The Birmingham Islamic Society (BIS) operates one of Alabama’s largest and most influential mosques. While it presents itself to the public as a standard 501(c)(3) religious organization, its internal governing documents and leadership history tell a very different and troubling story.

BIS’s constitution explicitly places the entire organization under Sharia (Islamic law). The mosque routes its assets and disputes to the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), an entity identified in federal court records as part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s infrastructure for controlling property in the United States. It also promotes an Islamic Last Will and Testament that overrides Alabama law on inheritance and child custody in favor of Quranic rules.

Over the years, BIS has employed imams with documented ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, including one who was named in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial. Two of its original founders have promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories and antisemitic claims on social media as recently as 2026. Most recently, its affiliated Islamic Academy of Alabama tried to expand in Hoover but was blocked by strong community pushback.

This is not a fringe mosque operating in the shadows. This is a major, well-established Islamic institution in Alabama that has deliberately built itself around Sharia and long-term institutional control.

The Birmingham Islamic Society (BIS) operates one of the largest and most influential mosques in Alabama. While it presents itself publicly as a 501(c)(3) religious and charitable organization serving the Muslim community in Birmingham, its internal governing documents tell a different story: every aspect of the mosque’s operations, membership, finances, and even the personal affairs of its members is explicitly subordinated to Sharia (Islamic law) as derived from the Quran and Sunnah.

Two foundational documents reveal this parallel legal system in clear detail. The official BIS Constitution (17 pages) declares Sharia the supreme authority over the entire organization.

The standard Islamic Last Will and Testament promoted to the local Sunni Muslim community (a 4-page template tailored for Alabama) extends those same Sharia rules into inheritance, burial, child custody, and estate distribution — overriding conflicting secular law or personal wishes.

Together, these papers show how BIS has built a self-contained Islamic framework that prioritizes the Quran, Sunnah, and Shura over American civic norms on gender roles, family law, dispute resolution, and public policy.

BIS Constitution: Sharia as the Supreme Law of the Mosque

The BIS Constitution opens with an unambiguous declaration that every activity must conform to Islamic law. In the Preamble and Article I, it states:

ANY ACTIVITY CONTRARY TO OR IN CONFLICT WITH THE QUR’AN AND THE SUNNAH SHALL NOT BE PERMITTED WITHIN, OR UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THIS ORGANIZATION. THE PRINCIPLE OF SHURA SHALL BE THE GOVERNING PRINCIPLE IN ARRIVING AT DECISIONS.”

Article IV.2 (“Conformity to Islam”) reinforces this by requiring all acts of the Society to follow “the tenets of Islam, the basic sources of which are the QUR’AN and the SUNNAH as defined by Ahlu-Sunnah Wal-Jammah” (the four major Sunni schools of thought). In cases of disagreement, the mosque consults “renowned and recognized scholars” but still makes the final decision in accordance with Sharia guidelines.

Leadership and membership are tightly controlled by religious criteria. The President (called “Ameer”) must be male (Article 9.2.1(iii)). Sisters are required to wear “proper Islamic hijab” during Board meetings and any official role (Article 8.5). Regular Members must establish the five daily prayers, attend Friday prayers (males only), and “does not publicize or expose his/her major sins” to remain in good standing and retain voting rights (Article 6.1 and 6.3). The Board can reject or expel anyone who “openly defies Islam” (Article 6.2 and 6.4).

The Constitution also emphasizes aggressive dawah (proselytization). Article III lists among the Society’s core purposes: to “teach, lecture and disseminate the faith among Muslims and non-Muslims,” “promote a better understanding of Islam,” and distribute religious material “via all available media.”

Even financial and operational decisions are subordinated to Sharia. All disputes that remain unresolved internally are sent to external Islamic arbitration (often citing the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as an example), and upon dissolution, all assets go to the NAIT network (Articles 8.17 and XI). This creates a closed Islamic legal loop that bypasses secular Alabama courts whenever possible.

