Clerics & Preachers
Muslim branded a ‘terrorist’ in Exeter wins defamation case (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Clerics & Preachers
Turkey: Parliament head slams Macron over Islamophobia French president said he will stop practice of bringing in Muslim preachers from foreign countries
(Anadolu) Turkey’s parliament speaker on Wednesday slammed French President Emmanuel Macron’s Islamophobic remarks. “Macron’s remarks on struggling with Islamic separatism are [an] example of crude Islamophobia,” Mustafa Sentop said in a tweet. “France should first confront its racist and massacrist history,” he […]
Academics & Education
Wary of ‘separatism,’ Macron unveils curbs on foreign imams, teachers
(Reuters) French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would curb the practice of foreign countries sending imams and teachers to France to crack down on what he called the risk of “separatism.” Macron has so far stayed away from issues related […]
Clerics & Preachers
Metro Detroit imam, advocacy group criticize post-flight screening
(Detroit News) When Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi landed at Detroit Metro Airport one morning last week after a long flight from Asia, he looked forward to reuniting with his family and quickly heading home. But the longtime spiritual leader of a Dearborn […]
Clerics & Preachers
‘Toxic’ Islamist terror website editors jailed
(BBC) Two web managers who ran a website glorifying Islamist terror groups and encouraging attacks have been jailed. [Mohammed] Abdur Kamali and Mohammed Abdul Ahad promoted “toxic ideologies” including speeches by hate preacher Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal. Their website also featured material from […]
Clerics & Preachers
CBP questions Detroit-area imam who mourned Soleimani
(IPT) Weeks after criticizing a U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s top terror mastermind, U.S. Customs officials questioned a Detroit-area imam about his support for the Iranian regime. [Mohammad] Ali Elahi described the Feb. 6 encounter, which took place as he got […]
Clerics & Preachers
Norway to extradite Islamist preacher to Italy
(AFP) Norway’s government on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to extradite a fundamentalist Islamic preacher to Italy, where he has been sentenced to prison for leading a jihadist network. The 63-year-old Iraqi Kurdish man — known as Mullah Krekar, but named Najumuddin Faraj […]
Clerics & Preachers
Preacher who inspired Streatham terror attack peddling jihad from behind bars (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Islamic extremist preaching hate to army of followers on YouTube days after Streatham terror attack (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Streatham terror attacker devoted to ‘sheikh’ who inspired London Bridge killer (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
CAIR-Ga. names new executive director
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Activist, educator and former imam Abdullah Jaber has been named the new executive director of the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Jaber, 29, assumes the post on March 1. Jaber plans to make his first public appearance […]
Clerics & Preachers
Lexington Islamic leader pleads guilty to money laundering, conspiracy to kidnapping
(Lexington Herald Leader) A Lexington Islamic leader who was accused last year in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot pleaded guilty Monday to some of the charges against him. Mahmoud Shaker Shalash pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring with at least […]
Clerics & Preachers
Hague extends ban against Islamic hate preacher
(NL Times) The Ministry of Justice and Security plans to extend a ban against controversial imam Fawaz Jneid, which bans him from the Transvaal and Schilderswijk districts of The Hague. The situation around Jneid and his teachings [has] not changed, which is […]
Clerics & Preachers
Antwerp mosque should lose official recognition, says Flemish minister
(Brussels Times) The Flemish minister for integration and interior, Bart Somers (Open Vld), wants to withdraw official recognition of the Noor-ul-Haram mosque in Antwerp because of internal disagreements that have been going on there for over three years. Somers wants to pull […]
Clerics & Preachers
Iranian regime-linked cleric protests Soleimani killing with CAIR and NIAC
(IPT) A Detroit-area Shiite imam with direct ties to Iran’s leadership used a press conference last week to push disinformation and propaganda about the U.S. killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani ran the IRGC and […]
Clerics & Preachers
‘A long time coming’: These Muslims are bringing sex abuse by sheikhs out of the shadows
(Religion News) For Sidrah Ahmad-Chan, the moment felt surreal. Listening to a Muslim psychologist speaking about patterns of abuse while on stage at the American Islamic College on Saturday (Jan. 11), she pulled up Twitter. “First panel discussion and I am already […]
Clerics & Preachers
Prison guards guilty of mistreating infamous jihadist recruiter in Belgium
(Brussels Times) Two prison guards have been found guilty of mistreating an infamous jihadist preacher accused of “perverting” a generation following his conviction for running a large radicalisation network in Brussels. The two guards were accused of violently handling Khalid Zerkani, throwing […]
Clerics & Preachers
French researcher links ‘neglected’ enclaves and prisons to rise of radical Islam
(Breitbart) Hugo Micheron, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), has claimed that the rise in jihadist activity in France and Belgium is directly linked to “neglected” enclaves and prisons in the two countries. Micheron interviewed 80 jihadists […]
