Imam Abdelmohsen Abouhatab, who is of Egyptian origin, delivered several antisemitic sermons at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society in Philadelphia, PA, reports the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
He said the Jews are the vilest people in terms of their nature and moral values and that the "nefarious" Jewish media causes people to see Muslims as "oppressive and predatory lions." He said that the "enemies of Allah" are ordering heads of state to come to the Knesset, where they sit and "plot against their people, according to what the others want."
Abouhatab then told his audience that in one of Israel's wars, former Israeli PM Menachem Begin had once made bets on whether a pregnant woman was carrying a boy or a girl before slitting her belly open to find out.
Abouhatab added: "If faith had taken root in our hearts… we would have imposed the word of Islam upon the world."
On January 11, 2018, Imam Abouhatab said that the propaganda and media are controlled by the Jews, who make people think that "power lies with 15 million people who own and control the riches of the world."
On November 16, 2018, Imam Abouhatab said that an Israeli prime minister had once been asked about the hadith about the rocks and the trees calling to Muslims to kill the Jews hiding behind them, and that he had answered: "The hadith is true, but we are doing our best to prevent this."
The Al-Aqsa Islamic Society has been involved in many interfaith activities. It has hosted Philadelphia's Interfaith Peacewalk since 2003, and has a full-time private Islamic school called Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy.
The sermons were streamed live on the mosque's YouTube channel, MEMRI says.
In October 2018, the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society posted to its Facebook page a condemnation of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, in which it called for people of faith to stand united in condemnation of the attack.