Dearborn Sheikh Declares Muslims ‘Will Build America’ On Islam

A sheikh at a Dearborn Heights, Michigan, mosque said Islam and the Shiite faith are “coming to America” and declared that believers will help “build America” on what he called a foundation of Islamic moral civilization.

Sheikh Ibrahim Yassine, a resident scholar at the Islamic Institute of America, made the remarks during his August 14 sermon, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which documented and translated the speech from a video posted by the mosque.

“We will build America on the basis of moral civilization and Islam,” Yassine said. “What they have is no civilization. It is nothing but worldly life, nothing but technology. For them, civilization means killing nations and plundering their resources, even if it means killing all the people.”

Yassine then turned his attention to President Donald Trump, invoking the president’s warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” as an example of what he described as a dangerous American mentality.

“He wants to kill you,” Yassine said of Trump. “This is a sick mentality.”

Shiite Islamic Scholar Ibrahim Yassine at Dearborn Heights Mosque: Islam and the Shiite Faith Are Coming to America; We Will Build America on the Basis of Moral Civilization and Islam pic.twitter.com/6oOacD1Yp7

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 27, 2026

Yassine said the growth of Islam and the Shiite faith in America would not be an effort to sow discord, but would be pursued through “reason,” “logic,” religion, and “moral values.” 

“We should be among the best citizens in America,” he said.

The remarks are not the first time Yassine has criticized Trump. During a March 6 Ramadan gathering at the Islamic Education Center in Orlando, Florida, Yassine mocked Trump over his interest in Iran’s selection of a new supreme leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Trump, he wants to choose the jurisprudent leader of Iran,” Yassine said, according to MEMRI’s translation. “I mean this man is stupid and crazy.”

#ICYMI: In Orlando Mosque, Shiite Scholar Sheikh Ibrahim Yassine Congratulates Mojtaba Khamenei on Election as Iran’s Supreme Leader, Adds: Trump Is a Stupid and Crazy Man Surrounded by Thugs and Smugglers, While Khamenei Did Nothing Bad to Anyone, Everybody Loved Him pic.twitter.com/X4Qr4imfJ1

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) March 15, 2026

Yassine went on to praise Khamenei, describing him as a “pious” and “humble” man who was loved by the oppressed around the world. 

He then congratulated Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, on his selection as Iran’s new supreme leader.

“I would like to congratulate us and the whole Shiite Islamic nation on the election of Mojtaba Khamenei,” Yassine said, according to MEMRI. He called the development an “important and blessed step” by the people of Iran and the Assembly of Experts.

In 2016, he attacked Israel at a Quds Day event in Detroit, claiming the Palestinian issue was not merely a political or regional dispute.

According to remarks documented by MEMRI, he described Israel as a “plundering entity” that spreads corruption beyond the Middle East.

“Allah has promised that this plundering entity will be annihilated, and it must be annihilated, by the efforts of the believers,” Yassine said, according to MEMRI’s translation.

Yassine is not the only imam at the institute whose sermons have drawn scrutiny. In a July 17 sermon at the Islamic Institute of America, Shiite scholar Mohammad Qazwini celebrated the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), saying Allah had “taken his soul and threw him in Hell.” 

“Last Sunday, we woke up with very good news,” he said. “Suddenly we hear that Lindsey Graham … Allah took his soul and threw him in Hell. Blessings upon Muhammad and the household of Muhammad.”

#ICYMI: Dearborn Heights Shiite Scholar Mohammad Qazwini Celebrates Lindsey Graham’s Death: Allah Slapped Him and Took His Soul to Hell; Says Graham Told His Friend President Trump That He Had More Plans to Finish His Job, Let’s Ask Allah to Also Take Graham’s Friend pic.twitter.com/gFjFxFocGw

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 9, 2026

Qazwini blamed Graham for what he called the “genocide in Gaza” and the killing of civilians in Lebanon, then asked congregants to pray that Allah would also take Graham’s “friend,” President Trump.

Qazwini also called on the congregation to pray for “victory to Islam and the Muslims” and for Allah to “humiliate the infidels and the hypocrites” and bring “wrath, vengeance, and punishment upon Israel.”

In a July 31 sermon, Qazwini endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, telling congregants that Muslim men and women had a responsibility to elect him because he is Muslim and would support Muslim interests in the United States.

Michigan Shiite Scholar Mohammed Qazwini: It Is Mandatory to Support Brother Abdul El-Sayed; Every Muslim Man and Woman Has an Obligation to Elect Him Because He Is a Muslim and Will Support Muslim Issues in This Country pic.twitter.com/dCwezhuu3V

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 3, 2026

The founder and senior scholar of the mosque, Hassan Qazwini, also urged congregants to vote in the August 4 Democratic primary, in which El-Sayed was seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, according to MEMRI. 

Qazwini said “Zionists” were spending more than $16 million to “hijack” voters’ voices and urged Muslims to use their ballots to “deal the Zionists a big blow.”

The institute has also hosted memorial events for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Lebanese Shiite cleric Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, according to MEMRI. After Nasrallah was killed, Qazwini praised martyrdom. 

Dearborn Heights Shiite Scholar Hassan Qazwini: Please, Please Vote on Tuesday; The Way to Deal the Zionists a Big Blow is to Go and Cast Your Vote – Don’t Allow the Zionists to Hijack Your Vote pic.twitter.com/XtJ3Nlv4t2

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 4, 2026