'Moderate' Mikie Sherrill Attends Ramadan Services With Imam Who Faced Deportation Proceedings Over Alleged Ties to Hamas and Calls for 'New Intifada'
New Jersey governor touts 'the five pillars of Islam' in visit to Islamic Center of Passaic County
Chuck Ross
March 23, 2026
New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill, who ran for election in November as a "moderate" Democrat, visited a New Jersey mosque on Friday that has been linked to terrorist activity since its founding in 1989 and whose cofounder was convicted of funneling money to Hamas. During that visit, Sherrill met with a cleric who has faced deportation proceedings over his own alleged ties to the terror group and for calling for a "new intifada."
At the Islamic Center of Passaic County, which Sherrill visited for Ramadan services, according to photos posted on social media, she met with Imam Mohammad Qatanani. "This is a community with the five pillars of Islam that is constantly looking to do good works," Sherrill, sporting a head covering, said in remarks in the mosque after meeting with Qatanani. "And that is something I think is lacking now in this country."
While Qatanani has denied having ties to Hamas, he has espoused extremist anti-Israel views. The cleric called for a "new intifada" against Israel during a rally in Times Square in 2017 against the Trump administration's plans to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, according to court documents. "No peace process and negotiation without liberation in Palestine," said Qatanani. "We have to start a new intifada. Intifada, intifada!"
https://freebeacon.com/democrats/moderate-mikie-sherrill-attends-ramadan-services-with-imam-who-faced-deportation-proceedings-over-alleged-ties-to-hamas-and-calls-for-new-intifada/
