Last week we reported that seven Virginia elected officials were invited to the Saturday April 3 Annual Fundraising dinner at the terrorist-linked Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.
Starting on February 17 we notified those seven officials about the terrorist links of Dar al Hijrah’s past and current imams and congregants. Two of them, Senator James Webb and State Delegate Kaye Kory, had their names removed from the flyer in the weeks following our notifications.
Yet on the eve of the fundraiser, the remaining five – DNC Chairman and Former Governor Tim Kaine (D-VA), Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), and Fairfax County Supervisors Penny Gross and Sharon Bulova – still had their names on the invitation.
Last Saturday April 3, Dar al Hijrah went ahead with their annual fundraising banquet at the Fairview Park Marriott in Falls Church, VA. So did the remaining invited politicians show up? Watch our latest mini-documentary for the full story:
A group of concerned Virginia citizens including the Virginia Anti-Sharia Taskforce (VAST) and Act for America held a protest outside of the banquet.
Two local community members, who had purchased confirmed tickets days in advance, and had registered, and been issued name-tags at the door, were later ejected by security guards before they could even enter the event. The next day they came to the Center for Security Policy, concerned about Dar-al-Hijrah’s poor treatment of non-Muslims who are average citizens, while Dar-al-Hijrah actively invited non-Muslims who are elected officials.
We contacted the five remaining politicians on Monday to give them a chance to answer a simple “Yes” or “No” question: “Did you attend the Dar Al-Hijrah fundraiser?”
Congressman Jim Moran and Governor and DNC Chairman Tim Kaine confirmed they had not attended. Moran’s press secretary stated that he was abroad in Turkey over the weekend, while the DNC Press Secretary stated that Governor Kaine “didn’t receive an invitation and didn’t attend.” The other three – Gerry Connolly, Sharon Bulova and Penny Gross – refused to comment.
If he did attend, this wasn’t Gerry Connolly’s first tribute to terrorist-linked Dar-al-Hijrah. We discovered an enthusiastic letter of support from him for Dar-Al-Hijrah’s 25th Anniversary banquet in 2008, years after the mosque was widely known to be associated with terrorism.
[Connolly_Hijrah_Letter_2008.pdf]
In fact it appears from the letter that as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County, he actually hosted the event. Connolly wrote, “I am delighted to welcome you to Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center’s 25th Anniversary Dinner… We are honored to host such an outstanding group of individuals.”
How long can Representative Gerry Connolly and supervisors Gross and Bulova cover up whether they attended? More importantly, is Connolly covering up the fact that he did attend, to hide his continuing radical connections from responsible citizens – including patriotic Muslims – in his own district? Or is he covering up the fact that he did not attend, so he doesn’t offend the Islamist allies whose support he has have counted on in the past?
Either way, it’s time to end the cover-up. It’s time for a clear-cut answer: “Yes” or “No.”
Congressman Gerry Connolly 202-225-1492
Chairwoman Sharon Bulova 703-324-2321
Supervisor Penny Gross 703-256-7717