The Islamic Center of Tennessee filed suit against former organization board chair Salah Ayesh for staging a “hostile takeover” of the community center for Muslims located in Antioch. The lawsuit alleges that Ayesh, accompanied by two of his employees from his real estate business, stole documents from the center, interrupted worship services and impersonated a member of the center’s board of directors.
The suit was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court June 30 and seeks an injunction against Ayesh, the return of documents he allegedly stole from the organization and unspecified damages. That same day, Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the defendants from entering the center, communicating with board members or destroying any documents taken from the property.
The Islamic Center is a mosque and community center for Middle Tennessee’s Muslim community and offers worship services, recreational activities, classes and other community services to parishioners.
The suit states that during the Islamic Center’s June 6 board meeting, Ayesh “became agitated with other Board members regarding certain strategic matters being discussed and he began to act aggressively and disrespectfully towards his fellow Board members.” Ayesh served as the board chair until June 1, 2021, but served as a regular board member during the events described in the lawsuit.
On the night of June 12, the suit states, Ayesh “covertly entered” the center’s business office with two of his employees, both of whom are also named in the suit. The three “forcibly broke open” drawers and file cabinets in the office and took files and documents. According to the suit, they then changed the lock on the office door and changed the password on the center’s security camera system, blocking the board members from viewing security footage of the incident. (Despite this, the lawsuit includes screenshots from security footage that show at least two individuals searching through drawers and adjusting a door lock.)
Two days later on June 14, Ayesh sent a letter to the board stating he had hired a consulting firm, a law firm and a construction company without the board’s authorization. Later that day, the board voted to remove Ayesh from the board and requested that he return his keys to the building and change back the locks. Ayesh refused to do so, the lawsuit says. The suit states that Ayesh has continued to tell parishioners “he is in charge” and is disparaging board members “in an attempt to seize complete control of ICT.”
On June 28 — the start of Eid al-Adha, a major religious holiday for Muslims — Ayesh allegedly instructed the center’s imam, Moaz Raof, to not attend the center’s morning worship services because another imam hired by Ayesh would lead them. Raof “rightfully ignored this warning and led the early morning worship service without incident,” the suit says.
At a second service, however, Ayesh reportedly took the microphone from Raof and interrupted the service. The lawsuit states Ayesh was accompanied by an armed bodyguard “who outwardly displayed a firearm as a display of force and intimidation.” Center board chair Zaher Abdelaziz called the police in response to Ayesh’s “hostile takeover,” after which point Raof was able to peacefully conduct the worship service.
The suit says Ayesh later that day delivered a letter to Raof relieving him of his duties as imam. Ayesh signed the letter as the center’s board chairman, a position the lawsuit states he has not held since June 2021.
On June 30 — the same day that the Islamic Center filed its suit — the center’s legal counsel, Scott E. Simmons, filed an affidavit describing his communications with the suit’s defendants: Salah Ayesh, Basil Awwad and Wayne Blanchard. Simmons had called each on June 30 to notify them that a request for a restraining order against them had been filed. According to the affidavit, Blanchard responded to Simmons on the phone: "You can do what you want, but if you file suit, there will be a lawsuit coming back at you.”
A temporary restraining order was granted by Chancellor Myles that day. On July 2, the Islamic Center of Tennessee posted an overview of the dispute on its Facebook page. The post alleged new details, including that Ayesh had been “verbally aggressive and abusive” when interrupting the religious service and that he and his associates had broken into Imam Raof’s office on June 30.
The Scene reached out to the Islamic Center of Tennessee Wednesday afternoon, and also attempted to make contact with Salah Ayesh. Neither request for comment was immediately returned. Ayesh’s attorney, James B. Johnson, tells the Scene his clients disagreed with the allegations in the suit but declined further comment. An injunction hearing is set for July 14 in Chancery Court.
