Ahmad Ibn Saifuddin Turkistani is the former director of the Institute of Islamic & Arab Sciences (IIAS) in Fairfax, Virginia. A nonprofit educational institution affiliated with the Wahhabist al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the IIAS was shut down by federal authorities on July 1, 2004 because of its links to terrorism.

On March 15, 2001, Turkistani gave the keynote address at the Eid-Ul-Adha Dinner in Parliament Hill, Ottawa, which was sponsored by the Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario (APMO). Turkistani is credited with stating, “Islam has been the victim of Sept. 11.” “We need to disassociate Islam from the wrong practices of some of its followers,” Turkistani added, “and protect it from those who want to associate it with violence and destruction.”