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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Muslim imam from Dearborn, Michigan, who was scheduled to deliver a prayer at President Donald Trump’s inauguration has been pulled out of the event without explanation, following criticism from at least one American Jewish group.
Imam Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center in Dearborn told The Detroit News last week that he had accepted an invitation from the inauguration committee to pray at Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. His name also appeared on an early printout of the inauguration program.
But Al-Husainy did not appear with other religious leaders during Monday’s ceremony.
Those who did pray included Lorenzo Sewell, pastor of Detroit’s Church 180; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York; the Rev. Franklin Graham; Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University; and the Rev. Frank Mann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.
Al-Husainy did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday. Representatives for Trump’s inaugural committee did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The absence follows renewed criticism of some of the imam's past statements, including an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity in 2007 after Al-Husainy spoke at a Democratic National Committee meeting.
Hannity asked the Iraqi-born Al-Husainy in the interview whether Hezbollah was a terrorist organization, and the imam said it was not. The U.S. designated Hezbollah, a Lebanese Muslim political party and militant group, as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
"That's your explanation," Al-Husainy said, according to a Fox News transcript. "Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization. And I have nothing to do with it. But there is a biblical meaning to Hezbollah. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it means the people of God and that means yes."
In the interview, Al-Husainy denied that he had led pro-Hezbollah rallies in Dearborn or Washington.
“We pray for peace and a ceasefire in the Middle East for all parties to stop the killing of innocent people and the bombings,” Al-Husainy said.
In a statement last week, the Zionist Organization of America urged Trump’s inaugural committee to cancel Al-Husainy’s planned speech, citing his refusal to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
“It would send a terrible message and stain President Trump’s new term if an antisemite and Hezbollah apologist were given a prominent platform at Trump’s inauguration,” ZOA President Morton A. Klein said.
“Americans—including a significant number of American Jews—elected President Trump with the belief that he would once again make antisemitism unacceptable in America and have long awaited Donald Trump’s return to the presidency on January 20. Let’s not ruin that day.”
Al-Husainy, who endorsed Trump last year, leads a congregation that is largely made up of Iraqi immigrants. He said he is a friend of Lebanese-American businessman Massad Boulos, whom Trump has tapped to be his senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
In an interview last week, Al-Husainy, 70, of Dearborn, said he had not been active in U.S. politics for long but decided to consider Trump because the country needed change.
Al-Husainy was invited to meet with Trump when he comes to Detroit in 2024. He said Trump promised to invite him to the White House at the time.
"I felt very comfortable when I met him. Then it was like we had known each other for a long time," Al-Husainy said.
The imam said he opposes same-sex marriage, saying it goes against religious teachings. He hopes Trump's "conservative approach" will discourage taxpayer spending on transgender initiatives or gender-affirming treatments.
"I told him directly, the reason I support you is because I feel you are closer to Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, and closer to the Quran, the Bible and the Talmud," Al-Husainy said. "I still believe in him and I hope, God willing, he will make a positive difference in this country."
The imam acknowledged that some in his congregation questioned his support given Trump's history of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
"I told them and I believe that Trump No. 2 is different from Trump No. 1," said Al-Husainy, who also voted for Democrat Barack Obama.
"I think this man has learned a lot and life has given him so much experience and wisdom, time has shaped him well, and he will lead America to greatness again."
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