Mosque Attended by New Orleans Terrorist Directs Congregants to Avoid Speaking to the FBI, Forward Queries to Antisemitic CAIR

The mosque attended by the New Orleans alleged terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar has made a special request to its congregants as investigation into the incident intensifies.

Houston’s Masjid Bilal ISGH mosque directed its members to avoid speaking to the media and law enforcement and direct all inquiries to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) or the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH).

“I want to emphasize the importance of everyone to stay very vigilant and aware of your surroundings,” JazakAllahu Khairun, part of the mosque’s management team, posted on Facebook. “The safety of our community is the most important thing.”

“If anyone is contacted by the media, it is very important that you do not respond. If approached by the FBI and a response is necessary, please refer to CAIR and ISGH.”

CAIR told Newsweek it was aware of the Masjid Bilal ISGH mosque’s post advising congregants to avoid speaking to law enforcement but could not ascertain its authenticity. It also promised to facilitate anyone with relevant information to speak to law enforcement. “Anyone with any potentially relevant information should come forward immediately, and our attorneys stand ready to help arrange and facilitate communication with relevant law enforcement agencies.”

Nonetheless, CAIR itself is not devoid of controversy. It solely blamed Israel for the current war against Hamas, without condemning the attack that sparked Israel’s response. “The people of Gaza have the right to self-defense,” CAIR’s national executive director, Nihad Awad, said at the American Muslims for Palestine convention. “Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense.” He also lauded “people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land.”

Biden’s White House scrambled to condemn the CAIR director’s “shocking, antisemitic statements” “in the strongest terms.”

In 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated CAIR as a terrorist organization due to its affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. Ironically, the Biden administration had included CAIR in its National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism but later silently removed it. 

Meanwhile, information shows that Jabbar, 42, was a former U.S. Army veteran who lived in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood and displayed erratic behavior before the attack.

The FBI and local and state law enforcement agencies are combing the area and speaking to people to establish the attacker’s motive and identify other potentially involved individuals, who remain at large. They also visited Masjid Bilal ISGH mosque, attended by the alleged attacker.

It remains unclear why Masjid Bilal ISGH mosque would advise congregants to avoid speaking to law enforcement despite condemning “these terrible acts.”