Islamic extremism in the heartland of America, as a local Muslim leader spews blood libels at Kansas City Art Institute. (Hat tip: ben-f.)

Adnan Bayazid, a 63-year-old native of Syria who has sometimes served as imam, or prayer leader, at the Kansas City area’s largest mosque, visited a Western civilization class at the Kansas City Art Institute in October. He told students that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were the work not of Islamic radical terrorists, but, rather, of Israeli agents operating as part of a Jewish conspiracy.

After 9/11, KCAI Professor of Humanities Milton Katz, who is a member of Temple B’nai Jehudah and who holds a doctoral degree in American studies, said he decided to invite someone from the Islamic community, in addition to the spokesmen he had traditionally invited from the Jewish and Christian communities, to address his class on “Topics in Western Thought.” Last school year, Katz said, he called the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City, and the society sent out a speaker who handled the assignment without incident.

This year, Katz said, he again called the ISGKC, which operates a mosque and day school at 99th Street and James A. Reed Road in Kansas City, Mo., and they sent out Adnan Bayazid. There is no permanent, professional clergyman at the center, but Bayazid said he is considered a knowledgeable elder.

Bayazid introduced himself at KCAI as an imam and talked for 30-45 minutes on the basic tenets of Islam, Katz said. When the floor was opened for questions and no student raised his/her hand, Katz said, he asked Bayazid to explain the concept of jihad. Jihad in Arabic literally means “struggle,” but it is often used to connote holy war.

“He explained it means submission, but also fighting for protecting the faith,” Katz said. “No one asked specifically about Sept. 11, but he started going on a tirade … and for 30 minutes proceeded to tell us that there were no Islamic fundamentalists on the (hijacked) planes; that they had all been framed by U.S. and Israel; that the planes were flying by remote control by the Israeli government or secret police; that every Jewish person was told not to go to work that day at the World Trade Center.

“He blamed Israel for the whole thing, but he also said numerous times Jews - not just Israel or the Israeli government, but that it was a Jewish conspiracy. He said that specifically numerous times.”