(Washington, D.C., 5/26/2026) – The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) held a press conference at 51st Annual ICNA- MAS Convention, marking one week since the horrific terrorist attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, an act of violence that shattered lives, traumatized families, and deeply wounded an entire community during the sacred days of Dhul Hijjah, the blessed season of Hajj, reflection, sacrifice, and devotion. The following is the statement of USCMO Secretary General, Oussama Jammal:
USCMO stands today before this nation to speak the names of three members of our community who were murdered in cold blood in their house of worship:
Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad.
We say their names with reverence, with grief, and with the unshakeable conviction that their lives mattered – fully, completely, and without qualification.
Amin Abdullah was a security guard, a protector, and – above all – a father of eight. His children have lost their father. His wife has lost her partner. This nation must reckon with that loss. We call on the City of San Diego, the State of California, and the federal government to formally recognize Brother Amin’s extraordinary act of courage and to ensure that his family receives every form of support and honor befitting a man who gave his life protecting children in a house of God.
To Brother Mansour Kaziha and Brother Nader Awad — we hold you in our hearts. You came to worship in peace and were taken in violence. Your families carry a weight that no community should ever bear.
May God shower them with His mercy, grant them the highest ranks in Paradise, and grant patience and strength to their grieving families.
As we mourn these martyrs, we also stand in solidarity with the worshippers, students, teachers, and families of the Islamic Center of San Diego who continue to endure the emotional pain and trauma caused by this attack.
The Islamic Center of San Diego has been a pillar of this community for decades – a place of worship, education, and service. As a member institution of USCMO and as a Twin-Mosque partner with Masjid At-Taqwa, it stands within a network of mosques committed to serving American Muslims with dignity and purpose. That sacred space was violated last week. Yet we say to the congregation and to every mosque in America: your doors remain open. Your faith is not a vulnerability – it is your strength.
USCMO extends its profound gratitude to the countless organizations, faith leaders, community partners, elected officials, and individual volunteers who have stood with the victims’ families and the San Diego Muslim community during this painful time. Your solidarity, in vigils, donations, legal advocacy, and in simply showing up, has been a light in our grief. We ask you to sustain it.
The headlines will fade; the families’ needs will not. Please continue to support the relief funds established in the names of our martyrs.
While the attackers took their own lives and will not face an earthly trial, the full truth of this attack must still be pursued and made public. Justice for our community does not end with the death of the perpetrators.
We call upon the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the San Diego Police Department to conduct a thorough, transparent, and independent review of all records pertaining to the attackers — their histories, associations, prior conduct, and any threat assessments that may have been made or overlooked. If warning signs existed and were not acted upon, the American people and the families of Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nader Awad deserve to know.
We further call on Congress to strengthen the Nonprofit Security Grant Program and all protections for houses of worship and make sure our mosques are granted equal access to these grants without discrimination or political conditions.
This tragedy must not become another forgotten statistic. The alarming rise in hate-driven violence, Islamophobic incitements by some politicians, and attacks targeting places of worship requires immediate and sustained action from leaders, institutions, and society at large.
We reaffirm today that the Muslim community will not be intimidated into fear or silence. We will continue to worship, serve, educate, and contribute to this nation with resilience, faith, and determination.
May the memory of Amin Ibrahim, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad forever inspire courage, unity, and justice.
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