Imam Ammar Shahin gave the sermon at the Islamic Center of Davis on Friday

He says he was referencing Jews who prevent Muslims from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem

Jewish groups have asked the Department of Homeland Security to launch an investigation into the imam

The Islamic Center of Davis issued a statement in support of Imam Shahin

A California imam is under fire after a sermon he gave calling on Allah to 'annihilate' Jews 'down to the very last one'.

Imam Ammar Shahin gave the sermon at the Islamic Center of Davis on Friday. He asked for Allah to liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Israel from 'the filth of the Jews', according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

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He also referenced an Islamic text calling for a Judgement Day fight between Muslims and Jews.

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Imam Ammar Shahin gave a sermon at the Islamic Center of Davis in California on Friday (pictured), calling on Allah to 'annihilate' Jews 'down to the very last one'

The imam (pictured, giving the sermon) claims he was just referencing Jews who prevented Muslims from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque - a holy site for both Muslims and Jews in East Jerusalem and the location of a terror attack on July 14 during which three Arab gunman killed two Israeli police officers

'Oh Allah, count them one by one and annihilate them down to the very last one. Do not spare any of them,' said Shahin, who spoke in both Arabic and English during his sermon.

'Oh Allah, make this happen by our hands. Let us play a part in this. Oh Allah, let us support them in words and in deeds.'

The MEMRI posted the two-and-half-minute clip from the hour long sermon on YouTube.

The Imam said he was referencing Jews who prevented Muslims from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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The mosque is a holy site for both Muslims and Jews in East Jerusalem and the location of a terror attack on July 14 during which three Arab gunman killed two Israeli police officers.

It was closed for several days after the attacks with new security measures put in place. Israel claims the new measures are important for preventing future attacks but Palestine says Israel is trying to assert more control.

Because of the comments, Jewish groups have asked the Department of Homeland Security and the US Attorney's Office to launch an investigation into the imam.

'By explicitly urging Muslims to annihilate all Jews by their own hands, Shahin has crossed the line beyond protected speech,' said Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Rabbi Yitzchok Alderstein, directors of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization in Los Angeles.

Jewish groups have called on the Department of Homeland Security and the US Attorney's Office to launch an investigation into the imam. The Islamic Center of Davis issued a statement in support of Imam Shahin

In response, the Islamic Center of Davis issued a statement on its website, standing by the imam.

'The ICD will always stand against anti-semitism similarly to how the Jewish community has always stood against Islamophobia in our close knit community. We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or any other form of bigotry,' the statement read in part.

'MEMRI, an extremist agenda driven organization that supports Israel's occupation of Palestinian land, and other Islamophobic news organizations, accused Imam Shahin of anti-Semitism, quoting edited, mistranslated, passages of the sermon out of context.'

In response to the statement put out by the Islamic Center of Davis and the sermon itself, MEMRI Executive Director Steven Stalinsky released a statement.

'The sermon is very antisemitic and violent, much like many sermons in the mosques of the Middle East,' it read in part.

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'It is not surprising that the imam/mosque are denying this and saying that it is incorrect or out of context...MEMRI is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization and we are nearly two decades old.'