WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 14, 2026. The Shia Muslim Foundation (SMF), the Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA), and Idara e Jaferia, three of the most prominent Shia Muslim organizations in the United States, today came together at the United States Senate to meet directly with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and his national security team.
Senator Van Hollen joined the meeting personally alongside his senior national security staff, a powerful signal of the weight his office assigns to the safety concerns of Shia Muslim communities in Maryland and across the nation. The joint appearance of all three organizations marks the first time institutions of this stature and reach have united to present a coordinated federal security agenda on behalf of American Shia Muslims at the Senate level, and stands as the highest-level federal engagement on Shia community safety in the history of American Shia advocacy.
The coalition assembled for today's meeting is itself a statement. UMAA is the largest national Shia Muslim organization in the United States, representing communities from coast to coast. Idara e Jaferia, based in Burtonsville, Maryland, is one of the oldest and most prominent Shia mosques in the Washington metropolitan area, a mosque that Senator Van Hollen has visited and addressed on multiple occasions.
Together with SMF, their unified presence at the Senate table reflects a degree of inter-organizational coordination rarely achieved within American Shia advocacy, and sends an unmistakable signal about the depth of community concern driving this campaign.
"Today, American Shia Muslims walked into the United States Senate not as petitioners, but as a community with a clear, organized demand for federal protection. Senator Van Hollen and his national security team gave us their full attention and engagement. This is what Shia civic power looks like." - Rahat Husain, Executive Director, Shia Muslim Foundation
The full delegation included Dr. Ghulam Abbas, President of Idara e Jaferia; Dr. Azmat Husain, President of UMAA; Dr. Noor Zaidi, Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County; and Rahat Husain, Executive Director of SMF. Each leader brought distinct standing and perspective to the meeting. Dr. Abbas came as the steward of one of Maryland's most storied Shia mosques. Dr. Azmat Husain represented the national voice of organized Shia Muslim civic life. Dr. Zaidi contributed academic authority on the intersection of Islamophobia and the U.S.-Iran conflict. And Rahat Husain presented the coalition's structured federal agenda, the product of an advocacy campaign that moved from local law enforcement to the floor of the United States Senate in under two weeks.
"Idara e Jaferia has served this community through decades of hardship, and we have never stopped. But the threats we face today require the full force of federal attention. Senator Van Hollen and his national security team heard us clearly, and we are confident that this meeting marks the beginning of a sustained federal commitment to protecting Shia mosques in Maryland." - Dr. Ghulam Abbas, President, Idara e Jaferia
The meeting was convened against a backdrop of documented and escalating threat. Idara e Jaferia received a bomb threat during Friday prayers in December 2023 and additional physical threats in December 2024. The mosque has been subjected to sustained online harassment from organized right-wing groups who falsely characterize it as affiliated with Iranian extremism, a dangerous and baseless accusation that mirrors the kind of incitement that has preceded real-world violence against houses of worship across the country.
A 2025 CAIR report documented 8,658 anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents in 2024 alone, the highest total ever recorded.
Theongoing U.S.-Iran conflict has compounded these dangers sharply. Shia Muslim communities face a threat profile unlike any other religious minority in the United States. They are targeted both by generalized Islamophobia and by sectarian hostility rooted in the conflation of Shia religious identity with Iranian state politics. Researchers have documented online content explicitly framing American mosques as enemy infrastructure, language with a well-documented history of preceding real-world attacks. For Shia mosques in proximity to the nation's capital, the stakes are especially high.
