Joe Kaufman, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is Chairman of the Joe Kaufman Security Initiative and the 2014, 2016 and 2018 Republican Nominee for U.S. House of Representatives (Florida-CD23).
Syed Ammar Ahmed, an Islamist/racist/Socialist professor who once joked that he should have threatened to blow up a school that contained “white people,” has left his job as South Florida Director of Emgage Action, a radical Muslim group that attempts to pass its extremist agenda off as political advocacy. Ahmed has now joined up with the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), an organization related to South Asian terrorist groups. Given Ahmed’s own extremist nature, it makes sense that these types of organizations would wish to work with him. However, why would colleges want to be associated with him?
In February 2010, following a debate he participated in at a school, Ammar Ahmed wrote on Facebook, “I hate white people” and joked that he “should have threatened to blow up the school.” Ahmed, as well, wrote that deceased former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez was a “great man,” and following a viewing of Michael Moore’s ‘Bowling for Columbine,’ said he was “feelin like a Socialist.”
According to Ahmed’s LinkedIn page, Ahmed left Emgage Action, this past August, after spending over two years with the group. The same month, he also left his job as Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Broward College.
Emgage was founded in 2006 by Khurrum Wahid, a defense attorney for many of the world’s most notorious terrorists and former lawyer for the Hamas-related Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). According to the Miami New Times, Wahid, himself, was placed on a federal terrorist watch list, in 2011. Both CAIR and Islamic Relief, a group that has been banned in a number of countries, are listed as ‘Partners’ on Emgage’s most recent annual report. Emgage is a member organization of the South Florida Muslim Federation (SoFlo Muslims), a terrorist umbrella group for South Florida’s various radical Muslim outfits, and Emgage holds events at terror-related mosques.
According to Ahmed’s LinkedIn, he is now teaching part-time at Indian River State College, which consists of five Florida campuses, and he is the Government Affairs Specialist for ICNA Relief USA.
ICNA is the American affiliate of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), South Asia’s largest Islamist group, and has links to South Asian terrorist groups. In August 2006, ICNA was the top donor and partner to JI’s Al Khidmat Foundation (AKF), at the same time AKF hand delivered $100,000 to then-global Hamas leader Khaled Mashal at his Syrian residence. In November 2013, former ICNA Secretary General and current ICNA imam, Ashrafuzzaman Khan, was sentenced to death for his role as a death squad leader during Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence. In July 2014, ICNA co-sponsored a pro-Hamas rally outside the Israeli Consulate, in downtown Miami, Florida, where rally goers repeatedly shouted, “We are Hamas” and “Let’s go Hamas.”
ICNA has a dawah (Muslim outreach) faction called Why Islam, whose forum was known to attract fans of terrorist groups, including its moderators. In August 2006, Why Islam Moderator Marwan wrote, “Just thought you should know that what HAMAS does when fighting back is justified, as in, it is not a crime… Israelis are NOT civilians…” Also in August 2006, Why Islam Moderator Big Jim C wrote, “I dont think Hamas has a reason to not want to destroy Israel.” In July 2006, Why Islam Moderator Urooj, in answer to “If Israel had never been created…” wrote, “I’d be happier, cos I wont have to see all the horrendous pictures of children’s gutted dead bodies.”
In February 2019, a photo containing Ahmed next to radical Muslim and Boca Raton-based Florida Atlantic University (FAU) professor Bassem Alhalabi showed up on Alhalabi’s Facebook page. Prior to arriving at FAU, Alhalabi was a Research Assistant for University of South Florida (USF) professor and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Sami al-Arian and published works with al-Arian. This, while al-Arian was actively creating an American infrastructure for PIJ, in the Tampa Bay-area. Alhalabi used al-Arian as a reference, when applying for his job at FAU. In June 2003, the US Department of Commerce charged Alhalabi with illegally shipping a $13,000 military-grade thermal imaging device to Syria, a state sponsor of terrorism.
Ammar Ahmed is quickly on the move within radical Islamic circles as well as Florida’s higher educational institutions. The fact that he has jested about blowing up a school and is presently playing an active role in an organization with documented links to terrorism, as ICNA has, should have the parents and administration of Indian River State College very concerned and law enforcement on the alert. Indeed, this is a dangerous conflict of interests.
Both Ahmed and ICNA should cease activities, be shut down, and be shipped out of the US immediately.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
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