Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French is raising concerns about a North Texas Islamic institute and its leadership, citing alleged connections to controversial religious figures abroad.
French referenced the Al-Hirz Institute in a post on X, pointing to the involvement of Imam Ilir Aliji Koka, who has studied under and promoted religious leaders with documented histories of extremist statements.
“Imam Ilir Aliji is the head Arabic instructor at Al-Hirz Institute,” states the group’s website. It notes that he studied in Yemen, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia and received Ijāzat in Islamic sciences. He also earned a B.A. in Islamic Creed from KIU in Riyadh and two diplomas from Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University.
French noted that one scholar Aliji has promoted is Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the current Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, who once called for the destruction of all Christian churches in the Arabian Peninsula.
“The apparent fatwā is particularly alarming,” reads a European Parliament report, “as the Grand Mufti … is held in high esteem by the Arabic Islamic world.” His remarks were interpreted by some as encouraging religious intolerance.
French also drew attention to Al-Hirz Institute’s director, Shaykh Oshaka Kameny, noting that one of his reported mentors, Sheikh Abu Usamah Musa’ad ibn Bashir al-Sudani, had previously expressed support for ISIS and pledged allegiance to its former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Sudani has since been banned from X (formerly Twitter) for promoting extremist content.
“Islamic extremism isn’t new to Tarrant County,” French added. “In 2019, Michael Kyle Sewell of Arlington, TX, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Pakistani Islamic terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.”
French’s remarks come amid heightened scrutiny of Muslim-affiliated developments in North Texas.
The proposed EPIC City project, backed by private developers, aims to build a 402-acre Muslim-centric residential and cultural community in Collin and Hunt Counties — a plan that has drawn scrutiny from state officials and some local residents.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the U.S. Department of Justice closed its investigation into the 402-acre EPIC City project on June 13. The DOJ cited the absence of any permit activity and assurances that the proposed development would be open to all. However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s investigation into the project remains active.
The Dallas Express reached out to Al-Hirz Institute and Xhamia Shqiptare mosque for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.