The Birmingham Islamic Society’s Constitution further entrenches this national-level control by routing the mosque’s assets and disputes straight into the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). Under Article XI (Dissolution), if the Society is ever liquidated, all residual assets are transferred directly to NAIT. Article 8.17 (Conflict Resolution) likewise directs any internal disputes that cannot be settled locally to an external arbitration panel, explicitly naming the North American Islamic Trust as an example, whose decision is final and binding.

This is the same NAIT/waqf architecture the organization uses elsewhere in Texas. As detailed in RAIR Foundation USA’s Renaissance Academy expansion report,, NAIT functions as a permanent Islamic endowment (waqf) trustee: once property enters the NAIT system, it is effectively removed from ordinary private ownership and locked into long-term, Sharia-compliant religious and institutional use for generations. NAIT has been repeatedly identified in federal investigative records and court documents, including the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial — as part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s U.S. property-holding infrastructure, serving as a national vehicle that consolidates hundreds of mosques, schools, and Islamic centers under centralized Islamic trust control.

Islamic Last Will and Testament: Sharia Controls Inheritance, Burial, Children, and Debts

The same Sunni community that operates under the BIS Constitution distributes and promotes a detailed Islamic Last Will and Testament tailored for Alabama Muslims. The will template explicitly places Sharia above any conflicting personal wishes or state law.

In Article III (Executor), the testator directs the executor to distribute the estate “according to my wishes, as well as Islamic rules, the latter of which shall supersede in the event of conflict between the two.” If named executors are unavailable, it defaults to “the Imam of the local Sunni Muslim community”, directly tying estate control to the mosque’s religious leadership.

Article IV (Arbitration) requires all disputes to be resolved through private, binding Islamic arbitration whose ruling is “final and legally enforceable”, again with Islamic rules taking precedence.

Burial instructions in Article V are pure Sharia: no autopsy, no embalming, no organ donation, no non-Islamic services, no casket, and the grave must face the Kaaba with the body placed directly in the soil. Burial must occur “as soon as possible, preferably before sunset on the day of my death.”

For minor children, Article VI requires that guardians be Muslim and orders: “In all cases, I urge that all my minor children be raised as practicing Sunni Muslims and not in any way be indoctrinated into any other faith, religion, or sect of Islam.”

Inheritance follows the Quranic shares quoted in full in the preamble (Surah An-Nisaa 4:11), including the explicit rule that males receive double the share of females. Article IX locks this in: the remainder must be distributed “strictly in accordance with the tenets of Sunni Muslim law of inheritance.” Unclaimed or refused portions must be donated “for the advancement of Islam.”

The will further requires the executor to pay any “outstanding obligation due to God”, including unpaid zakat and kaffaraat for unperformed Hajj (Article VII.C). The preamble quotes Quran verses that warn of Hellfire for those who disobey these inheritance rules or “devour the property of orphans unjustly” (4:10, 4:14).

Birmingham Islamic Society’s History

According to the Birmingham Islamic Society (“BIS”) website, the Birmingham Islamic Society (BIS) was established in 1990 in Alabama as the successor to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Muslim Students’ Association, which began in the early 1980s and remains active today.

Initially, BIS operated a small masjid near UAB that also housed the At-Tawheed School, founded in 1994. In 1996, the organization expanded by purchasing a larger property in Homewood, Alabama. This site became the Islamic Academy of Alabama’s main center and home, replacing At-Tawheed School, and remained its headquarters until 2007.

As the community grew, BIS broadened its services and facilities. A temporary prayer space was opened in 2003, followed by the purchase and renovation of a church into the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center, where the first Friday prayer was held in December 2007. The organization also established a Muslim cemetery, known as the Muslim Garden, in 2004.

Further expansion included the opening of Westside Masjid in Fairfield, Alabama, in 2010, and the launch of the Red Crescent Clinic of Alabama in 2011, in partnership with APPNA-AL, which provides free healthcare services to the community. In 2018, they added a new mosque in Jasper, Alabama, and even fundraised for it.

Radical Foundations by Radical Muslim Leaders: The Original Founders of Birmingham Islamic Center

Two of the original founders are foreign-born Muslims from Pakistan and India. One claims to be a “fundamentalist” and insists that he can still get along, have respect for, and understanding of other religions, while the founder of their outreach program actively spreads anti-Jewish messages, 9/11 denial, and a revisionist history of the jihad in India by Muslims on his Facebook page.

