Staten Island Mosque Enlists Felon, Antisemite, and Pro-Jihadist to Teach Children Qur’an
Tarek Mehanna’s Time in Prison Did Not Lessen His Commitment to Radicalism
May 13, 2025Dexter Van Zile
A mosque has taken a divisive approach to promoting the Muslim faith in New York City. The Muslim Community Center (MCC) of Staten Island has enlisted the teaching skills of Tarek Mehanna, a prominent extremist who was convicted in 2011 of conspiring to kill his fellow U.S. citizens and sentenced to seventeen years in federal prison for his crimes. During his time in federal prison, Mehanna, who did not respond to queries from Focus on Western Islamism (FWI), was allegedly placed in a special unit to prevent him from radicalizing his fellow inmates.
While in prison, he allegedly wrote an article in which he justified jihad against the U.S. government, which he compared to the AIDS virus and affirmed a book he read in prison that portrayed Jews as intent on governing the world from Jerusalem.
Despite Mehanna’s radicalism, a mosque has enlisted his help in its effort to educate Muslim youth on Staten Island. Mohamed Bahi (also spelled Bahe), a volunteer and founder of the MCC of Staten Island and former senior advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, announced on Facebook in January that children can study Arabic and the Qur’an with Mehanna every Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
https://www.meforum.org/staten-island-mosque-enlists-felon-antisemite-and-pro-jihadist-to-teach-children-quran
