Approximately 3,000 Muslims came to Washington D.C. to pray at the Capitol Building on September 25, according to The Washington Post. The organizers of the event, which was called "Islam on Capitol Hill" and used the slogan, "Our Time Has Come," had hoped to bring together 50,000 Muslims for the service.

One of the event's organizers, Imam Ali Jaaber of N.J., told the Post that one of the reasons it was held was to show Muslims that they "don't need to fear America" and to counter anti-Muslim sentiment.

"We work; we pay taxes. We are Muslims who truly love this country," he said.

However, some of the organizers of the event have come under fire.

One of the scholars chosen to recite the Koran at the service was Dr. Ahmad Dewidar, the imam of the Islamic Society of Mid-Manhattan.

  In a June 30, 2005 report by the Middle East Media Research Institute, he was quoted as telling a website affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood that the Zionist-controlled media in the U.S. was responsible for creating a poor picture of Muslims after 9/11.

"The Zionist community numbers only three million, but they control the government, the politics, the economy, and the media in the U.S," he said.

Andrew Walden in a September 21 article on FrontPageMag.com warned about other people involved in supporting the event.

He notes that Hassan Ibn Abdellah, the president of the Dar-ul Islam mosque in Elizabeth, was part of the legal team for several convicted terrorists, arguing that they were the victims of discrimination.

Another individual listed on flyers for the event included Abdul Malik, a supporter of Hamas who said, "…democracy does not equal freedom…so no we don't want to democratize Islam, we want to Islamize democracy."

Walden also took aim at Siraj Wahhaj, an imam from Brooklyn, who has been frequently criticized for making radical statements and having extremist associations.

"If we were united and strong, we'd elect our own emir [leader] and give allegiance to him....if 6-8 million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us," Wahhaj was quoted as saying in 1992.

Despite the involvement of these organizers, no press accounts included reports of anti-American or extremist statements by any speakers or attendees.