Clerics & Preachers
Prague’s former imam admits support of Islamic fighters
(Prague Morning) Former Prague imam Samer Shehadeh admitted on Tuesday that he had helped his brother and sister-in-law travel to Syria to join a terrorist organization, Jabhat Fatah as-Sham (Conquest of Syria). Along with his brother Omar and his sister-in-law Fátima Hudková, […]
Cemeteries & Funerals
British imam says Muslims should ‘aspire to be like’ Qassem Soleimani in tribute to ‘martyred’ general at London Islamic Centre (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Italy expels Moroccan imam, cites his support for IS
(AP) Italy on Saturday expelled a Moroccan imam back to his home country because of what it said was his support for the Islamic State group. Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese cited reasons of state security in sending the 41-year-old imam, identified only […]
Clerics & Preachers
Oklahoma Muslims tell their own story with new guide book
(Oklahoman) Adam Soltani remembers the anti-Muslim rhetoric that seemed heightened during the 2016 presidential election. Soltani, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his agency has created a new guidebook that was purposely timed, in part, […]
Clerics & Preachers
Belgian imam ‘frustrated’ after being barred from flying over US territory
(Brussels Times) A Belgian imam known for advocating a form of “rational Islam” found out he was barred from flying over US territory after being denied boarding on his flight to Mexico. Ghent-based Khalid Benhaddou was at Zaventem airport when a check-in […]
Academics & Education
First imam training course starts in February
(Brussels Times) The University of Leuven (KULeuven) will begin a new course for the training of imams in February. The course lasts six years. The training of imams was a point raised in the report of the parliamentary committee which looked into […]
Clerics & Preachers
Challenging Swedish city of Malmo honors Jewish-Muslim organization Rabbi Moshe David Hacohen and Imam Salahuddin Barakat established Amanah in 2017. Since then, they have been working together relentlessly to fight prejudice and foster trust.
(Jerusalem Post) The Swedish city of Malmö has bestowed its Human Rights Award on a rabbi and an imam who have been working together to bridge the gap between the city’s large Muslim population, the Jewish community and the general society. Rabbi […]
Clerics & Preachers
Erdogan sends more imams than ever to Belgium
(Brussels Times) Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will send around forty new imams to Belgium in 2020, a lot more than in previous years. They are being sent in response to the shortage being faced by many Turkish mosques, Het Laatste Nieuws […]
Academics & Education
Second Swedish school linked to extremism by security services Sweden’s security service Sapo says children are at risk of being subjected to radicalisation
(National-UAE) Sweden’s security service has warned an extremist network has been meeting at a school and says children are at risk of radicalisation. It comes weeks after another school was shut down after it was revealed its staff had included former ISIS […]
Clerics & Preachers
Canadian Jewish group raises concerns about ‘extremist’ speakers at Toronto Islamic conference
(Algemeiner) A prominent Canadian Jewish group raised concerns on Thursday about several “extremist” speakers scheduled to appear at an Islamic conference in Toronto this weekend. The event in question — titled “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” — began on Friday at the Metro […]
Clerics & Preachers
Two terrorist sympathizers face prison after spreading sermons from jailed Islamist preacher Abdullah el-Faisal, dubbed the ‘Sheikh of Hate’ (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Bulgarian imam jailed for Islamic State support
(AFP) A Bulgarian imam was jailed for eight and a half years on Tuesday for spreading the ideas of the Islamic State group and propagating hatred and war on religious grounds. The regional court in the southern city of Pazardzhik also handed […]
Clerics & Preachers
Dozens of convicted terrorists linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary are back on the streets of Britain (LINK ONLY)
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Academics & Education
Belgian schoolteacher shares imam’s sermon about jihad on Jews
(JTA) A high school teacher in Belgium shared a Facebook video of an imam calling for a jihad, or holy war, against the Jews and those who “conspire” with them. Talal Magri, who teaches about Islam as part of the religions major […]
Clerics & Preachers
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary’s extremist network has ‘begun to remobilise’ (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Switzerland investigates Muslim preacher over welfare fraud
(Swiss Info) Switzerland-based Muslim preacher Abu Ramadan is under investigation for allegedly committing welfare fraud. He has also been investigated over hate speech. The public prosecutor in Bern opened a criminal investigation in early 2019 after the 66-year-old preacher was denounced by […]
Clerics & Preachers
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary boasted of mentoring ‘decent’ London Bridge terror attacker Usman Khan (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Usman Khan: Knifeman was friend of hate preacher Anjem Choudary (LINK ONLY)
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Clerics & Preachers
Founder of Berlin’s liberal mosque honored for inclusive vision Seyran Ates' long fight for women's rights in the Muslim world led her to open a tolerant mosque where non-veiled women could preach and pray alongside men. She has now been honored with the prestigious Urania Medal.
