Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Tim Walz has come under scrutiny for hosting alleged extremist Muslim leader Imam Asad Zaman, who pledged “unwavering support” for Palestinians after the October 7th terror attack on Israel, according to a recent report. The report revealed that Walz, Minnesota’s two-term governor, has provided financial support to the Muslim American Society (MAS) of Minnesota which is helmed by Zaman.
The governor’s office has awarded more than $100,000 in funding to the Muslim non-profit organization in recent years. Asad Zaman, who was born in Bangladesh, has a history of extreme rhetoric and ideas. According to Sam Westrop, director of the Middle East Forum’s Islamist Watch project, Zaman is “one of America’s most prominent Islamist voices” and has shared neo-Nazi conspiracy theories and press releases mourning the death of convicted war criminals.
Zaman and his organization justified the attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7th, releasing a statement offering unwavering support for the Palestinian struggle. They have also called on the US government to exert maximum pressure on Israel to respect Palestinian lives. Zaman has reposted messages from fellow St. Paul Muslim community leaders that criticize the US government’s support for the “extremist Zionist regime.
In November 2015, Zaman shared a link to “The Greatest Story Never Told,” a neo-Nazi propaganda film praising Hitler popular among antisemites and QAnon conspiracy theorists. Sam Westrop has questioned how Walz and his staff failed to conduct a cursory check on the company they keep, noting that his organization first warned about Zaman’s extremist rhetoric and neo-Nazi sympathies in 2019.
The report raises concerns about the funding provided by Walz’s office to the MAS, which has received hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. It questions who else the governor will end up funding as vice-president. Zaman has met with Walz on various occasions, including in 2019 when he delivered an invocation before the governor’s state address. Neither Walz’s office nor Imam Asad Zaman returned requests for comment regarding the allegations.
Tim Walz is currently running as the Vice-Presidential candidate alongside Kamala Harris, who took over President Joe Biden’s slot after concerns about his mental and physical health led him to drop out of the race.