"UMAA is proud to stand with the Shia Muslim Foundation and Idara e Jaferia as we bring our security concerns directly to the United States Senate. The strength of today's meeting lies in our unity. When the largest national Shia organization, the most prominent Shia mosque in the DC region, and SMF speak with one voice, the federal government listens. Today is evidence that organized, coalition-driven advocacy works, and that the American Shia community will not wait for a crisis to demand the protections we deserve." — Dr. Azmat Husain, President, UMAA
Today's Senate meeting is the culmination, though not the conclusion, of an eight-day advocacy effort that has produced tangible institutional outcomes at every level of government it has reached. On April 6, SMF met with Montgomery County Police Department Commander Jason Cokinos and established a formal, ongoing security partnership between MCPD and Idara e Jaferia. On April 7, SMF convened a meeting with Director Marcia Deppen of Governor Wes Moore's Office of Homeland Security, resulting in Director Deppen being designated as SMF's dedicated state point of contact and SMF earning a standing seat at Maryland's monthly statewide law enforcement security coordination meetings. On April 9, SMF met with Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth, who committed to sending a formal letter to the FBI and DHS requesting proactive monitoring of threats to Muslim mosques in Maryland and direct intelligence coordination with SMF regarding Shia mosques, including Idara e Jaferia specifically. Congresswoman Elfreth has also accepted an invitation to speak at the Safety and Security Summit at Idara e Jaferia on May 16, 2026, alongside the Director of Maryland Homeland Security.
Ameeting with Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) is confirmed for April 28, 2026, continuing the coalition's push for federal action.
"What this coalition has accomplished is without precedent in American Shia Muslim history. We have built partnerships at every level of government, from local law enforcement to the United States Senate, and we are not finished. The American Shia community is organized, we are unified, and we will continue to press until every level of the federal government treats the safety of our mosques as the urgent national priority that it is." - Rahat Husain, Executive Director, Shia Muslim Foundation
About UMAA
UMAA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit NGO that works on social, political, religious, and humanitarian issues, and holds ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations. It was founded in 2003 with the purpose of advancing the social, economic, and political affairs of the Muslim community in America, with a particular focus on the Shia Muslim community.
UMAA seeks to build coalitions and partnerships with adherents of other faiths and sects. Its interfaith efforts have included joint Ramadan iftars, joint prayer services, and joint press releases. In February 2015, UMAA hosted a session in which a hundred American Muslims and Buddhists gathered in Washington to hear the Dalai Lama speak alongside the representative of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, Sheikh Fadhil al-Sahlani, and other religious leaders.
The UMAA Convention is one of the largest Shia Muslim gatherings in the North America, with more than 3,000 attendees from across the country. Top experts in their fields have spoken at the conference, including Juan Cole, historian of the modern Middle East and South Asia.
UMAA Global has extended the organization's convention model internationally, hosting an inaugural gathering in Karachi at the Pearl Continental Hotel, bringing together scholars, policymakers, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and humanitarian organizations to foster dialogue between leaders in Pakistan, the United States, the Middle East, and beyond.
About the Shia Muslim Foundation
The Shia Muslim Foundation (SMF) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the civic rights, safety, and welfare of American Shia Muslims. SMF engages with government, law enforcement, and civil society at every level to ensure the Shia Muslim community is heard, protected, and represented. Learn more at www.shiamuslimfoundation.com.
About Idara e Jaferia
Idara e Jaferia is a non-profit, independent Islamic center in Montgomery County, Maryland, that grew out of years of dedication from a group of fellow Muslims who began working toward its establishment in 1980. The center serves as one of the most prominent Shia Muslim institutions on the East Coast, providing community services for residents of Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and nearby local communities.
The center's core mission is to organize and promote religious and educational activities grounded in the Shia faith of Islam as taught through the Holy Quran, the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), the Ahlulbayt (the Prophet's family), and Ja'afari Fiqh (jurisprudence). It also works to promote and enhance mutual understanding, cooperation, and unity among Shia Muslims both locally and throughout the world.
Idara e Jaferia provides a full range of religious services and social ceremonies, including majalis, jashns, marriages, and funerals, as well as daily congregation prayers, Friday prayers, Eid gatherings, religious processions, and other Islamic observances.
Beyond its religious function, Idara e Jaferia serves the broader Maryland community through charitable initiatives including an annual Winter Coat Drive and ongoing food donations to homeless shelters. The center also performs charitable work for needy families within the Jafri community in the United States.
The center has launched an "Idara 2050 Vision" initiative, a long-term strategic planning effort reflecting a commitment not just to serving today's community but to building durable institutional infrastructure for future generations of American Shia Muslims.
