El-Sheikh is also a former imam of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Virginia. Anwar al-Awlaki, who was allegedly centrally involved in planning terrorist operations for Al-Qaeda, preached and made sermons at the mosque in 2001. Despite the statements made by news outlets, El-Sheikh "never delivered those sermons himself," as noted by "ThinkProgress". The mosque was also served by imam Mohammed al-Hanooti in the 1990s, who was "named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing."