Anwar al-Awlaki is a radicalized imam who was born in the US but who is now living in Yemen and who has made a name for himself as a sympathizer to Al Qaeda and violent extremism. He was one of the staff imams at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Virginia back in 2001, and it seems that three of the 9-11 hijackers attended his services. It seems now that Major Nidal Malik Hasan was also a fan of al-Awlaki‘s teachings and attended some of his sermons – and al-Awlaki has now seized upon the actions of Hasan to pay homage to and glorify the Fort Hood attacks. This comes on the heels of news that Hasan reportedly tried to contact Al Qaeda.

What is there to say about al Awlaki? Though once a mainstream, moderate Imam, today he’s a radical extremist islamist. On his website, he calls all muslims who have condemned Hasan’s attack at Fort Hood “traitors to Islam” – I guess he’s talking about me, and frankly I am proud to be labeled a traitor by the likes of scum such as he.

Al Awlaki is far outside the mainstream of the muslim American community. The Dar al Hijrah center has completely repudiated al Awlaki’s statements and disavowed any relationship to him – here is their statement:

VA. MOSQUE REPUDIATES PRAISE FOR FORT HOOD KILLINGS – TOP

(FALLS CHURCH, VA., 11/9/09) – Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., today repudiated hate-filled statements made by a former imam who praised the recent killings at Fort Hood in Texas.

In its statement, the mosque said:

“As we understand the teaching of the scriptures, our mission and method as Americans of faith is to enrich our society with service, wisdom and beautiful preaching of God’s love and mercy to all of mankind.

“We openly denounce the statement of Mr. Al-Awlaki as posted on his website. During Mr. Al-Awlaki’s short employment at our center, his public speech was consistent with the values of tolerance and cooperation. After returning to Yemen, Mr. Awlaki now claims that the American Muslims who have condemned the violent acts of Major Hasan have ‘committed treason against the Muslim Umaah [community] and have fallen into hypocrisy.’

“With this reversal, Mr. Al-Awlaki has clearly set himself apart from Muslims in America. We continue to send our condolences and prayers for recovery of all the victims of this godless act.”

Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one the largest and diverse Islamic Centers in the nation. We are committed to service the community as a place of worship, education and social service. Learn more at www.hijrah.org.

CONTACT: Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Director of Outreach, (202) 345-5233

Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center
3159 Row Street NW
Falls Church, VA 22044
Tel: (703) 536-1030
Fax: (202) 536-1035
URL: http://www.hijrah.org
Email: dardirector@hijrah.org

Al Awlaki’s ideology is well beyond the bounds of even the most conservative muslim groups – for example, here is a two-part video refutation of al Awlaki’s ideologies by salafi muslims:

Part 1 –

Part 2 –

Lots more information about Anwar al-Awlaki and Nidal Malik Hasan at Talk Islam, in addition to the ongoing Fort Hood attacks coverage.