(New Arab) The chair of the United Arab Emirates’ fatwa council will no longer be attending a global Islamic conference following a backlash over the cleric’s perceived backing of the Gulf state’s targeting of Muslim organisations.
Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah, a prominent Mauritanian Islamic scholar and politician, was scheduled to speak [at] the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) convention on December 26-27.
Bin Bayyah is a regular speaker at the event, which is usually held in Toronto, Canada.
“Program Update: Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah will not be participating in this year’s conference,” RIS said on its official Twitter page.
