While mainstream media rushed to label a Muslim prayer gathering in Times Square as a “takeover,” the reality on the ground told a very different story — one of faith, unity, and feeding the poor in the heart of New York City. In this eye-opening episode of The Deen Show, an imam devoted to spiritual intelligence and matters of the heart sits down to share the full, unfiltered truth behind the viral Times Square prayer event — now in its fifth consecutive year — and reveals what happened in that exact same spot the very next day that almost nobody talked about. What emerges is a powerful contrast between Muslims gathering to worship Allah, feed the hungry, and invite people to guidance, and a separate event where crowds chanted for the arrival of a figure that Islamic eschatology identifies as the Dajjal — the Antichrist.
What Really Happened at the Times Square Prayer — And What Followed
The Times Square prayer, organized by the brother known as SQ, brought together Muslims from every background imaginable — Italian, Polish, Black, White, Arab, and beyond — all standing shoulder to shoulder in submission to their Creator on a single sidewalk in one of the world’s busiest locations. Far from a “takeover,” the congregation occupied one stretch of pavement while Times Square continued to bustle around them. They fed everyone — Muslim and non-Muslim alike — and non-Muslims sat mesmerized, watching the beauty of Islamic prayer in action, with some accepting Islam on the spot. Yet the very next day, in the exact same location, a far larger crowd gathered around a rabbi chanting “We want Mashiach now” — a call that the imam identifies as summoning the Dajjal himself — and there was zero controversy, zero media outrage, and zero accusations of a “takeover.”
“They’re literally calling for the Antichrist. We were there feeding the poor, praying to God, and sharing food with everyone — Muslim or not — and we’re the ones called a threat. The next day, far more people are in that same spot chanting for the Dajjal and nobody says a word.”
- The Times Square Muslim prayer event has taken place for five consecutive years, organized by SQ, drawing Muslims of all ethnicities and backgrounds in a beautiful display of Islamic unity
- The gathering was on a single sidewalk — Times Square is massive and there was plenty of space for everyone — yet critics still called it a “Muslim takeover”
- Non-Muslims were visibly moved by the prayer, with some accepting Islam during the event
- The very next day, a significantly larger crowd gathered in the exact same spot with a rabbi leading chants of “We want Mashiach now” — with no media backlash whatsoever
- In Islamic eschatology, the figure these crowds are calling for aligns with the Dajjal (the Antichrist), a major sign of the end times
- Backlash against the Muslim prayer came from both non-Muslims and, sadly, from within the Muslim community itself
- The imam emphasizes that the world is hemorrhaging spiritually and morally while people argue about superficial solutions — “what color bandaid to put on”
Spiritual Intelligence: Submitting to Something Greater Than Yourself
Beyond the Times Square events, this conversation cuts to the heart of what is missing in modern society — spiritual intelligence. The imam delivers a message that every person of faith and every truth-seeker needs to hear: check your ego, recognize that right and wrong are not subjective opinions but are defined by Allah alone, and submit to something greater than yourself. In a world drowning in moral relativism and spiritual emptiness, Islam offers the clarity, purpose, and guidance that the human soul was created to seek. The unity displayed in that Times Square prayer — people of every color and culture bowing together before their Lord — is a living proof of the beauty of this deen. May Allah strengthen the hearts of those who stood in prayer that day, guide those who witnessed it to the truth of Islam, and protect this ummah from the fitnah of the Dajjal and from the harm of those who attack what they do not understand.
“Right and wrong is no longer subjective — God decides. The world is hemorrhaging and we’re sitting here arguing about what color bandaid to put on. You have to submit to something greater than yourself. That’s the beginning of real intelligence.”
