'Show Us the Money,' Protesters at 'Terror' Mosque Demand

About 100 protesters faced off Tuesday night against a smaller group of Muslims at a South Florida mosque, headed by an imam jailed on charges of aiding and abetting terrorism.

Waving signs reading "Shut Them Down!" Christian and pro-Israel activists and tea party members gathered outside the Masjid Jarmaat at-Muminee mosque in Margate early Tuesday evening.

In response, about 50 people stood in front of the mosque in a show of defensive force, some taking pictures of the protesters.

"Tonight we are here to demonstrate the need for our government to be more diligent in its effort to root out and prosecute any individuals or groups with ties to terrorist organizations," said Mark Boykin, pastor of the Church of All Nations.

Mosque imam Izhar Kahn, 24, was arrested last month and charged by U.S. authorities with raising funds for the Taliban in Pakistan. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

His father, who is the imam at Miami's Flagler mosque, along with two other family members, also are being held in federal custody.

"What we are witnessing is a growing specter of home-grown terrorists who are recruited or sent to our communities to infiltrate, indoctrinate, and imprecate," Boykin said.

"Our demands are very simple: Show us the money. Where is the money of this mosque coming from? And where is it being sent?"

A large cadre of police was on hand to keep the mosque defenders and protesters apart. The spectacle was witnessed by an even larger contingent of media.

Other groups participating in the peaceful protest were Americans Against Hate, Citizens of Margate and Tea Party Fort Lauderdale.

Joe Kaufman, head of Americans Against Hate, said his group will continue to "call attention to the situation."

"It's important for the government to investigate what's going on here," he told Sunshine State News.

No one at the mosque answered the phone.

Earlier, Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said, "Whatever case you make against the imam and the mosque, this will be settled in court, hopefully with due process. You don't shut down an entire house of worship because one individual may have done something wrong."

"We're seeing more and more of the right-wing extremism in the run-up to the 2012 elections," Hooper told Sunshine State News from Washington.