An informal South Florida coalition is calling for the shutdown of a mosque in Margate, Fla. The mosque’s imam is charged with conspiracy to finance the Taliban.
Citizens of Margate, Americans Against Hate, Tea Party Fort Lauderdale, Pastor Mark Boykin of Church of All Nations of Boca Raton, and other groups are holding a press conference on Tuesday to formally make the announcement.
“It appears that the leadership of the mosque is in conspiracy to finance the militant Taliban in Pakistan,” says Boykin. “We are calling on the state and federal governments to look into the mosque’s finances and should there be evidence that they are supporting the Taliban or other terrorist groups and individuals, we need to shut them down.”
Izhar Khan, the imam of the Margate mosque, was arrested and charged in May with conspiracy to finance the militant Taliban group in Pakistan. Khan’s father, Hafiz, has allegedly discussed buying weapons for the Taliban.
Despite the arrest, Yazid Ali, president of the mosque’s board of directors and the registered agent for the group’s corporation, continues to support Khan. Ali even called Khan a “bright, young star.”
“Given the nature of the arrests and given the fact that the president of the mosque, as well as other mosque goers, continue to support the Khans, we believe it is necessary and warranted that the U.S. government moves to shut down the mosque,” says Joe Kaufman, chairman of Americans Against Hate. “Masjid Jamaat al-Mumineen and its officials should no longer be allowed to operate within the state of Florida.”
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