A mosque in Northern Virginia, located near Washington, D.C., held a remembrance service for Iran’s supreme leader, who was killed over the weekend following joint U.S. and Israeli strikes against Tehran.
Manassas Mosque, a Shia Muslim religious center with alleged financial ties to the Iranian regime, hosted an iftar, a fast-breaking meal eaten at sundown during Ramadan, on Sunday evening to honor “His Eminence,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The mosque invited its followers, “as we navigate what our responsibilities are today,” to attend the potluck-style dinner, which began with Islamic prayer and ended in special programming dedicated to mourning the death of Khamenei.
“Manassas Mosque extends its condolences and glad tidings on the martyrdom of His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei,” said an Instagram post advertising the event.
The mosque, situated about 30 miles outside of Washington, was formed to “nourish a community of pious, educated, socially conscious, and active Muslims” living in the metropolitan area.
Its leadership, however, has a history of incendiary behavior.
After the October 2023 terrorist attacks against Israel, the Manassas Mosque endorsed the actions of Hamas. In a community newsletter, the mosque issued a statement explicitly expressing support for the terrorist group. “We stand firmly with the Palestinian Resistance (Hamas),” the mosque’s leaders declared at the time.
Manassas Mosque’s Imam Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian claimed at a 2010 rally on Quds Day, an annual anti-Israel day of protest calling for the destruction of the Jewish state, that Israelis orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as part of a Zionist conspiracy to sow Islamophobia.