(Deutsche Welle) A lawyer, activist, author and now imam, Seyran Ates has long lent a critical voice to debates about migration, women’s rights and religious freedom in Germany and beyond. Ates co-founded the “liberal” Ibn Ruschd-Goethe Mosque on the third floor of St. John’s Church near […]
Academics & Education
Germany’s Muslims skeptical of new imam training project
(Daily Sabah) Muslim communities in Germany criticized the government’s new project to train imams, accusing it of being a political initiative and a concerning development for the community, while noting that the new project violates the German constitution. Germany is launching an […]
Academics & Education
Italy to deport imam who beat children at religious school
(Breitbart) A 23-year-old Bangladeshi imam faces deportation from Italy after investigators confirmed he had physically assaulted young children at a religious school. The migrant, who lived in Italy on a work visa, is said to have created what investigators described as a […]
Academics & Education
Germany set to take charge of imam education locally In a bid to reduce foreign influence on Islamic religious leaders, Germany will support a new pilot project that educates imams locally. Experts say it is a positive step, but a more comprehensive approach is needed.
(Deutsche Welle) The government has long struggled with foreign involvement when it comes to the education of imams who lead Muslim communities across Germany. Now, a new educational association, with start-up funding from Germany’s interior ministry, is set to launch on November 21. Even though some […]
Children & Teens
Report accuses Arizona imam of misconduct and abuse
(Religion News) A new report by an advocacy group accuses a Phoenix imam of sexual battery, child abuse, misappropriation of charitable funds and falsely presenting himself as a single man to pursue relationships with female congregants while having two concurrent concealed marriages. […]
Clerics & Preachers
In first, imam to attend Holocaust commemoration event in Sweden
(JTA) An imam from the Swedish city of Malmo for the first time confirmed his attendance at the city’s Kristallnacht Holocaust commemoration event. The planned attendance Saturday night of Salahuddin Barakat, founder of Malmo’s Academy of Islam, at Malmo’s synagogue is an […]
Clerics & Preachers
Ta’leef Collective cuts ties with founder over alleged misconduct
(Religion News) Weeks ago, Muslims papered social media with heartfelt tributes and prayers for Usama Canon, a pioneering California-born Islamic scholar, after his family posted a message that he was in “grave condition.” Canon, the celebrated founding director of the Ta’leef Collective […]
Clerics & Preachers
Germany: Imams will have to prove they speak the language Religious leaders from other countries could soon be forced to prove they can speak German in order to stay in the country. Critics say such a law would worsen the country's shortage of Muslim clerics.
(Deutsche Welle) The German Cabinet has introduced a draft of a bill that would require clergy from countries outside the EU to prove their knowledge of German in order to reside in the country. Although the law would apply to clerics from […]
Clerics & Preachers
Former Prague imam to face court case after being charged with supporting terrorism
(Radio Prague) The state attorney’s office in Prague has filed an indictment against the former Prague-based Imam Samer Shehadeh, his brother, and his sister-in-law on suspicion of supporting terrorism, the Czech News Agency reported on Wednesday. The case has now been forwarded […]
Clerics & Preachers
Greece: Elected Muslim religious leader gets prison Elected mufti of Komotini Ibrahim Serif to serve 80 days in jail for usurping authority
(Anadolu) An elected Muslim religious leader in Greece’s Western Thrace region was given 80 days of prison sentence for usurping authority. Ibrahim Serif is the elected mufti of Komotini (Gumulcine) which is one of the three major cities of the Western Thrace […]
Academics & Education
‘Importing’ foreign-trained imams can cause problems
(Swiss Info) Around 130 imams are active in Switzerland, mostly Sunnis, and many of whom receive their religious training abroad in the Balkans, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, an in-depth university study has reported. Research by the Swiss Centre for Islam and […]
Clerics & Preachers
Islamic scholar questions state efforts to repatriate Lisa Smith (LINK ONLY)
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Academics & Education
US growth of Islam creates need for religious scholars
(AP) “Brothers and sisters,” the seminary instructor tells his class, don’t believe in God because of your parents’ beliefs but because “you know why God exists.” The challenge spurs a discussion about beliefs. But more than Imam Mohammad Qazwini’s interesting delivery, deep […]
Clerics & Preachers
Top court rejects appeal by expelled muftis
(Kathimerini) Greece’s top administrative court on Friday rejected as unfounded an appeal by two Muslim religious leaders from northern Greece against their compulsory retirement last year. The case refers to a law presented by the ministry of education and approved by Parliament […]