A mosque near the home of the New Orleans New Year’s Day terror suspect barred its worshippers from responding directly to law enforcement or media inquiries about the attack, according to reports.
The Houston Masjid Bilal condemned “terrible acts” in an apparent reference to the attack, according to Newsweek. “If approached by the FBI and a response is necessary, please refer to CAIR [Council on American-Islamic Relations] and ISGH [Islamic Society of Greater Houston],” the post continued.
“If anyone is contacted by the media, it is very important that you do not respond. If approached by the FBI and a response is necessary, please refer to CAIR and ISGH,” Houston Masjid Bilal wrote on Facebook, WCBM reported.
The mosque reportedly described the attack as “the tragic events that took place in New Orleans this morning that are now being classified as an ‘act of terror’ by the FBI.”
The posts could not be found on the mosque’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. However, posts with the same words attributed to the mosque have been circulating on social media.
🚨 #BREAKING HOUSTON MOSQUE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF TERROR SUSPECT RESIDENCE ADVISES MEMBERS NOT TO COOPERATE WITH FBI
An Instagram account linked to the Masjid Bilal Mosque located in Houston, which is within the neighborhood of New Orleans terror suspect Shamsud-Din… pic.twitter.com/U5B1uE1HX2
— Lynnwood Times (@LynnwoodTimes) January 2, 2025
I’m sure it isn’t nefarious. They aren’t hiding anything.
The Masjid Bilal mosque in Houston, reportedly attended by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspected New Orleans terrorist, has instructed its members to refer any inquiries from the FBI to the Council on American-Islamic… pic.twitter.com/rcYJsbgFkg
— The Bruiser (@DrHoosierHermit) January 2, 2025
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the suspect who plowed his Ford pickup truck into a festive crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, according to a press release. The FBI said they found an ISIS flag, weapons and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED) in the vehicle. They are investigating the incident as a terrorist attack.
The terrorist attack killed at least 14 people and wounded others.
CAIR called the attack “horrific, senseless and infuriating” and denounced “cowardly acts of mass violence” in a statement spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper provided to the Daily Caller. The organization also expressed sympathy for the victims’ families.
“If reports that the perpetrator was a man with a history of drunk driving and spousal abuse who embraced Daesh are true, then his crime is the latest example of why cruel, merciless, bottom-feeding extremist groups have been rejected by the overwhelming majority of the Muslim world – from Islamic scholars, to mosques, to organizations, and to individual Muslims,” the statement read in part.
CAIR urged those with knowledge about the attack to speak to authorities immediately.
When asked by phone about the alleged orders from Houston Masjid Bilal, Hooper told the Daily Caller to rely on CAIR’s statement.
The United Arab Emirates added CAIR to its “terror” lists for alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in 2014, according to the Charity & Security Network. The organization said there was “absolutely no factual basis” for the decision. (RELATED: Tiger Bech, Former Princeton Football Player, Killed In New Orleans Terrorist Attack)
Jabbar, an Army veteran, had been “inspired by ISIS,” President Joe Biden said.
President-elect Donald Trump said in part that his incoming administration would “fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil.”