One of the founders is Ashfaq Taufique, president emeritus of the Birmingham Islamic Society. He was born and raised in Pakistan and immigrated to the United States at 25. He attended college in Texas before moving to North Carolina and Georgia and finally settling in Alabama in 1989. He married an Italian American Catholic who finally converted to Islam after 31 years together.

“I call myself a fundamentalist in terms of practices, trying not to adulterate just because I’m living in America,” he shared. “But at same time, I have respect and understanding. I may not agree with what Hindus and Christians and Jews believe, but I have not just respect, but really understanding, for all people. It’s actually part of Islamic faith.”

Taufique maintained a blog called Bismillah Vision. In a 2019 post about what he called “Islamophobia,” he compared modern criticism of Islam to the opposition the Prophet Muhammad faced in the early days of Islam in Mecca.

He referenced a Quranic verse in which Allah commands the Prophet to “Rise and Warn,” and described how the Prophet gathered the leaders of Mecca and warned them of “severe punishment” if they rejected his message. Taufique then suggested that Muslims today are facing similar opposition and should respond by taking control of the narrative — making sure that Muslims, rather than critics, are the ones speaking about Islam. The post was inspired by a sermon from radical Sheikh Omar Suleiman.

He encouraged his entire congregation to become more politically involved to shape the American government. He writes, “Political Activism for Muslims is no longer an option; it is an obligation. We, Muslims, must get out of our cocoons and embrace the fact that we are Americans and as such have a grave civic responsibility to shape our government to deal with the internals of our country and more importantly our role as the leader of the world.”

In 2013, an initiative was started at the mosque to write letters to incarcerated Muslims. In 2018, Taufique reflects on the program and states that, “Through the letters, prisoners know that they are always part of our community and that they are in our prayers.”

Taufique also invited international military students from the Field Studies Program (FSP) at Fort Rucker, Alabama. More than forty participants attended, representing countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Jordan, India, Indonesia, and Tunisia. Imam Sameh and Brother Ashfaq Taufique welcomed the group and delivered presentations on the Muslim community and an overview of Islamic beliefs.

In an article written by the US ARMY, “The intent of the program is to provide international military students and spouses with a direct view of life in the U.S. through social interaction.” If the intent of the program is to show foreign military what life is like in the United States, why are they taking them to mosques inside of Alabama to learn about Islam?

Farook Chandiwala is the founder of the BIS outreach program. Farook is originally from Bombay (Mumbai), India, and he immigrated to the United States in 1962. He was publicly active at the mosque from the early 2000s until 2017.

In 2015, as part of his outreach program, he invited radical Medea Benjamin of Code Pink to speak at the mosque. Farook hosted a “peace panel” with those who attended the “Tehran anti-U.S. conspiracy conference.”

Farook was excited to have Medea speak, especially after her recent return from Iran.

The conference she attended include[d] ‘elite thinkers, philosophers, activists and politicians worldwide’ who will discuss and ‘expose’ Zionist control of the film industry and the influence of the ‘Zionist lobby in America.’” Numerous leading Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists, and Sept. 11 “truthers,” who claim the World Trade Center destruction was an “inside job” by the United States or an Israeli operation, were among the speakers.

On Iranian state media, Benjamin said the conference discussed how U.S. military funding was at the expense of adequate healthcare for Americans, and that conferences like that “should lift the pressure off of the Palestinian people.” She also stated that Americans are being “manipulated” into supporting the fight against ISIS.

As recently as March 2026, ten years after Medea visited BIC, Farook posted videos on his personal Facebook account claiming that Muslims didn’t commit 9/11; it was the Jews.

He spreads anti-Jewish conspiracy theories like “the Jews tried to poison the prophet (Mohammed).”

Or spreading the message of Khaybar. (This is a reference to the Muslim belief that at the end of days, the Muslims will slaughter all the Jews.)

Farook insists that Muslims did not conquer India through jihad, but reached India through trade and peaceful traditions.

