DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (TNND) — Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021 met with a Muslim leader who previously expressed support for Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, a post by the leader’s mosque shows.
Harris spoke and took pictures with Mohammad Ali Elahi, an imam at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Michigan, during a “vaccination mobilization event” at the religious center. Harris was honored for the White House’s efforts to fight COVID-19 and she thanked Elahi for hosting her, the center noted.
In 2007, Elahi said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network that there should be a discussion about whether Hezbollah is a terrorist group.
“We need to have another interview of talking about Hezbollah, whether that is a terrorist organization or not,” he said. “I know that legally in the U.S. now Hezbollah is in that list. And whether we agree with the law or disagree, we have to follow the law of the land.”
The previous year, Hezbollah fired rockets toward Israel before invading the country in response to the Jewish state’s invasion of Lebanon. The group killed three Israeli soldiers through the attack and kidnapped two. Five more soldiers were later killed in Lebanon.
Elahi expressed support for Hezbollah’s actions.
They were resisting against occupation. I think that was something that was supported even with our government,” he said.
Three years later, Elahi commemorated the death of Hussein Fadlallah, who some deemed a founder of Hezbollah. However, Fadlallah and the terrorist group rejected that association.
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“Sayyed Fadlallah has been the voice of wisdom, moderation, peace, justice, freedom, human unity and dignity in a world filled with violence and prejudice,” Elahi wrote in a newsletter. “He will be missed by the weak he protected, the hungry he fed, the orphans he sheltered, the students he taught and all the faithful and the lovers of peace and justice.”
This past February, Elahi compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an Adolf Hitler “of our century,” accusing him of carrying out a holocaust against Palestinians, according to a report by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
Harris did not return a request for comment by The National News Desk.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.