Tim Walz's long-standing ties to Islamic extremists, one has connections to group on terrorism list

During his tenure as the governor of Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) associated on multiple occasions with a radical Muslim Imam named Asad Zaman. The Democratic vice presidential nominee's administration also provided grants to a Muslim group that raised funds for an al Qaeda-linked charity.

Walz, a former teacher, and widely regarded as a "progressive," hosted Muslim cleric Asad Zaman multiple times and even praised Zaman as a "master teacher" at a 2018 event held by the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS MN), a group Zaman leads, The Washington Examiner reported.

Walz and Zaman have denied having a personal relationship despite appearing at a number of public events together between 2018 and May 2023. According to The Times of Israel, both said "they don’t know each other beyond that."

MAS MN does not list any staff or officers on its website, but Zaman's LinkedIn profile describes him as the Executive Director of the MAS MN.

Zaman gained notoriety for sharing an allegedly pro-Hitler movie that claimed a sizable number of Jews served in Nazi Germany's military, The Times of Israel reported.

After the October 7 Hamas attacks, Zaman posted support for Palestine's "right to defend itself." Zaman also shared a statement from his organization "reaffirm[ing] its unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their struggle against the Israeli occupation."

Zaman's organization referred in their Facebook posting to "Israel's recent unprovoked attacks."

Rabbi Morris Allen, a Walz supporter, said the professional links to Zaman do not change his support for Walz. "The politics of 'gotcha' are just unfortunate," Allen told the Jewish Telegraph Agency.

"People meet with lots of people, and I think that we need to really look at results and actions," Allen said. "And I think that Tim Walz’s actions have consistently been actions that promote the best values of the Jewish people and the best interests of the state of Israel."

Through that relationship with Zaman, Walz also had loose indirect ties to a U.S.-designated terrorist group that funded al Qaeda.

MAS MN has partnered with the Islamic Association of North America (IANA). IANA received numerous Minnesota grants from 2019 to 2024 during the Walz administration, including two for Mosque security.

IANA has fundraised for Rahma Worldwide, a Michigan charity claiming to ship humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Rahma Worldwide's President Shadi Zaza, in a now-deleted Facebook post, admitted to partnering on an aid initiative with the Islamic Heritage Revival Society (IHRS) in Kuwait.

IHRS was designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Department of Treasury as long ago as 2008 and was sanctioned for funding al Qaeda. The sanctions, however, only applied to IHRS's Pakistan and Afghanistan offices and not the Minnesota-based Islamic group.