AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Shia Muslim Foundation welcomed the action of U.S. federal police in arresting a woman accused of plotting an ISIS-linked bombing attack against the New York State Capitol building, and emphasized the direct threat of the terrorist ISIS group against American Muslims, particularly Shiites.
The foundation announced that ISIS does not represent Islam or American Muslims, and that the group's teachings are in direct contradiction with Islamic teachings regarding the preservation of human life and the sanctity of places of worship.
According to the foundation's statement, American Muslim communities have repeatedly rejected ISIS ideology and have reported suspicious extremist activities to security forces.
This body also emphasized that the ISIS threat against Shiites is not merely a theoretical concern; because this group considers Shiites its enemy and has committed massacres of Shiite worshippers in various countries. According to the Shia Muslim Foundation, ISIS sympathizers in the United States have also previously pursued plans to attack Shiite mosques.
In this regard, the foundation cited the case of Xavier Pelkey, who was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in November 2023 for conspiring to attack a Shiite mosque in the Chicago area. According to court records, Pelkey and two other teenagers who were ISIS sympathizers planned to enter the mosque, separate adults from children, and kill them using firearms, ammunition, and explosives. Federal agents discovered homemade explosives in Pelkey's home containing items such as staples, needles, and thumbtacks intended to act as shrapnel.
According to the statement, if police intervened, the defendants intended to go to another Shiite mosque or even a synagogue and continue killing until security forces stopped them. Pelkey ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
The Shia Muslim Foundation also referred to another case in July 2025, in which a 16-year-old boy, after allegedly entering the "Husseini" Islamic Center in Glendale Heights, Illinois, during a ceremony, photographed the building and worshippers and collected information for a possible explosive attack; a concealed firearm and other evidence were also discovered during the investigation.
It is worth noting that in the most recent case, the FBI alleged in a criminal complaint that the woman, Jessica Bovee, began expressing loyalty to ISIS and actively planning in online communications starting in July.
She is said to have surveilled the New York State Capitol building for weeks and taken photos from various locations, including an observation deck nearby.
The Shia Muslim Foundation also appreciated the cooperation of the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Secret Service, the New York State Police, the Albany Police, the Albany County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations in this case.
Raahat Husain, the Executive Director of the Shia Muslim Foundation, emphasizing that American Muslims reject ISIS and its teachings, said that this terrorist group has killed Muslims around the world and has also inspired plots to kill Shiite worshippers in America.
The foundation called on federal and local officials to maintain direct communication with Muslim communities, consider anti-Shia extremism in threat assessments, and provide more training and security resources to mosques. The foundation also called for an immediate response to reports of ISIS propaganda, identification and monitoring of mosques, weapons, and threats against worshippers.
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