Three popular Islamic preachers who promote extremism

Something which has become quite alarming is the prevalence of scholars and preachers throughout the mainstream Muslim world who promote apologetic narratives, inequality, hatred, division and extremism. The worrying thing is this: not everything they say is bad. Some of the things they say are even nice and quite spiritual. Yes, you read that correctly. And THIS is what is most dangerous. If you get “sucked in”, you may not recognise when something is wrong. You may get caught on a dangerous path. Extremist ideology doesn’t grow overnight. It starts with “otherising”, hatred, isolation and a dogmatic obsessive approach to faith.

Here are three Islamic preachers/scholars who for lack of a better word are seen as “mainstream”, and are widely known and respected by many many Muslims around the world – including the UK – who in fact promote intolerance, hatred and extremism. There are no doubt many more,  but here’s a few to start with (in no particular order).

1. Dr Bilal Philips

Dr Philips is a Jamaican-born Canadian Muslim and prominent author, lecturer and teacher who founded the Islamic Online University. He has been banned from entering both the UK and Australia and also deported from Bangladesh, Kenya and The Philippines.

He has faced a range of criticism, including his views on marital rape. In his work Contemporary Issues, he stated the following:

“In Islaam a woman is obliged to give herself to her husband and he may not be charged with rape. Of course, if a woman is ill or exhausted, her husband should take her condition into consideration and not force himself upon her.”

As it goes without saying, no man (Muslim or non-Muslim) may rape his wife. In Islam, this is strictly forbidden. Sexual activity must be consensual. Islam is in fact very outright in its teachings of sexual and emotional etiquette, discussing in detail foreplay and a woman’s sexual right to pleasure. Rape is simply rape – whether you are married or not.

In addition to this, Dr Philips also stated that – as a last resort – a Muslim man may hit his wife:

“It is true that the Sharee’ah does permit a husband to hit his wife. However, that permission is under special conditions and with severe limitations…the hit should not be physically damaging and it should not be in the face.”

Hitting your wife is not allowed – despite what many Muslims are told to believe. For more information on the specifics of this topic, see here.

Overall, Dr Philips has written many books, including one which I was given by a UK based mosque during my conversion journey – a book which has since been banned in UK prisons. I followed him on Facebook and liked a lot of what he said. But here’s the thing – as I said – it’s not about EVERYTHING they say, it’s about what they’re saying overall and what kind of ideology they’re promoting. Someone who believes a man cannot be charged for raping his wife, is not a preacher you want to listen to!

2. Shaik Dr Haitham al-Haddad

Shaik Haitham al-Haddad is an Islamic scholar from Saudi Arabia, of Palestinian origin, who sits on the board of advisors for the UK based Islamic Sharia Council. Despite the Muslim Council of Britain denouncing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to be un-Islamic, Shaik al-Haddad preaches the opposite, advocating for this practice. See here:

In another video discussing apostasy, he is quoted as advocating for the death of family members who leave and do not return to Islam. You can watch via the video below:

Once again, as a young convert I also came across Shaik al-Haddad, even quoting him in my thesis, not knowing the wider picture of his beliefs and teachings.

3. Shayk Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid

Shayk al-Munajjid is a Saudi scholar of Palestinian-Syrian origin who founded the fatwa website Islam Q&A. If you run a quick Google for an answer to any Islamic question, you’ll find this website. As a convert innocently looking for answers, I myself would come across this site when searching the internet. However, Muslim friends of mine were shocked at the things I was finding – to the extent that they said to ask them for advice and not use the internet. This website teaches a dogmatic, rigid, medieval and spiritual-less form of “Islam”. Reviewing it, it seems to have “tempered” a bit (not sure if it’s received complaints) but it’s one to avoid.

Among some of Shayk al-Munajjid/the website’s views/endorsements are:

• Ahmadis are kafirs (disbelievers)/apostates
• Shias are heretics/kafirs and Sunni-Shia marriage is impermissible
• Advocating slavery
• Promoting anti-Semitism, stating that Jews are: “the people of lies, fabrications, treachery, and conspiracies…They are the filthiest of nations…” (Featured on Al-Majd TV, Saudi Arabia – 15/05/2016)

Overall, it’s very important that Muslims – young and old, convert or not – have a good circle of people around them, good role models too look up to and good sources of Islamic teaching and knowledge to refer to. There’s a lot of intolerance, divisive narratives and extremism out there but the ever worrying thing is that in everyday circles, on everyday mediums (social media, internet etc.), the British (and global) public is exposed to A LOT of information – some of which may be positive, some not. Being aware of what you’re listening to and reading is important. Just because a scholar is advocating something, it doesn’t make it Islamic or “correct”. Find a good circle of people, appropriate scholars and sources of knowledge and don’t fall into the trap: a preacher that advocates hatred against anyone, is not a preacher worth listening to.

Salam

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Images: Muhammad Mahdi Karim, Viewminder (featured image)