A resurfaced video depicts vice presidential nominee and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz praising a Hitler-promoting Muslim cleric as a “master teacher,” after his campaign denied that they had a “personal” relationship.
Walz hosted the individual — Imam Asad Zaman — at an Islamic Center event in 2018, where he applauded his wisdom and expressed gratitude for the “lesson[s]” he taught him, according to an unearthed video obtained by The Washington Examiner and published on Tuesday. Zaman has publicly promoted claims that Hitler was a misunderstood hero and declared “[Palestine’s]… right to defend itself “the day Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and killed roughly 1,200 people.
“I’d like to say thank you to imam (referring to Zaman). I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it. Over the time we’ve spent together, one of the things I’ve had the privilege of is seeing the things in life through the eye of a master teacher, to try and get the understanding,” Walz told a crowd at the Islamic Center event in Minnesota in 2018, while he was still a lawmaker in the House, according to the video. “That brings me to the second lesson that imam taught me… a lesson when Imam told me to go speak to people.”
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Walz had hosted and met with Zaman on at least five other occasions from 2019 to 2023, and his administration awarded Zaman’s activist group — the Muslim American Society (MAS) of Minnesota — with $100,000 in grant funding, according to a review of public records.
The Harris-Walz campaign denied any close affiliation with the Imam on Friday, days before the video was published by the Examiner.
“The Governor and [Imam] do not have a personal relationship,” a campaign spokesperson told the Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. “Governor Walz strongly condemns Hamas terrorism.”
Zaman shared a video in 2015 titled “Adolf Hitler: the Greatest Story Never Told,” which claimed Hitler was framed for the Holocaust and was actually a martyr, according to a description provided by the Anti-Defamation League. The film is popular among conspiracy theorists and neo-Nazi groups.
The day Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, Zaman shared statements that “Palestine has every right to have its freedom from the zionists” and “Palestine will win at the end no matter how long it takes.”
“[Zaman] has a troubling history of playing into classic anti-Jewish themes and justifying violence against Israel,” an Anti-Defamation League spokesperson told the Examiner. “We urge all public officials and leaders to avoid meeting with him in the future.”
The Harris campaign and Walz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Featured image credit: (Screenshot / Gabe Kaminsky)
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