[3] However, despite the mosque's humble beginnings and early challenges, Dar Al-Hijrah grew to become a powerhouse mosque by 2000, serving the thriving and diverse Muslim community outside Washington, D.C.[10] The FBI Director of Counter-Intelligence for the Middle East, Gordon M. Snow, was a frequent, weekly attendee of the services in spring and summer 2001, while also completing his master's degree 3 miles away.

[4][13] In September 2004, about sixty percent of its membership was Arab, with an increasing percentage coming from countries such as Somalia, Morocco, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh.

In addition, Dar Al-Hijrah co-sponsors an annual civic picnic, along with other Northern Virginia organizations, at which candidates for local office meet Muslim voters.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who had worshipped and taught at Dar Al-Hijrah, was charged in 2005 by U.S. prosecutors with plotting with members of al-Qaeda to assassinate President George W. Bush.

Abelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar, a Palestinian later convicted of criminal contempt and obstruction of justice for refusal to testify in a trial related to the funding of Hamas in the US, was a member of the executive committee.

Also during Ramadan, the center sponsors interfaith and civic iftar dinners for local officials from the police force, fire department, and emergency medical services as well as various faith groups to promote mutual understanding.

Several sources indicated that Nidal Hasan, the perpetrator of the November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting, attended the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque at the same time in 2001 as Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour (two of the September 11 hijackers).

Al-Hazmi and Hanjour had attended the mosque for several weeks during 2001 when Anwar al-Awlaki was imam there; a law enforcement official said that the FBI would look into whether Hasan associated with the hijackers.

[36] In addition, the phone number for the mosque was found in the apartment of one a planner of the September 11 attacks, Ramzi bin al-Shibh in Hamburg, northern Germany.

[37] Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who was convicted of providing material support to al Qaeda and conspiracy to assassinate President George W. Bush, worshiped and taught Islamic studies at the mosque around that time, where he was also a camp counselor.

[38][39][40] Abelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar, a member of the mosque's executive committee, was convicted in November 2007 of contempt and obstruction of justice for refusal to testify before a grand jury with regard to Hamas, and sentenced to 135 months in prison.

Jeffrey Goldberg, in his 2008 book Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror, characterizes Dar Al-Hijrah as an openly political mosque that has conducted militant Friday sermons, especially prior to the September 11 attacks.

The comments were brought to light by a tweet by the Middle East Media Research Institute in June,[43] which links to the video, originally posted on the mosque's YouTube channel.

[49] He was invited to speak at the United States Department of Defense and became the first imam to conduct a prayer service for the Congressional Muslim Staffer Association at the U.S.

"[4] Al-Awlaki resigned from Dar Al-Hijrah in early 2002 due to post-9/11 media attention that distracted the imam from his duties, according to the mosque's outreach director.