From Radical Founders to Radical Imams

Birmingham Islamic Center’s radical leanings don’t stop at their founders; they brought on radical Imams to teach their congregation and the neighboring community. From an Imam connected to the Muslim Brotherhood through the Holyland Foundation Trial and a congregant who was convicted for aiding terrorists, to one who opens state congress with Islamic prayers, and another who studied at Al Azhar University, BIS has no shortage of controversy.

1. Muslim Brotherhood Member Imam Raed Awad

Imam Raed Awad, of Palestinian background, originally served as Imam at Masjid Al Iman in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 1994 to 2000. During his tenure, Jose Padilla attended the mosque. Padilla was arrested in 2002 at a Chicago airport on suspicion of plotting a “dirty bomb” attack for al-Qaida, later indicted for aiding terrorists, and convicted in 2007 of conspiracy to murder. Awad acknowledged that he knew Padilla but maintained that he had no influence over him, and he testified at Padilla’s trial.

In 2004, Awad moved to Birmingham, Alabama. When the BIS Hoover mosque, Hoover Crescent Islamic Center, opened, Awad became their first Imam.

During the time between Florida and Alabama, Awad was busy fundraising for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. He would claim he was raising funds for Palestinian hospitals, orphanages, and schools. However, he would later be named as a member of the United States Muslim Brotherhood in the Holyland Foundation Trial.

Even after being named a Muslim Brotherhood member in a US federal court case, BIS decided to hire him.

“He gave a friendly face and a friendly voice to Islam,” said the Rev. Steve Jones, former pastor of Southside Baptist Church, who was friends with him. “It wasn’t always met with friendliness. He believed intently in what he believed. He said he wanted to work with people and teach them about Islam, and he did.”

Awad largely overcame initial suspicion and was accepted in Birmingham as a spokesman for Muslims at numerous interfaith events, said [Rev. SteveJones. ”Our folks loved him,” Jones said. ”He was very engaging.”

Just three years later, in 2011, Awad left America and moved to Malaysia, where he passed away.

2. Imam Kareem Abdullah

Abdullah led prayers, including giving the opening prayer at the Alabama House of Representatives in 2007. Abdullah was invited by Rep. Yusuf Salaam, D-Selma, the only Muslim member of the Legislature.

He was the father of NFL running back Ameer Abdullah. They have an 11-member family, Ameer has eight older siblings – two brothers and six sisters with an 18-year age difference between the oldest and youngest – and parents, Kareem Sr. and Aisha. Ameer has been very outspoken about his Islamic beliefs while playing in the NFL.

Even though Kareem was only at BIS for a short amount of time, he was able to gain influence by doing the opening prayer for the Alabama House of Representatives, and due to his son’s fame, they were able to put the mosque on the map, spreading a message of Islam at the national level.

3. Sameh Asal

Imam Dr. Sameh Asal was born in Egypt. He attended Al-Azhar University, earning a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD. He became an Assistant Professor at Al-Azhar University. He would represent the college in interfaith dialogues with the Anglican Church in the UK. In August of 2016, he became Imam of the Birmingham Islamic Society until February of 2022.

Al Azhar University is the home to Muslim Brotherhood ideology, and some graduates who joined Al Qaeda include Abdullah Yusuf Azzam and Omar Abdel-Rahman (The Blind Sheik). Another notable terrorist linked to the University itself includes Ayman al-Zawahiri, whose grandfather was the grand Imam of Al Azhar. Known Muslim Brotherhood members who received degrees at Al Azhar University include: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Mustafa al-Siba’i, Muhammad Beltagy, Abdel Rahman al-Barr, and Umar Sulaiman Al-Ashqar.

RAIR Foundation has reported on Al-Azhar University numerous times throughout the years. In previous articles, we have told our audience that Al-Azhar—the highest authority in Sunni Islam—is the most authoritative Sunni Islamic institution in the world. Its Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, wields influence comparable to that of a Pope, shaping the doctrines that define Islamic teaching, jurisprudence, and interfaith relations.

