In successive Friday sermons, a Chicago imam has urged followers to support the Palestinian jihad by joining the fight or by donation "weapons and money."

In excerpts compiled by the Middle East Media Research Project (MEMRI) taken from sermons posted on YouTube, the Chicago Islamic Center's Mohamed Elimam speaks to "those of you who want to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah, Palestine is calling you and Gaza is crying out for your help" during his July 18 sermon. "However, if you are collaborators with those who give you weapons and money, then keep indulging yourselves with this money of yours."

He criticizes "deadbeat regimes" in Arab states, urging people to "Return to the battle of Jihad in Palestine. Jerusalem is calling you. The children of Gaza are crying for your help. I say to all the honorable mujahideen, to any believer who has ever waged Jihad for the sake of Allah, and to every child who was killed for the sake of Islam... Let the whole world know that the Zionist enemy is not fighting a well-armed army. Rather, it is fighting a defenseless people. It is killing children, and destroying homes. This is how they behaved towards the prophets of Allah as well."

In last Friday's sermon, he called Zionism "unadulterated evil besetting all people" and described Israel as "a thorn in the side of the Arab and Islamic nations. May Allah pull this thorn out, and stick it down their [Western] throats. May they be sent back to their countries in shame and disgrace, Allah willing."

The clips do not indicate that Elimam directly solicited for Hamas or other terrorist organizations. His rhetoric, however, is similar to other imams who wound up being removed from the country for supporting terrorists.

See the full MEMRI report here.