A convicted Islamic terrorist, who once plotted to massacre Americans in shopping malls and sought jihad training overseas, was quietly hired to teach children as young as four at a mosque in New York City.
Tarek Mehanna, a devout Al-Qaeda propagandist who spent 14 years in federal prison for attempting to incite and enable violent jihad, was brought on in January as an Arabic and Quran instructor at the Muslim Community Center (MCC) of Staten Island.
What makes this even more alarming: MCC Staten Island is not some fringe, independent mosque; it is part of the larger MCC Brooklyn network, a well-established Islamic nonprofit operating across New York. This means Mehanna’s hiring wasn’t a one-off clerical mistake. It happened under the oversight of an institutional umbrella with deep ties to city officials and taxpayer-funded interfaith partnerships.
Even more disturbing, the MCC Brooklyn network has received grant funding from outside organizations, including a $25,000 award from the radical Interfaith Center of New York. That means institutional donors, under the banner of “interfaith unity,” are financially backing the very network that hired a convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist to teach children. This isn’t just ideological recklessness, it’s donor-enabled extremism masquerading as community engagement.
Meet the Man Who Hired Him: A City Insider Under Federal Indictment
The mosque’s founder, Mohamed Bahi, is no fringe community activist; he was the Chief Muslim Liaison to Democrat Mayor Eric Adams, paid by the city to represent Islamic interests in government. But in October 2024, Bahi was arrested by the FBI and charged with federal witness tampering and destruction of evidence tied to an illegal foreign donation scheme benefiting Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign. Federal prosecutors allege Bahi instructed witnesses to lie and deleted encrypted messages in a frantic attempt to cover up the operation.
This is the man who brought a convicted Al-Qaeda propagandist into a mosque full of American children.
The 9/11 ‘Spiritual Awakening’ That Led to Radical Network-Building
Even worse, Bahi has publicly admitted that 9/11 was a spiritual turning point for him, not away from terrorism, but toward Islam, stating: “September 11… connected me to my belief, and made me the person I am today.” That belief system led him to launch organizations like Muslims Giving Back, which sued the NYPD for monitoring suspected extremist activity at his mosque. It was from this same activist network that Mehanna emerged as a teacher.
Mehanna’s Record of Bloodlust and Beheading Videos
Mehanna’s past isn’t speculative. It’s on record. He attempted to join terrorist training camps in Yemen and Pakistan, openly fantasized about gunning down Americans in malls, translated jihadist propaganda for Al-Qaeda, and hosted “movie nights” where he and his friends watched beheading videos of Americans. He cheered the mutilation of American soldiers, once joking in reference to their dismembered bodies: “Texas BBQ is the way to go.”
According to federal prosecutors, Mehanna “enjoyed viewing” the horrific executions of American citizens, footage he eagerly shared with friends. These included the beheadings of Pennsylvania contractor Nick Berg, New Jersey contractor Paul Johnson, and Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
And now he’s been teaching children in the United States.
The Left Enabled This—And Still Refuses to Take Responsibility
Let that sink in: A man who tried to kill your family in a shopping mall is now teaching someone else’s child how to read the Quran in New York.
City leaders claim shock, but they enabled this. The Left’s obsession with “inclusion,” “diversity,” and “second chances” has created a security vacuum where radicals are handed microphones, classrooms, and credibility. And now, convicted jihadists are being handed your children.
And don’t think it’s just Staten Island mosques and “Islamic centers.” Across the country, schools, daycares, and after-school programs are operating, many with little to no meaningful oversight.
This isn’t a mistake, it’s the inevitable outcome of a system the Left deliberately built to empower America’s enemies.
Where Is the Investigation? And Why Is This Mosque Expanding?
The mosque’s vague statement that Mehanna “is no longer teaching” was issued only after public backlash and provided no explanation for his hiring. Nor did it deny his ongoing presence in their broader network.
But brushing this off isn’t good enough. When a mosque places a convicted terrorist in front of children, vague statements don’t cut it; accountability does. Where is the investigation? Why hasn’t this mosque, which knowingly brought in an Al-Qaeda propagandist, been put under federal scrutiny? The silence is deafening.
What’s even more alarming is that this same mosque, like so many others across the country, is now in the middle of a massive expansion project, openly fundraising from the broader Islamic community. On its own website, the Muslim Community Center of Staten Island urges donations by declaring: “A masjid is at the heart of any local Muslim community… a hub for educational programmes… to help people learn more about Islam and to nurture their moral and spiritual development.”
So let’s be clear: the same institution that entrusted the “moral and spiritual development” of children to a jihadist is now building to scale that influence—permanently. If this doesn’t trigger national alarm bells, what will?
This Is Not Incompetence, It’s Ideological Complicity
This wasn’t some bureaucratic slip-up. The man who embedded a jihadist into a religious center for children was a city official on the taxpayer payroll, later indicted for attempting to obstruct justice in a criminal corruption case. The connections between Islamists and city leaders are not theoretical; they are documented, operational, and dangerous.
We Must Confront This—Before It’s Too Late
Elected officials like Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) rightly asked the question every sane American should be screaming: “Do any of us seriously believe a man who pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, celebrated American deaths, and spread jihadist ideology online is suddenly ‘reformed’ and safe to put in front of children?”
The answer is obvious. The threat of Islamic extremism is not just overseas. It’s here, in our mosques, our schools, our cities, and it is being legitimized and normalized by political leaders too afraid to confront it.
Every American should be alarmed. Because this isn’t just about Staten Island. This is about the slow-motion suicide of a nation that refuses to say no to the very people who want it destroyed.
