The deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, which left five dead, including two suspects, has drawn renewed attention to one of California’s best-known mosques, a religious center with a long history that includes both controversy and deep community roots.
The mosque was the scene of what police are calling a hate crime, which left three dead, as well as the two suspects who were found in their car having died by suicide.
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Here’s what to know about the mosque at the center of the tragedy:
One of the largest in Southern California
The Islamic Center of San Diego is among the largest and oldest Muslim institutions in Southern California, serving thousands of congregants from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.
It hosts daily prayers, youth programs, interfaith events, and an affiliated K-12 school, making it a major religious and community hub in the region. Students, teachers, and faculty from the school were safely evacuated when the shooting occurred, and no injuries or fatalities were reported.
Imam Taha Hassane, director of the Islamic Center, has frequently described the organization as focused on outreach and interfaith understanding. The New York Times reported that the sermons are conducted in English, rather than Arabic, because of the congregation’s diversity.
Following the shooting, Hassane emphasized the center’s role as an open and welcoming place where Muslim and non-Muslim visitors regularly attend educational events and dialogues. The mosque had become known locally for outreach efforts with churches, synagogues, and civic groups in the San Diego area.
Connections to 9/11 hijackers and al Qaeda
The mosque has also faced decades of scrutiny because two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mihdhar, worshipped there while living in San Diego in 2000.
Investigators found the men had attended services and used mosque bulletin boards to help find housing while taking flight lessons nearby.
However, the 9/11 Commission never concluded the mosque itself was complicit in the attacks. Rather, the 9/11 Commission Report notes that the hijackers found help within the community and from “well-meaning new acquaintances” at the center.
When helping the hijackers, the administrator let Hazmi use his bank account to receive a wire transfer, but the commission’s report did not note if the administrator was aware of his Al Qaeda connections.
The center’s history has periodically resurfaced in national debates over extremism and surveillance of Muslim institutions, particularly after it came to light that former imam Anwar al-Awlaki once preached in San Diego before later becoming an al Qaeda propagandist.
Controversy involving imam’s family and previous ‘hate crime’
More recently, Hassane and his wife, community activist Lallia Allali, and daughter Selma Hassane, have faced criticism over social media activity and public comments related to Israel and antisemitism allegations.
Taha Hassane made comments about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Gaza, saying the attack that killed 1,200 people was a response by Hamas to a “brutal Zionist occupation and genocide.”
“Resistance is justified when people are under occupation and don’t let them change that narrative,” he said.
Selma Hassane shared a video on Facebook of her husband encouraging students at the University of California, San Diego to urge the school to “boycott and divest from Israel.”
Allali reportedly shared a graphic of a Jewish star cutting through the heads of babies with the caption “the devil is killing,” following the Oct. 7 attacks, according to an antisemitism watchdog group.
People living near the mosque told the New York Post that after the Oct. 7 attacks, Taha Hassane changed from his previous moderate and friendly demeanor.
The Islamic center had been the scene of hate crimes before, when posters relating to the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas were posted around the center’s campus.
“They are trying to link the entire community — American Muslim community — with Hamas, with whatever is going on over there,” Taha Hassane said at the time to Fox5 San Diego. ”They are trying to portray us with and associate us with Hamas.”
The center also has ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has been labeled as a foreign terrorist organization in Florida and Texas.
Republican response split between sympathy and criticism
Several Republican lawmakers have condemned the shooting and violence targeting houses of worship, while some also renewed criticism of past statements made by mosque leadership.
Statements from Republican officials echoed messages often issued after attacks on churches and synagogues, calling for prayers for victims and increased protection for faith communities.
Sen. John Husted (R-OH) offered his condolences for the victims and their families on Tuesday.
“Violence targeting people of faith at a mosque, synagogue, temple, church, cathedral, or chapel is abhorrent and has no place in America,” he said.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tim Scott (R-SC), as well as Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), also shared statements following the shooting, condemning religious violence.
At the same time, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) argued scrutiny of the mosque’s leadership speaking against Israel should not be ignored amid the aftermath.
‘HATE RHETORIC’ INVOLVED IN DEADLY SAN DIEGO MOSQUE SHOOTING, POLICE SAY
“This kind of language, which could have inspired two suicidal teenagers today, is disgusting and abhorrent,” he said. “I have massive issues with activities of this Muslim center, but shooting it up is NOT the answer.”
Fine made the statement alongside a video of Taha Hassne speaking out against Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks.
