New Jersey’s newly elected governor, campaigning as a moderate with an intelligence background, spent Ramadan services alongside an imam who fought years of federal deportation attempts over alleged Hamas connections and incendiary calls for violence against Israel.
Story Snapshot
- Governor Mikie Sherrill attended March 2026 Ramadan services at Islamic Center of Passaic County, praising the congregation’s commitment to good works
- Imam Mohammad Qatanani survived multiple deportation proceedings since 2006 over undisclosed 1993 Israeli conviction for Hamas membership and alleged ongoing terror ties
- The mosque’s cofounder was convicted in America’s largest terrorism financing case, funneling over $12 million to Hamas through the Holy Land Foundation
- Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, won the governorship in 2025 positioning herself as a centrist Democrat with national security credentials
- Neither the governor’s office nor the mosque responded to requests for comment after the story broke in conservative media outlets
The Former Prosecutor’s Ramadan Visit
Mikie Sherrill swept into New Jersey’s governorship in November 2025 with a 14-point victory margin, brandishing credentials that seemed tailor-made for moderate voters wary of partisan extremes. The former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor joined the Blue Dog and New Democrat coalitions, those bastions of Democratic centrism. On March 20, 2026, she donned a head covering and visited the Islamic Center of Passaic County for Ramadan services, where she met Imam Mohammad Qatanani and delivered remarks praising the community’s dedication to Islam’s five pillars and their constant pursuit of good works. She lamented such values were lacking in America today.
A Mosque With Troubling Origins
The Islamic Center of Passaic County has attracted federal scrutiny since its 1989 founding, accumulating a record that reads like a terrorism finance ledger. Cofounder Mohammad El-Mezain was convicted in 2009 for channeling more than $12 million to Hamas through the Holy Land Foundation, marking the largest terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history. Another former imam, Mohammed Al-Hanooti, allegedly raised over $6 million for the designated terrorist organization during his 1990s tenure there, according to Islamic Horizons magazine. These aren’t whispers from conspiracy theorists but documented facts from federal courtrooms.
The Imam Who Wouldn’t Leave
Mohammad Qatanani arrived in the United States on a visa in 1996 and secured a green card in 2000, but his American dream turned into a legal marathon. The Department of Homeland Security initiated deportation proceedings in 2006 after discovering he had concealed a 1993 Israeli court conviction for Hamas membership when applying for his visa. Israeli authorities had sentenced him to one year, suspended, for the offense. Federal immigration judges alleged perjury on his visa forms and suspected ongoing Hamas connections. Qatanani fought back through the courts, ultimately prevailing in appeals including a 2014 federal court decision and a July 2025 Third Circuit ruling that found DHS lacked authority to revoke his green card without fresh evidence.
The appellate court sidestepped the underlying Hamas allegations entirely, focusing instead on procedural technicalities, a pattern that leaves national security concerns unresolved. Qatanani denies any terrorist affiliations, yet he publicly praised Yusuf al-Qaradawi after the Muslim Brotherhood leader’s 2022 death. Al-Qaradawi had endorsed jihad to the death and became notorious for advocating violence. In 2017, Qatanani spoke at a Times Square rally where he called for a “new intifada” against Israel, language that evokes the violent Palestinian uprisings that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians through suicide bombings and shootings.
When Moderate Credentials Meet Controversial Clerics
Sherrill’s background makes this visit particularly jarring through a common sense lens. Federal prosecutors don’t casually wander into courtrooms; they build cases brick by brick, examining evidence for credibility and intent. Navy pilots train to assess threats with precision. Yet here stands a governor with those credentials, celebrating a community led by a man who spent nearly two decades battling deportation over terror ties and whose mosque was cofounded by a convicted Hamas financier. Her praise for the community’s commitment to good works rings hollow when weighed against the documented history of its leadership. Politicians conduct outreach during religious holidays, but discretion matters.
The governor’s office offered no comment when the Washington Free Beacon published the story on March 24, 2026, complete with social media photos showing Sherrill at the mosque. The Islamic Center likewise remained silent. That silence speaks volumes, suggesting either indifference to the optics or calculation that engagement would amplify an uncomfortable narrative. For Sherrill’s moderate branding to survive scrutiny, voters deserve answers about how she vets community engagement and whether national security concerns factor into her public appearances. PBS lauded her 2025 victory as a win for sensible governance, but this episode tests whether that reputation withstands contact with reality.
The Broader Pattern of Problematic Imam Associations
This isn’t an isolated incident of elected officials appearing alongside clerics with extremist records. In 2024, a Rockland County imam delivered a sermon praising Hamas and calling for the destruction of Zionist Jews, prompting swift condemnation from local public officials who distanced themselves from the inflammatory rhetoric. The Holy Land Foundation trials of 2008 and 2009 exposed sprawling networks connecting American mosques to overseas terrorism financing, revealing how religious institutions could be exploited for violent purposes. Federal prosecutors secured convictions demonstrating these weren’t abstract connections but deliberate schemes to fund suicide bombings and armed conflict.
Sherrill’s visit occurred amid heightened political tensions following Donald Trump’s 2025 reelection and during Ramadan 2026, when Muslim community outreach carries symbolic weight. Republican opposition will seize on this episode to question her judgment and attack her centrist credentials heading into the 2026 midterms. Jewish and pro-Israel constituencies in New Jersey, a state with significant Jewish populations, will demand explanations for why their governor validated a mosque with such a legacy. The Muslim community faces its own dilemma, caught between welcoming political recognition during a holy month and the stigma that clings to institutions with terror links.
What This Reveals About Political Judgment
From a conservative perspective rooted in both common sense and national security priorities, this situation exposes troubling gaps in political vetting. Sherrill commands a gubernatorial staff presumably capable of basic background research. A simple internet search reveals Qatanani’s deportation battles and the mosque’s convicted cofounder. Either her team failed to conduct due diligence, or they knowingly proceeded despite the red flags. Neither explanation inspires confidence. The courts may have ruled on narrow procedural grounds to preserve Qatanani’s residency, but judicial decisions don’t erase the underlying allegations or his documented praise for extremists and calls for intifada.
Americans expect politicians, especially those with prosecutorial and military backgrounds, to exercise discernment about which communities they publicly embrace. Outreach doesn’t require endorsing organizations with terror-linked histories or legitimizing leaders who evaded deportation on technicalities while never addressing the substance of Hamas accusations. Sherrill’s statement that the community’s values are lacking in America suggests she views this mosque as a model worth emulating, a perspective that clashes sharply with its documented record. The governor’s moderate identity now carries an asterisk, one that may prove difficult to erase as this story circulates through conservative media and pro-Israel advocacy networks.
Sources:
Public Officials Condemn Inflammatory Remarks Made by Imam at Islamic Center of Rockland
