Muhammad al-Asi

Imam Muhammad al-Asi (Arabic: محمّد العاصي) is the imam who formerly led prayer at the Islamic Center of Washington, and currently spends most of his time teaching and working 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. He still holds Jumu'ah khutbahs 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.

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 State 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."

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."

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."

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