Arabic calligraphy spelling the name of Allah is featured at the center of an ornate mosque dome, surrounded by geometric and floral designs.
A report issued by the Middle East Forum identifies a number of Islamic institutions in Michigan receiving millions in public funding while hosting speakers who preach violence.
The report, titled “Michigan’s Islamist Pulpits,” was released yesterday and catalogues statements by speakers at 36 Michigan Islamic centers advocating violence, jihad or hostility toward the United States and its interests.
According to the report, 12 of these centers have received in total over $47 million in federal, state and city funding going as far back as 2018.
Most of the funding identified in the report, almost $44 million, originates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the National School Lunch Program. Other funders identified include the Department of Homeland Security ($2.4 million), Department of Health and Human Services ($1 million), the State of Michigan ($79,144), the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ($46,899) and the cities of Detroit ($28,338) and Dearborn ($2,208).
By far the largest recipient of these funds was the Islamic Center of Detroit, which has received more than $45 million in public funding over this same period. Its single largest grant was for $31 million of USDA lunch program money it received in 2022 through a sub-grant from the Michigan Department of Education.
The MEF report posts 928 clips featuring speakers at these 36 Muslim centers, some of which are in English and some in Arabic with English translations.
At least some of these speeches contain statements of violence against Jews and others who are deemed by the speaker as enemies of Islam. For example, the report links to an excerpt of a video posted to YouTube in May 2025 in which a speaker at the Islamic Center of Detroit called for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli soldiers:
“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. O Allah, we place You against them and seek refuge in You from their evils, O Lord of the worlds,” the speaker prayed.
During Ramadan in March 2024, a speaker prayed for the killing of Zionists:
“O Allah, show us a black day upon the Zionist aggressors. O Allah, curse them with a great curse, and seize them, Our Lord, with the seizure of an almighty, omnipotent one, and seize them, and heal the chests of a believing people… O Allah, count them one by one and kill them all, scattering them, and leave not one of them.”
At the Muslim Educational Community Center of America in Canton, a speaker in July 2024 prayed for support of the mujahideen:
“May He grant victory to our brothers, the mujahideen, in Gaza and in southern Lebanon, in Yemen, in Iraq. O Allah, grant them a mighty victory. O Allah, send down Your anger, Your vengeance, and Your punishment upon the Jews, upon these criminal Zionists. O Allah, take the worst vengeance upon them, O Allah.”
These speeches were in Arabic, and while the transcription of the speeches could not be verified, Legal Newsline verified the substance of the translations using ChatGPT.
A search of the Internal Revenue Service’s website indicates that the Islamic Center of Detroit and the Muslim Educational Community Center of America are both public charities under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code and eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
This past September, Republican Congressman Keith Self of Texas’s 3rd District sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting an Internal Revenue Service investigation into whether the Islamic Society of North America engaged in a “prohibited political campaign intervention.” The request came after an earlier MEF report claimed that Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayid’s campaign operated a booth in the convention hall during a ISNA convention in early September.
Political activities cited by Keith included, a “booth [that] displayed large ‘Abdul for U.S. Senate’ and ‘Muslims for Abdul’ campaign banners, urging attendees to elect El-Sayid. Campaign personnel reportedly distributed campaign literature, solicited donations, and promoted a $50 contribution in exchange for campaign T-shirts. Attendees were also provided with QR codes directing them to donate or volunteer for the campaign, as well as given invitations to a campaign fundraiser.”
Keith’s letter claims that the ISNA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, though this could not be verified through the IRS database.
Separate reporting by Just the News, based on videos in the recently release MEF report, claims that El-Sayid made an appearance at the Islamic Center of Detroit in March, before the Democratic primaries. According to Just the News, their review of the MEF videos revealed El-Sayid asking for signatures so that he could appear on the Democratic primary ballot.
“I have to get on the ballot to be able to get your vote, inshallah [God willing]. So my team is here in the back. You’ll see us on the outside [...] If you’re a registered voter in the state of Michigan, we need your signature to get on the ballot, so I ask that you’ll give us a signature,” El-Sayid said according to Just the News. “Please don’t leave here without doing that.”
The activities revealed by the MEF report could jeopardize the tax-exempt status of these Muslim groups.
The tax code and IRS regulations state that tax-exempt charities “may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.” Violation of this prohibition could result in revocation of a group’s tax-exempt status.
Beyond that, the hosting and promoting of speakers calling for violence, including violence against a world leader and Jews more generally, also could raise questions about the appropriateness of their tax status.
As far back as 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case involving discriminatory admissions policies at Bob Jones University, declared that, “underlying all relevant parts of the [tax] Code, is the intent that entitlement to tax exemption depends on meeting certain common-law standards of charity -- namely, that an institution seeking tax-exempt status must serve a public purpose and not be contrary to established public policy.”
The MEF, for its part, asks for the relevant state and federal government officials to disclose how they vet grant recipients and for Congress to “hold oversight hearings on federal money to institutions whose pulpits pray for jihad and for the killing of Jews.”