For Al-Azhar to select Quran 5:82 for public recitation is no trivial matter. This verse is among the most explicitly antisemitic passages in the Quran, stating: “You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers to be the Jews and those who associate others with Allah.” (Quran 5:82)

This foundational Islamic verse has been interpreted by Islamic scholars for over a millennium as a divinely sanctioned condemnation of the Jewish people. From Al-Tabari (d. 923 CE) to Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE), classical Islamic commentators have reinforced this passage’s explicit meaning: that Jews are inherently treacherous, rebellious, and cursed.

Ibn Kathir, one of the most widely cited medieval Islamic exegetes, elaborates:

“This describes the Jews, since their disbelief is that of rebellion, defiance, opposing the truth, belittling other people, and degrading the scholars. This is why the Jews—may Allah’s continued curses descend on them until the Day of Resurrection—killed many of their prophets and tried to kill the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad.”

This interpretation has not changed in modern Islamic scholarship. The late Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (d. 2010), a towering figure in Quranic exegesis, described Jews as:

“…the most despicable of people in their character and the most vehement in their enmity toward Muslims.”

Tantawi’s views were not an aberration; they remain the theological standard at Al-Azhar. Having an Imam teach at your mosque, as Sameh Asal does at the Birmingham Islamic Center, means the standard of Islamic adherence is extremely high. Asal didn’t just get three degrees from Al-Azhar; he was a professor and spoke on their behalf in Western nations.

Local Leaders Visit the Mosque during Ramadan

In 2018, the Birmingham Islamic Center held guests each night for Ramadan. They gave their non-Muslim guests lessons on Islam, like the 5 pillars of Islam and 6 articles of their faith. One night, they hosted over 300 guests, including Mayor Randall L. Woodfin (Birmingham) and Frank V. Brocato (Hoover).

According to the guests who attended, they felt that, ” we have found that this experience affords them an opportunity to learn the basics of Islam in an authentic environment and, perhaps more significantly, inspires them to become ‘ambassadors’ of our faith when they leave our facility, since they typically depart with a much more accurate understanding of Islam.”

This wasn’t the first time Mayor Frank V. Brocato visited the mosque; earlier that same year, he attended their open house alongside CAIR Alabama, which had a booth at the event.

Attendees were encouraged to try on hijabs, and there was even a booth where someone would put one on for them. The booth had a sign that told the person trying on a hijab to “take a look in the mirror.” (This is a common pattern at the mosque when they have visitors. They invite their female guests to try on the hijab.)

The following presentations were given to the non-Muslims in attendance: “Introduction to Islam,” “Women in Islam,” “Shariah: What You Need to Know,” and “Islam and People of Other Faiths.”

Sharia Adherence Lessons Take Place at the Mosque.

Imam Main Al-Qudah visited the mosque to teach its congregants about financial stability for Muslim families. On its face, this seems benign, but Al-Qudah is no ordinary finance lecturer. He is a federally documented Muslim Brotherhood operative whose own court record exposes deep ties to extremist networks.

Al-Qudah is the President of the Islamic University Guidance College, which actively operates a prison pipeline, offering “education on Islam” to incarcerated Americans — a strategic recruitment tactic. Prisons have become fertile hunting grounds for Islamic supremacists, where radical groups exploit boredom, incentives like halal meals and prayer privileges, and promises of “spiritual freedom” to convert inmates, many of them violent offenders.

But Al-Qudah’s record runs far deeper. As RAIR Foundation exposed, he entered the United States from Jordan in 2000 to replace Moataz Al-Hallak as imam at the Islamic Society of Arlington, Texas, a mosque then under intense federal scrutiny for its ties to Osama bin Laden’s network. In sworn testimony before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Al-Qudah admitted that his father and uncle were members of the Muslim Brotherhood. His uncle, Abdul Hamid Al-Qudah, was a senior leader of the Jordanian Brotherhood and a co-founder of its political arm, the Islamic Action Front, and was photographed alongside Hamas leaders.

Most revealing is the basis of his own legal case. The Sixth Circuit summarized it plainly: “Al Qudah is a Muslim scholar who claims past and future harm based on political opinion because he has advocated the imposition of Islamic law [Sharia] instead of secular law in Jordan.” After overstaying his visa, he was ordered deported in 2013. Today, he is spearheading an $80 million, 30-acre Islamic compound in Katy, Texas — a model of the Brotherhood’s documented strategy of building self-contained parallel societies insulated from Western law.

