A Philadelphia commission has launched an investigation into the videos showing Muslim American children calling for violence, including beheadings.
The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations said it had launched a probe into the videos, reported the Associated Press. The announcement didn’t appear to be made by the commission’s head on her social media accounts or published on the commission’s website, which says the commission engages in mediation and investigates discrimination and other issues.
The videos were posted in mid-April to the Facebook page of the Muslim American Society’s Islamic Center in Philadelphia. It showed children singing a range of violent lyrics, including: “The blood of the martyrs is calling us. Paradise, men desire it.”
The Middle East Media Research Institute, a watchdog group, translated the Arabic lyrics and said at one point children sang: “We will chop off their heads, and we will liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem]. We will lead the army of Allah fulfilling His promise, and we will subject them to eternal torture.”
The Muslim American Society (MAS) called the video “disturbing” and said that the songs were not “properly vetted.”
“While we celebrate the coming together of different cultures and languages, not all songs were properly vetted,” the society stated on May 3, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer. “This was an unintended mistake and an oversight in which the center and the students are remorseful. MAS will conduct an internal investigation to ensure this does not occur again.”
That quote was later removed from the statement and a Facebook post the society’s Philadelphia chapter made Friday night was later deleted.
In an update to its original statement, issued on May 4, the society said that it was informed “the person in charge” of the April 17 event was “dismissed” and tried distancing itself from what happened.
“Our investigation revealed that the school that organized the event on April 17, 2019, is a separate entity renting space from MAS Philadelphia. The school board has informed us that it has taken immediate actions and dismissed the person in charge of the program. In addition, they will form a local commission to aid in sensitivity training and proper supervision for future programs,” it stated.
The society denied that it is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood although an investigation by the Chicago Tribune in 2004 found links between the groups, including that it was started by members of the Brotherhood.
Prosecutor Weighs In
Details of the commission’s probe weren’t immediately clear.
Former federal prosecutor George Parry, responding to the commission’s inquiry, said that the history of the commission indicated that it might not be up to the task, writing in an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer that the Muslim American Society’s statement “raises many questions.”
“Is its denunciation of the event sincere or is it simply deflecting blame because it got caught in the act of orchestrating a pint-sized hate fest? If MAS is telling the truth, what school organized the event and who is on that school’s board? Is this a publicly funded school? Who does it employ, and who got fired? Has it engaged in similar activities in Philadelphia?” he wrote.
“How did it come about that MAS rented its facility to such an organization? Are we to believe that MAS had no idea about the alleged renter’s purpose or what type of event was about to take place at the center? Was this a one-time only ‘unintended mistake’ or have other similar activities taken place at the center? What other activities have MAS and the unnamed school sponsored? Are there other affiliated organizations spreading similar hate in Philadelphia?”
He added, “These and hundreds of related and equally hard questions need to be answered, and the PCHR [the commission] is certainly authorized to pose them. But will it do so?”
