The Toxicity of Amir Abdel Malik Ali and Abdul Alim Musa

Hat tip Memri TV and Deb

This article first appeared in Times of Israel Blogs

Oakland-based imam, Amir Abdel Malik Ali, who has made a career speaking at California universities, spreading his hate for Israel and Jews in general, spoke last September at UC Berkeley as a guest of the Muslim Student Association. As is his wont, his words were full of threats as he predicted that a new Muslim caliphate would be born, hopefully, according to him, in Gaza. His rant at UCB has been documented and reported by Memri TV. He even praised Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, who was killed by Israel last year in the aftermath of the horrendous October 7, 2023 attack against innocent Israeli civilians and the resultant war between Israel and Hamas. 

Note the constant references to martyrdom spoken by Ali. That is a persistent theme in his speeches. He talks about Muslims fighting and dying for the cause of Islam and Palestine. Yet we don’t see him going over to the Middle East to join the jihad. He preaches jihad and martyrdom from the comfort of his Oakland mosque and university lecture halls. In addition, he delights in calling various individuals “Zionist Jews”, literally spitting out the words.

Note in the Memri TV report that Ali is a member of the As-Sabiqun group of Muslims, founded by another radical imam, Abdul Alim Musa, a real loon full of conspiracy theories and hate for America, Israel, and Jews. Almost 20 years ago by sheer accident, I happened to catch the tail end of a speech he was giving at UC Irvine  (where I was teaching at the time). After his speech concluded, I called him an idiot, and it was this experience that led me to become an activist standing up to Jew haters and America haters on our campus. Subsequently, I attended many speeches by Ali at UC Irvine and interacted with him both during and after the Q and A. 

In spite of their relationship in As-Sabiqun, there is a vast difference between Musa and Ali. Musa is a complete buffoon, a clown, a court jester, if you will. You see it as soon as he opens his mouth. His original name was Clarence Reams. He came out of Arkansas and served prison time for drug trafficking after years on the run in places like Algeria. It was in prison that he converted to Islam so he could find new enemies to blame for his failed life. In addition, he is a supporter of the mullah regime in Iran. On one occasion, he was interviewed by Iran’s Press TV. Watching the video, I had the impression that even his Iranian interviewers could tell he was a nutjob. 

Ali, on the other hand, is not a buffoon, though, like Musa, he believes in wild conspiracies. Ali is educated, having been student body president at San Francisco State University. His original name was Derek Gilliam, which was changed when he converted to Islam. He is a charismatic and captivating speaker, which makes him more dangerous. One-on-one, he lowers his tone and becomes more respectful. On one occasion at UC Irvine, his talk was centered around the need to avoid drugs. Yet, one of the reasons he gave was that Muslims needed to maintain their minds “for the struggle” (read jihad). I have often felt that he has wasted a sharp mind on a twisted cause. He is an anti-Semite, and I have told him that to his face. But he is no idiot, as is Ali.

The Muslim Student Association chapters (at UC Irvine, it is the Muslim Student Union) that have invited Ali and Musa to speak on their campuses have shown their true colors. Their styles are different, but their beliefs are the same. It has been years since I saw either one speak in person, but they are still around. It is sad to see how they poison the minds of young people to hate their own country, to hate Jews, to believe in some twisted version of martyrdom, enjoining others to join the jihad to destroy Israel and establish some sort of caliphate. On one occasion, while speaking at UC Irvine, Ali said something to his mostly-Muslim audience that I took away and have never forgotten.

“Islam is coming. Islam is coming.”

I want to say this carefully because I am not advocating violence or deprivation of civil rights against anyone, especially innocent, peaceful Muslims. But I’m afraid Ali is right. We should take that seriously. It is something that we in the West must strongly resist, especially the hateful As-Sabiqun vision as expressed by Amir Abdel Malik Ali and Abdul Alim Musa.

Source: http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-toxicity-of-amir-abdel-malik-ali.html