
By LEO HOHMANN
Libertarian philosophy and Islam might seem like an odd mix, but in Minnesota politics, anything is possible.
The Liberty Caucus of the Minnesota Republican Party will hold its annual convention May 12 at the Dar al-Farooq Community Center, part of the notorious hardline Bloomington mosque that has been at the center of controversy for years.
Many Minnesota Republicans are expressing their dissatisfaction with the decision by Caucus Chairman Zavier Bicott to hold the convention at Dar al-Farooq. At least half a dozen known terrorists have attended the mosque, including Adnan Farah and brother Mohamed Farah, who pleaded guilty in April 2016 to providing material support to the Islamic State, also called ISIS.
Dar al-Farooq’s former imam, Waleed Idris al-Maneesey, is a fire-breathing anti-Semite who preaches that Sharia law is superior to man-made law and that Allah sanctions the slaughter of Jews whenever they cause “corruption” on earth. [See Islamic University of Minnesota A Hotbed of Extremism, by John Rossomando, IPT News, April 8, 2016]
The Egyptian-born Maneesey authored a paper for the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, or AMJA, where he sits on the fatwa committee. Muslims should refrain from participating in non-Islamic courts that do not follow Sharia, he wrote, particularly those in the West guided by “man-made” law.
“The authority to legislate rests with Allah alone,” he wrote.

Maneesey remains tightly connected to Dar al-Farooq and in fact is scheduled to be one of two “honored guest speakers” there on April 23, according to the mosque’s Facebook page.
“This is very likely the most dangerous mosque in the upper Midwest,” said Debra Anderson, who heads up the Minneapolis chapter of ACT For America, a national organization that opposes the advancement of Sharia at the state and local levels.
But for Bicott, it’s all about spreading his libertarian philosophy to a segment of American society that he admits has little experience with the fruits of individual liberty.
“The Republican Liberty Caucus is the conscience of the Republican Party in Minnesota,” Bicott told me in a phone conversation Tuesday. “Individual liberty is what brings us together, the idea that we all want to live free. We need to find ways to grow the party and give courage to Muslim Republicans to stand up in their community and say: ‘I’m a Republican and I believe in individual liberty.’”
Critics say that’s naïve.
Why would Muslims listen to a 33-year-old Republican over their own imam, who is trained in the principles of Sharia? Few rank and file members of the mosque will likely even show up for the Liberty Caucus convention, they say, and those who do will likely not be voting Republican anytime soon.
Democrats ‘come talk to us with a smile on their face’
Bicott, 33, chairs not only the GOP’s Liberty Caucus but also the party’s Senate District 50, which includes east Bloomington where Dar al-Farooq is located. He said he has visited the mosque five times in recent years, strictly on party business, and has developed “a good relationship” with the leaders.
Bicott said he has never read the Quran or the hadiths, and recently started reading the Bible for the first time. He has no religious leanings whatsoever.
“I’m on Leviticus now and when I’m done with the Bible I plan to read the Quran. I don’t follow any particular faith. It’s not a part of my life,” he said. “But I want to know the stories and be able to relate to people to whom it is important.”
The decision to have Dar al-Farooq host the convention was announced in a press release Monday and by Tuesday morning Bicott said his phone was ringing off the hook with irate Republicans.
Continue reading Republican caucus to hold annual convention at notorious Minnesota mosque









