding awarded to institutions included in the review.
The Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based research organization, compiled 928 statements from 36 Michigan mosques and Islamic institutions, connecting the remarks to recordings of sermons, lectures and public appearances. Its investigation identified 12 organizations that collectively received approximately $47.4 million in federal, state and local public funding.
The findings, released Thursday, Oct. 29, have raised questions about government financial oversight, the use of taxpayer-funded programs by religious nonprofits and the participation of elected officials in events hosted by organizations whose speakers have delivered statements advocating violence.
According to the Middle East Forum’s publicly accessible database, speakers at 16 of the institutions prayed for victory by the “mujahideen” or called for jihad. Other recorded statements included appeals for violence against Jews, Israelis and supporters of Israel.
The organization documented $47,357,045 in public funding across 12 institutions. The total included approximately $43.7 million associated with U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, $2.4 million from the Department of Homeland Security and $1 million from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The funding figures include reimbursements and subawards for government programs, rather than unrestricted federal grants. The investigation does not establish that those funds were used to finance inflammatory sermons or unlawful activities.
The Islamic Center of Detroit accounted for approximately $45 million of the funding identified, making it the largest recipient in the investigation.
Most of that money came through federally supported school meal programs administered by the Michigan Department of Education. The center received a reported $31 million payment in 2022, the largest individual funding item identified by the researchers.
Under the school meal programs, participating institutions receive reimbursements for qualifying meals provided to eligible children. The money is distributed through state agencies rather than necessarily being paid directly by the federal government to the participating organization.
The center also received two $500,000 refugee assistance subawards in 2025 and 2026 through Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
Additionally, approximately $239,000 came through the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides funding to help protect houses of worship and other nonprofit facilities against security threats.
The Middle East Forum’s funding records identify the amounts, awarding agencies and recipient organizations.
Gregg Roman, the Middle East Forum’s executive director, said investigators also identified numerous government officials who participated in activities hosted by the institutions.
“We found $45 million in taxpayer funding that went to nine of these institutions that we identified,” Roman told Just the News on Thursday. “And we also were able to find 41 officials from local, county, state, and even the federal government who went to community events at these centers.”
Roman criticized the contrast between official recognition of the institutions and statements delivered by certain speakers.
“So one day they’re hosting the mayor of Dearborn; the next, the speaker’s calling for killing Jews. It’s just a juxtaposition that shouldn’t work in our democracy.”
The Islamic Center of Detroit has also attracted political attention because Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed appeared there during his campaign.
As Just the News reported Thursday, El-Sayed visited the center earlier this year and solicited signatures from attendees to qualify for Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary ballot. Religious leaders associated with the institution also expressed support for his candidacy.
Those appearances have prompted scrutiny of the candidate’s relationships with religious institutions whose speakers have made controversial statements. The recordings do not establish that El-Sayed made, approved or endorsed the statements attributed to those speakers.
Among the most serious findings at the Detroit center was a May 2025 sermon featuring Dr. Muhannad Hakeem. During a closing prayer, the speaker invoked divine punishment against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others associated with Israel’s military.
“O Allah, deal with Netanyahu, his soldiers, and his minions, for they cannot escape You. O Allah, count them one by one and kill them individually, leaving none of them,” the speaker said, according to the Forum’s translation of the recorded May sermon.
A separate January 2025 sermon concluded with a prayer asking God to “destroy the Zionists utterly,” according to the investigation.
During another January address, Islamic scholar Dr. Zulfiqar Shah described the United States using religious terminology associated with Satan.
“So my respected brothers and sisters, I request you, as Muslims living here in America, in the house of Shaitan […]” Shah said during the recorded lecture.
The speaker subsequently urged Muslims to “reclaim the narrative” and argued that America’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution were based on Islamic traditions.
Despite the controversy surrounding statements delivered at the institution, public officials have participated in events honoring its community activities.
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist presented a tribute celebrating the Islamic Center of Detroit’s 25th anniversary in December 2025.
Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell also sponsored a resolution recognizing the institution’s anniversary.
The center, which identifies itself as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization, did not respond to questions submitted by Just the News through its online contact portal.
Other Michigan religious organizations identified in the investigation also received government assistance while hosting speakers whose remarks drew scrutiny.
The Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights received a reported $331,155 in federal disaster assistance funding in 2024, according to the Middle East Forum’s records.
At a July 2024 event, a speaker defended Hezbollah, the Lebanese organization designated as a terrorist group by the United States.
“Hezbollah is actually not bad. Hezbollah is a very good thing,” the speaker said.
Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed political and military organization whose armed activities have included attacks against Israeli and American targets.
The Islamic House of Wisdom is registered as a tax-exempt charitable organization. The nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator has assigned it a two-star rating out of five.
At the Islamic Center of East Lansing, another recorded statement raised concerns over religiously framed calls for violence.
During a March 2025 Ramadan gathering, a leader reportedly prayed for the killing of Jews identified as aggressors.
“O Allah, deal with the aggressor Jews. O Allah, count them in number and kill them dispersed, and leave not one of them,” the speaker said, according to the Forum’s translation of the recorded service.
The video was subsequently made private, although the Middle East Forum reported retaining a copy.
The East Lansing organization received $46,899 through a Federal Communications Commission internet grant program in both 2023 and 2024, according to the investigation.
The Islamic Center of East Lansing is also registered as a 501(c)(3) organization but has not received a published rating from the cited charity watchdogs.
In Warren, the Islamic Organization of North America received $450,000 in Homeland Security nonprofit security grants in 2023, according to the Forum’s institutional funding records.
The investigation identified a 2013 lecture posted on the organization’s YouTube channel in which a speaker predicted the destruction of Jews in a religious prophecy.
“Final annihilation of Jews at the hands of Hazrat Masih, Hazrat Mahdi, and Muslims, final extermination. They will be exterminated,” the speaker said, according to the Forum’s transcription.
The statement was delivered years before the funding identified in the investigation. The reported grant was intended for facility security rather than religious programming.
The Islamic Association of Greater Detroit, located in Rochester Hills, also received $450,000 through federal nonprofit security grants.
In an Urdu-language religious lecture, a speaker described death as the prescribed punishment for married adulterers and individuals who abandon Islam, according to the Forum’s translation.
The mosque has maintained relationships with public officials, including Gilchrist and then-Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who attended a March 2024 ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating its expansion.
The organization is tax-exempt and appears in Charity Navigator’s directory, although the watchdog has not published a rating for it.
The Middle East Forum said its investigation also documented 41 public officials and public bodies participating in or supporting 63 activities involving institutions included in the review.
Those interactions included attendance at community celebrations, ceremonial resolutions, speaking engagements and government funding decisions.
The research organization argued that elected officials should examine the statements delivered at religious institutions before participating in official events or providing public recognition.
Its findings also raise questions about oversight of government programs that provide financial assistance to religiously affiliated nonprofits.
However, eligibility for school meal reimbursements, refugee assistance and security grants is determined by the rules governing the respective programs. A religious institution’s receipt of such funds does not establish that the government supports the statements of individual speakers.
Similarly, tax-exempt status does not automatically become invalid because a religious organization hosts a speaker who expresses inflammatory or objectionable views. Federal law imposes separate restrictions on certain political activities by 501(c)(3) organizations, while constitutional protections for speech and religion remain relevant.
The findings also require distinguishing between advocacy involving Israel, statements supporting designated terrorist organizations and explicit calls for violence against Jews. These categories can overlap but are not interchangeable.
The investigation’s most serious examples include prayers calling for Jews to be killed and a statement predicting their extermination. Those remarks were attributed to particular speakers at specific institutions, rather than to Michigan’s Muslim population as a whole.
The political implications have intensified as El-Sayed campaigns for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat against Republican Mike Rogers ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
The Democratic nominee has faced separate criticism over his statements about Israel and his political appearances with controversial streamer Hasan Piker. El-Sayed has condemned antisemitism and denied associations with extremist organizations.
The Middle East Forum’s documentation has renewed questions about whether government officials should more closely examine the activities of nonprofit organizations receiving public funding and whether existing financial oversight adequately addresses concerns surrounding speakers who advocate religiously or politically motivated violence.
The investigation identifies $47.4 million in public funding, hundreds of recorded statements and numerous interactions involving elected officials, but it does not establish that the government money was diverted to unlawful purposes or that every organization and speaker included in the database participated in the same activities.
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