❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Manassas Mosque in northern Virginia—about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C.—has pledged its loyalty to Iran’s deceased Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint-U.S.-Israeli airstrikes over the weekend.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Manassas Mosque, Ali Khamenei, Twelver Muslims, and U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The post was made on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Please join us tomorrow night, Sunday, March 1st to remember His Eminence as we navigate what our responsibilities are today. Join us at 6:00 PM as we begin with Salatul Maghrib, a potluck iftar, and end with a discussion and remembrance.” — Manassas Mosque
🎯IMPACT: Shia Islam—especially the more radical Twelver sect, followed by the Iranian mullahs and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D)—believes in an apocalyptic prophecy where the “Hidden Mahdi” will reveal themselves as a messiah like figure and battle the Antichrist, which they call “Dajjal,” in a final war. Some clerics within Twelver Shi’ism have taken to labeling U.S. President Donald J. Trump as the “Dajjal.”
The Manassas Mosque in northern Virginia—about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C.—has pledged its loyalty to the late Iranian Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint-U.S.-Israeli airstrikes over the weekend. In an Instagram post, the Manassas Mosque announced it was dedicating its iftar potluck on Sunday evening to “honoring our leader, Shaheed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”
“Manassas Mosque extends its condolences and glad tidings on the martyrdom of His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei,” the mosque wrote in a post on Instagram, adding, “Please join us tomorrow night, Sunday, March 1st to remember His Eminence as we navigate what our responsibilities are today. Join us at 6:00 PM as we begin with Salatul Maghrib, a potluck iftar, and end with a discussion and remembrance.”
In addition, several reports indicate the mosque, which says it seeks “to nourish a community of pious, educated, socially conscious, and active Muslims living in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area by providing the commensurate religious, educational, and social services,” has set up a shrine featuring photos of Khamenei embracing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. During a Friday service, the mosque’s imam declared, “May Allah destroy all the nonbelievers-or kafiroon or munafiqoon” and alluded to the imminent coming of the “Mahdi.”
Shia Islam—especially the more radical Twelver sect, followed by the Iranian mullahs and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D)—believes in an apocalyptic prophecy where the “Hidden Mahdi” will reveal themselves as a messiah like figure and battle the Antichrist, which they call “Dajjal,” in a final war. Some clerics within Twelver Shi’ism have taken to labeling U.S. President Donald J. Trump as the “Dajjal.”
The embrace of Khamenei’s “martyrdom” by some Shia Muslims living in the United States raises significant security concerns. The National Pulse reported over the weekend that Ndiaga Diagne—a Senegal-born U.S. citizen residing in Pflugerville, Texas—executed a mass shooting at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in downtown Austin, leaving two people dead, with 14 others injured.
Diagne was wearing a shirt that said “Property of Allah” on it. He also had a Koran and clothing described as Islamic garb in his vehicle.
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