He also co-founded MAS Katy. The Muslim American Society (MAS) is a Muslim Brotherhood-linked organization; RAIR recently reported on a shooting connected to MAS Katy. Al-Qudah holds a degree in Economics from Al-Azhar University and lectures across the country on Sharia law and finance.

The Birmingham Islamic Society didn’t bring in just any Muslim to teach its congregants about money. It brought in a man whom a United States federal court documented as a Muslim Brotherhood-connected advocate of imposing Sharia over secular law, to teach Sharia-compliant finance, exactly as its own constitution directs.

Failed but still Hopeful Expansion Project

Throughout the years, BIS and its affiliates have expanded their mosques. In 2018, all three mosques underwent updates. The West Side Masjid updated their bathrooms and prayer rooms, Hoover Crescent added an addition to the south side of their building, and the Homewood Masjid gained a 60×60 Ramadan tent.

In 2025, the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center set out to raise funds to build an updated mosque. They raised $833,871, 56% of their $1,500,000 goal.

The Birmingham Islamic Center launched a fundraising campaign to renovate the masjid, aiming to raise $500,000. To date, $174,537 has been raised in donations.

The Islamic Academy of Alabama (IAA), which is operated directly by the Birmingham Islamic Center, plans to relocate. It is the educational arm of the Birmingham Islamic Society (BIS). The IAA served as the main center for BIS in 2007.

IAA originally planned to relocate to Meadow Brook Office Park. When locals and U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville found out, they immediately pushed back on this expansion project.

Senator Tuberville has been a vocal critic of Islamic extremism and the presence of Sharia law in the United States. In a recent speech before Congress, he called for banning Sharia law nationwide.

Tommy Tuberville did an exclusive interview with Breanna Morello on Info Wars to warn about the “Muslim Expansion Happening in all 50 States.” He has been a consistent and outspoken critic on this topic.

Ultimately, the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend denial of the school’s rezoning request. Many community members came out to oppose the relocation/expansion project, and the crowd cheered when they heard the news.

For now, the prospect of the IAA expanding in Alabama is put on hold, but not indefinitely. They decided not to go to the city council to push the issue further.

The Islamic Academy of Alabama also released a statement, saying:

“After thoughtful reflection on the Planning Commission meeting and the community response that followed, we determined that shifting our focus toward alternative opportunities would better serve our school and our families moving forward.”

As we know, Islam is very patient. When these institutions fail, they will wait months, years, sometimes even decades to achieve their goals. The IAA has chosen not to pursue this option at the moment, though its plans could change, and it may seek a new location in the future.

Beyond the Hoover Rezoning Fight

The Birmingham Islamic Society is not simply a local house of worship. It is a carefully structured institution whose governing documents, financial architecture, leadership choices, and expansion ambitions reflect a coherent and deliberate ideological framework, one rooted in Muslim Brotherhood ideology and enforced through Sharia law.

From its constitution’s explicit subordination of all activities to Islamic law, to its routing of assets into the NAIT endowment system, to its history of employing imams with Brotherhood ties, BIS has built what amounts to a self-contained parallel legal and civic structure operating within Alabama’s borders. The Islamic Last Will and Testament it promotes to its congregation ensures that this framework extends beyond the mosque itself, reaching into the most intimate and consequential decisions of its members’ lives- inheritance, child-rearing, burial, and estate distribution, with Islamic law explicitly superseding American civil law wherever the two conflict.

The failed expansion of the Islamic Academy of Alabama may represent a temporary setback, but it would be a mistake to treat it as a resolution. As the IAA’s own statement made clear, the organization has simply chosen to wait for a better opportunity. Islamic institutions operating within this ideological framework are historically patient, and the infrastructure BIS has built- financial, legal, educational, and political- remains firmly in place.

The community members who turned out to oppose the Hoover rezoning request, and the elected officials who raised the alarm, were right to do so. But opposition to a single zoning application is not a substitute for a clear-eyed understanding of what BIS represents, how it operates, and its long-term goals. That understanding begins with reading the documents and taking them seriously.