MAS Philadelphia 2019: American Muslim Children Filmed Chanting "We Will Chop Off Their Heads" at Mosque Event

In May 2019, a video (published by MEMRI) circulated widely showing children at an April 17, 2019 Muslim American Society (MAS) "Ummah Day" event in Philadelphia; it recirculated on social media in 2025 performing and chanting material that included calls to violence: 'We will chop off their heads' and calls to 'liberate Al-Aqsa.' The video was authenticated by multiple journalists and researchers. The children involved were young — elementary school age.

The Muslim American Society (MAS) was founded in 1993. In 2004, the Chicago Tribune published an investigation documenting that MAS was 'founded by the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood' and that 'MAS leaders acknowledge taking lessons from Brotherhood theology.' The Brotherhood's founder, Hassan al-Banna, articulated a vision of Islamic governance across the Muslim world; the Brotherhood's Palestinian branch is Hamas.

MAS operates approximately 50 chapters across the United States and runs schools, mosques, and community centers. It presents itself publicly as a mainstream Muslim civil rights and community organization. Its internal relationship to Brotherhood theology is contested by MAS itself and documented by independent researchers.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism has published extensive documentation of MAS's historical connections to Brotherhood-affiliated organizations and its use of Brotherhood educational materials.

The 2024 Philadelphia video showed children reciting material at what appeared to be a formal MAS event. The content included references to martyrdom (shahada), calls to free Al-Aqsa mosque, and the phrase 'we will chop off their heads' in what appeared to be a rehearsed performance rather than spontaneous expression.

MAS national said the event had not been "properly vetted" and called the recitations "an unintended mistake and an oversight"; MAS Philadelphia and its Leaders Academy called the performances "a grave mistake" and "ours to own." Philadelphia's Commission on Human Relations investigated. This pattern — a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organization's chapter produces incitement material, the national organization disclaims responsibility — has recurred in similar incidents across multiple countries.

The video documented something real: children reciting violent lines at an event run by a U.S. institution, which MAS itself called a grave mistake. Whether that reflects MAS national policy or a rogue local chapter, the teaching of children to perform this content occurred.

Comparable incidents have been documented:

• UNRWA schools: Multiple documented cases from UNRWA-funded schools in Gaza and the West Bank of students reciting calls to kill Jews, glorifying martyrdom operations, and naming dead terrorists as role models. UNRWA has investigated some incidents and dismissed some teachers; the underlying curriculum includes material approved by the Palestinian Authority that praises 'martyrs' and presents violence against Israel as religiously sanctioned.

• UK mosque schools: The BBC's 'Panorama' documentary (2016) documented UK mosque schools using Saudi-curriculum materials that included anti-Semitic content (describing Jews as descended from monkeys and pigs) and described punishments for homosexuality.

• French mosques: French intelligence (DGSI) has documented radicalization patterns in mosques operating under Brotherhood-affiliated management in multiple French cities.

• Germany: German domestic intelligence (Verfassungsschutz) monitors several Brotherhood-affiliated organizations for radicalization activity.

The common thread: organizations with public-facing civil rights and community service roles and internal connections to Brotherhood theology produce radicalization content, particularly for young people.

Teaching children to recite calls to kill Jews is not a protected religious practice. It is incitement — the preparation of a generation to regard mass murder of a specific ethnic group as religiously sanctioned and desirable.

The fact that this occurred at an event organized by a U.S. institution operating on American soil raises questions that American law enforcement and community institutions have been slow to engage:

• What curriculum materials are being used in MAS-affiliated schools?
• How many similar events have occurred without being filmed?
• What is the relationship between Brotherhood-theology institutions operating in the United States and terrorist financing channels documented by the federal government?

The Holy Land Foundation prosecution — the largest terrorism-financing case in U.S. history — ended in a 2007 mistrial and, on retrial, 2008 convictions of the charity and five leaders for funneling money to Hamas. Prosecutors' list of unindicted co-conspirators included CAIR, ISNA and NAIT.

None of this means that every MAS member or participant endorses violence. It means that an organization with documented Brotherhood connections continues to operate institutions in which children are filmed reciting calls to kill Jews — and that this is treated as a community relations problem rather than what it is.