The imam, named only as ‘Abdullah’, reportedly went from praising Allah, to advocating Sharia law, to demanding Muslim attendees leave because of the presence of a ‘Zionist’
November 19, 2025 15:20
Around 100 Muslim students walked out of an interfaith event at a New York university after a guest imam told them to "exit immediately" when he realised there was a “Zionist” in the room.
The event, which was held last Thursday at Manhattan’s City College of New York, was aimed at promoting the understanding of different cultures. Numerous reports cite the demographics of the audience as 100 Muslim, 20 Christian and two Jewish, with several speakers including the imam and a Jewish representative.
Despite a large Jewish student base, many were attending a Holocaust event in a nearby room at the same time as the event.
The imam, named only as Abdullah, began by telling students that "Allah is responsible for their grades" and soon went on to advocate Sharia law, insisting that rich people should have their hands chopped off, according to the Times of Israel.
“I’m talking about the elite, the filthy rich, the ones that continue to steal from people as we speak today. Those are the ones that deserve their tips to be cut off,” he said.
Then, turning to the Jewish representative, Ilya Bratman, he said: “I came here to this event not knowing that I would be sitting next to a Zionist and this is something I’m not going to accept."
A cheer erupted from the audience after the imam mentioned the war in Gaza, claiming that, as a Zionist, Bratman was responsible for civilian deaths in the Strip.
The Imam then shouted: “If you’re a Muslim, out of strength and dignity, I ask you to exit this room immediately.
Bratman claimed that every one of the Muslim students at the meeting walked out, leaving behind the Christians and Jews.
On their walkout, the moderator of the event said: “I’m so surprised. I want to apologise for that. This group was supposed... to remain respectful, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”
A spokesperson for the college said: “We were made aware of this incident and are working with our teams to investigate claims of possible discrimination.”
“The City College of New York has zero tolerance for acts of hate or bigotry of any kind and will promptly take all necessary and appropriate actions to address any such discrimination and remedy its effects."
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.