In a significant diplomatic move, a Muslim cleric from the United States (US) Michigan has been selected to deliver a benediction at President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration on January 20.
Husham Al-Husainy, the imam of the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center in Dearborn, Mich., is among four religious leaders listed in an Inauguration Day program, who are scheduled to speak immediately after Trump’s address, New York Posted reported on Monday, January 13.
The imam came to public attention and controversy when he was interviewed on Fox News Channel by Sean Hannity in 2007 where he explicitly refused to call Lebanon-based resistance groups as “terrorists”.
When reporters asked Al-Husainy about Hezbollah’s activities against Israel, he gave a clear answer stating, “I have got nothing to do with that. There is a biblical connotation of the name Hezbollah, meaning people of God.”
Allegations of extremism
The Middle East Forum has painted Al-Husainy as a ‘radical anti-Semitic, pro-Hezbollah Shia imam, note-worthy for his alleged previous conduct’.
The Middle East Forum, an American conservative outfit founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, has characterized Al-Husainy as a “radical anti-Semitic, pro-Hezbollah Shia imam” for displaying a photo of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at a 2006 rally and hosting a 2015 rally where he denounced Saudi government as “agents of the Jews”.
Political context
Earlier in October 2024, Al-Husainy endorsed Trump most recently citing his opposition to same-sex marriage. He said, “I am voting for Donald Trump because he is against gay marriage and he is the most Christian candidate in the election.”
The inauguration program also includes three other religious leaders including Yeshiva University’s Jewish Rabbi Ari Berman, Senior Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, and Rev. Father Frank Mann.
Al-Husainy’s invitation has garnered backlash from pro-Israeli advocacy groups who raised questions about the selection of the inaugural speakers.
