[Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”]
In January 2025, ABC-affiliate WPLG Local 10 aired a segment featuring Gaza-born Imam Ibrahim Dremali (Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Al-Dremali), a longtime figure in radical Islamic circles now residing in South Florida. The story focused on Dremali’s relatives trapped in the Gaza war zone. During the interview, the reporter asked a direct and critical question: “Were any of your family members affiliated with Hamas?” Dremali responded confidently: “Absolutely not.”
To an unknowing audience, his words sounded sincere – a grieving man lamenting civilian casualties. But in reality, Dremali’s answer was a blatant lie. The imam has numerous family members who are or were deeply involved with Hamas, including a cousin who took part in the October 7, 2023 massacre, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and hundreds kidnapped. His denial was not an act of ignorance – it was deliberate deception meant to shield his long-documented ties to extremism.
Dremali’s Hamas Terrorist Family
This was not Dremali’s first stint in Florida. For years, he led the Islamic Center of Boca Raton (ICBR) as its imam. However, at the time of the October 7 massacre, Dremali was serving as imam of the Grand Strand Islamic Society in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Immediately following Hamas’s attack on Israel, ABC-affiliate WPDE 15 interviewed Dremali, also about his family situation in Gaza. Dremali took the opportunity to discuss his then-newly deceased cousin Saber. Dremali told the reporter that his cousin was shot and killed “by Israeli soldiers, while Saber was drinking tea in front of his Gaza home.”
What he did not tell the station was that Saber had participated in the October 7 attack.
According to a report in GnasherJew.com, a London-based watchdog that monitors and exposes antisemitism, Dremali’s cousin Saber (Saber Faraj Al-Dremali) was a Hamas operative who participated directly in the October 7 massacre in Israel. Upon his death, Dremali publicly praised him as a “hero” destined for “eternal paradise.”
A message from the family claims that he died due to “wounds… he sustained in the Al-Aqsa Flood battle,” contradicting Dremali’s assertion that he was killed “drinking tea.”
The same GnasherJew report documents multiple members of the Dremali clan linked to Hamas’ military and fundraising wings. One, Ahmed Ziyad Youssef Al-Dreamli, is described as a commander in Hamas’s Interior and National Security Special Tasks Unit.
Another Lie
Dremali’s penchant for lying to reporters was forged years ago. In February 2003, Dremali told the Palm Beach Post that, since the 9/11 attacks, his “whole family had felt persecuted.” He stated, “People say ‘Go back to where you came from.’ But we have no place to go back to. We are Americans.”
Yet, less than three months earlier, he spoke to the South Florida Sun Sentinel about how he was building a five-story “dream house” in Gaza with an elevator and “polished wood trim.” He stated, “It’s where my heart is, where I spent my childhood, where I want to return some day, God willing. It’s why I don’t live so well here – I’m putting all my money there.”
Dremali’s Terror-Associated Florida Past
Dremali’s extremist record spans decades and multiple states. In that time, he has been arrested for immigration fraud and was once placed on the federal no-fly list.
He first gained notoriety as founding Imam of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton (ICBR), where he helped cultivate one of the most radical environments in Florida’s Muslim community – a mosque with ties to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and al-Qaeda.
In October 2000, Dremali addressed a rally in Miami where demonstrators burned Israeli flags and chanted, “With jihad we’ll claim our land, Zionist blood will wet the sand.” He told attendees “not to be sad for those who were martyred and not to be afraid to die for what they believe in.”
While in Florida, Dremali’s former wife, Lamyaa Hashim, ran the Health Resource Center for Palestine (HRCP), a Hamas-linked charity that operated out of Deerfield Beach. Dremali served as the charity’s Vice President, while his brother Ishaq managed operations in Gaza. HRCP’s secretary and webmaster (and ICBR co-founder), Syed Khawer Ahmad, was directly tied to Hamas, having designed and maintained the first website for the Islamic Association, al-Jamia al-Islamiya, the Gaza-based Muslim Brotherhood parent organization of Hamas.
“Very Strong Surprise”
In May 2021, Dremali appeared in an online interview for Arees University – an Islamic studies program he is affiliated with – that has branches in the U.S., Malaysia, and Turkey. Speaking to a host in Malaysia, he expressed open admiration for Hamas, denied Israel’s right to exist by declaring “Israel is not a country,” and echoed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the world.
During the same interview, Dremali discussed his upbringing in Gaza and personal connections to Hamas figures. He said, “Brothers and sisters, Hamas was created after I came to America, but I know the people.” He recalled performing as a youth in plays for Hamas founder Ahmad Yasin and for his own father, portraying a shaheed or dead martyr. Smiling, he added that he prays for Palestinian children to become shaheeds themselves.
Perhaps most alarming, Dremali appeared to hint at the future October 7 Hamas offensive. When asked about Hamas’s network of tunnels in Gaza, he responded enthusiastically, saying, “I’m so happy with that. A lot of tunnels. By the way, you’re gonna be very surprised – very strong surprise soon.” He added that Hamas was “gonna hit those people” using “special rockets,” comments that eerily foreshadow the coordinated rocket and infiltration assault Hamas launched two years later.
According to a 19-page report put out by Israel’s military, Hamas had been developing plans for a large-scale assault on Israel as early as 2016, with an “operational plan” in place by 2021. Given Dremali’s documented familial ties to Hamas leadership and close relatives who reportedly participated in the October 7, 2023 attack, it is plausible that he possessed at least some awareness of the plot or its impending execution.
As well, during the interview, Dremali urged viewers to send money to Hamas, effectively encouraging material support for a designated terrorist organization – an action that is illegal under U.S. law. His rhetoric intensified as he called for the annihilation of Israel’s Jewish population, declaring, “The people, they want to make jihad. The people want to open the border… [I]f the Arab leaders open the borders of Palestine… the Jews, they’ll be inside that ocean.”
It is not the only time Dremali called for violence against Jews. This past January, he wrote in Arabic on social media, “Oh God, burn Tel Aviv… Oh God, make their bodies and limbs firewood for Hell.”
A Dangerous Double Life
Ibrahim Dremali’s repeated denials of Hamas connections collapse under the weight of extensive evidence linking him and his family to the terror group’s leadership and activities. His own statements, affiliations, and recorded praise of Hamas reveal a consistent pattern of deceit and ideological alignment with the organization’s violent goals. By posing as a peaceful cleric while glorifying terrorism, Dremali has deceived both the media and his community.
For the safety of our country, Ibrahim Dremali should not be permitted to operate freely within the United States. His public praise of Hamas and advocacy for the extermination of Jews pose a clear threat to public safety. His appeal for material support to a designated terrorist organization warrants serious criminal investigation and prosecution. Allowing him to continue preaching in our communities endangers Americans and undermines national security.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
