On March 6, 2026, Democrat primary candidate for New York’s 13th Congressional District Darializa Avila Chevalier attended Friday prayers at the Al-Khoei Islamic Center in Queens, NY. Chevalier addressed the congregants and said that her opponent, Adriano Espaillat is “bought by the Israeli lobby to stay silent.” During the following prayer service, the imam prayed for the Mahdi to kill the infidels by His sword. Chevallier was a leading campaigner for NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who attended Friday prayers at the mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan, one of the leaders of the Columbia University encampment in 2023-2024 alongside Mahmoud Khalil, and she has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The Al-Khoei Foundation has maintained financial ties with the Alavi Foundation, which U.S. federal courts and prosecutors have identified as a front for the Government of Iran and its state-owned Bank Melli. The Al-Khoei Foundation has publicly defended the Alavi Foundation against these accusations. In November 2023, Imam Fadhel Al-Sahlani, an official representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani in North America, said that Hamas has made a “big difference” not only in the Arab Muslim world, but for the whole world.