California Imam Amir Abdel Malik Ali delivered a lecture at the university of California Berkeley Muslim Students Association (MSA) titled “Martyrs Illuminating the Path,” in which he extolled martyrdom, saying that in an effort to divert Muslims from Jihad, “our martyrs were marginalized,” instead of being honored and celebrated.
He praised the martyrdom of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah who was assassinated in Tehran and said: “We have to honor our martyrs, and Allah willing, one day we will become martyrs.”
In the lecture, which was posted on Berkeley MSA’s YouTube channel on September 12, 2024, Ali expressed his desire for a new caliphate and said that he hoped that it would be based in Gaza. “We are coming back to power,” he promised his viewers.
Imam Ali leads the Oakland branch of As-Sabiqun, a group founded by DC Imam Abdul Alim Musa. As-Sabiqun has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.