IRVING, Texas (WBAP/KLIF News) — The violent extremist group known as ISIS has apparently targeted Irving imam Omar Suleiman in at least two death threat videos. Suleiman, founder of the Irving-based Yaqeen Institute and resident scholar at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center, is well known for denouncing the radical Islamic group and calling on American Muslims to stand up to violent terrorism.
One of the videos featured photos of Suleiman and others with a headline reading in Arabic, “Kill the imams of the disbelief.” The Dallas Morning News reports the video also shows a brief clip of Suleiman with Rev. Andy Stoker, senior minister of First United Methodist Church, which was produced as a promotion for interfaith cooperation.
Suleiman says he is taking the threats seriously and has increased his personal security. He has also been in contact with the FBI. A spokeswoman for the agency wouldn’t confirm or deny an investigation into the threats.
The New Orleans native says he is a proud American and a faithful Muslim. “There is an irony that we literally have to fight two battles at the same time all the time,” Suleiman said. “We have to prove to skeptical Americans that we are truly American and prove to extremist Muslims that we are truly Muslim. Both say the same thing, that Islam and American values are inherently at odds with each other: ‘You cannot be both a loyal American and loyal Muslim.’”
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