A subsidiary of the Islamic Circle of North America and the Muslim American Society, the Universal Heritage Foundation (UHF) was founded on September 10, 2003 as a non-profit corporation based in Kissimmee, Florida. Located on a 31-acre campus 15 miles from Disney World, UHF’s mission is “to serve God Almighty and His creation by promoting equality, justice, and a peaceful coexistence through education, community service, and outreach programs; [and] to promote a greater understanding and respect for, and among, people of all faiths, colors, and gender.” UHF further professes its devotion to helping create “a society where we appreciate our diversity and common heritage, while moving forward as one humanity with respect and love for all of God’s creation.”

On December 19-21, 2003, UHF held its inaugural conference, titled “Islam For Humanity.” Prominent among its list of guest speakers were militant Islamists with strong anti-American, anti-Israel value systems. These included:

• Altaf Ali, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Florida Director who wavered on the question of whether or not the people who had died in the World Trade Center on 9/11 were innocent, and who used a joint press conference with the FBI to defend Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11.
• Zulfiqar Ali Shah, UHF’s current Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, and the former President of the Islamic Circle of North America
• Shaikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Sudais, chief cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca
• Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat, Muslim Chaplain for the Baltimore City Police Department and President of the Islamic Affairs Council of Maryland
• Ihsan Bagby, General Secretary of the Muslim Alliance in North America
• Shaikh Waleed Basyouni, Imam of the Ta’leemul Islaam Masjid in Houston, and an instructor at American Open University
• Sohail Ghannouchi, the Muslim American Society President who admitted to raising funds for Imam Jamil Al-Amin, a Georgia-based Muslim leader who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a sheriff’s deputy in Atlanta
• Shaikh Wajdi Ghunaim, an Egyptian cleric who supports suicide bombings
• Abdullah Idris Ali, who served as the Islamic Society of North America’s President from 1992-1997, and is a Board of Advisors member for the American Muslim Council
• Mokhtar Maghraoui, a Central Shura Member of the Islamic Circle of North America
• Imam Abdul Malik, Muslim chaplain of the New York City Metro Transit Authority
• Maulana Shafayat Muhammad, spiritual leader of the Florida-based Darul Aloom madrassa (religious school) where “dirty bomber” Jose Padilla worshipped
• Imam Muhammad Musri, who oversees seven mosques from the Islamic Society of Central Florida
• Sheikh Alaa Ramadan, Imam of the Islamic Center of Claremont, California
• Tariq Rasheed, Imam of the Jama’ Masjid spiritual center in Orlando, Florida (Rashid defended Palestinian-American businessman Jesse Maali, who federal authorities claim “financially supported terrorist groups” and wrote “an essay and poems [expressing] sympathy for suicide bombers in Israel.”)
• Muzammil Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America
• Salah Sultan, President of Islamic American University, and the former head of the Muslim American Society’s Department of Islamic Research and Studies
• Talat Sultan, the current President of the Islamic Circle of North America
• Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, Secretary General of the Islamic Society of North America
• Siraj Wahhaj, a Council on American-Islamic Relations Advisory Board member who was named as a possible co-conspirator to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and who testified as a character witness for the convicted terror mastermind Omar Abdel Rahman
• Muhammed Younes, President of the American Muslim Union