A Davis, Calif., mosque that was targeted recently in a vandalism hate crime found itself at the center of controversy this week after an imam delivered a sermon with inflammatory remarks about Jews.
"Oh Allah, liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews ... " Imam Ammar Shahin said in Arabic in his July 21 sermon at the Islamic Center of Davis.
"Oh Allah, count them one by one and annihilate them down to the very last one," he said in the videotaped service.
The comments, which were translated and distributed to the media by the nonprofit Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, have been roundly criticized by local and national Jewish leaders. A few of them have written a complaint to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"It's deeply concerning to read hateful and violence-advocating words directed against any group, including ourselves as Jews," said Steve Cohan, co-president of Congregation Bet Haverim in Davis, in a prepared statement.
In the wake of such criticism, Islamic center officials have offered an apology and insist they have "zero tolerance" for anti-Semitism or any other form of bigotry. They say also that the imam's comments were taken out of context by "Islamophobic news organizations" and MEMRI, an organization they described as being "an extremist agenda-driven organization that supports Israel's occupation of Palestinian land."
The sermon centered on recent turmoil surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in one of Jerusalem's holiest sites, revered by Muslims and Jews.
The recent killings of two Israeli police officers and several Muslim worshippers there prompted Israelis to close the hilltop compound for several days, cancel Friday prayers for the first time in decades, and install metal detectors.
The new security measures were seen by many Muslims as an expansion of Israeli control and triggered some of the worst clashes East Jerusalem has seen in years.
Tensions eased greatly on Thursday, however, as Israeli authorities removed the metal detectors and other security restrictions.
In his July 21 sermon, spoken in Arabic and English, Shahin spoke of the history of Jerusalem and voiced outrage over events surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque. He encouraged fellow Muslims to rise up and speak out as well.
A statement released Tuesday morning by Shahin and the Islamic Center board said the sermon has been misconstrued.
"We sincerely apologize to anyone offended," the statement said.
"The ICD will always stand against anti-Semitism similarly to how the Jewish community has always stood against Islamophobia in our close-knit community."
Nevertheless, local Jewish leaders like Cohan said they were dismayed.
"We are disappointed that these words appear to have come from the Islamic Center of Davis, a place in our community that had to deal with an act of hatred earlier this year," he said.
In January, a woman shattered a half-dozen windows at the Islamic Center, destroyed two bicycles and draped strips of uncooked bacon on a door handle. Muslims are prohibited from eating pork products. The woman was sentenced to five years' probation after pleading guilty to the vandalism and admitting to a hate crime allegation.
James Gelvin, a professor of history at the University of California, Los Angeles and expert on Israeli-Palestinian relations, said Shahin's statements came at a time of great anxiety in the Middle East.
"To them, Al-Aqsa is front-page news," Gelvin said. "Not Trump and whether or not he's connected to Russia."
He said tensions over the holy site are at an all-time high and many in the area fear another uprising.
"It is clear from the first sentence that this imam is talking about Israel's recent actions and the need to safeguard Al-Aqsa Mosque," Gelvin said. "But to say he could have chosen his words better would be a gross understatement."
