Riyadh الرياض
Ar Riyāḍ
Central Riyadh, with the Kingdom Centre tower visible
Coat of arms
Riyadh Location of Riyadh
Coordinates: 24°38′N 46°43′E / 24.633°N 46.717°E / 24.633; 46.717Coordinates: 24°38′N 46°43′E / 24.633°N 46.717°E / 24.633; 46.717
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Riyadh Province
Government
• Mayor	Abdul Aziz ibn 'Ayyaf Al Muqrin
• Provincial Emir	Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz
Area
• Urban	1,000 km2 (400 sq mi)
• Metro	1,815 km2 (701 sq mi)
Elevation	612 m (2,008 ft)
Population (2010)[citation needed]
• City	5,254,560
• Density	3,024/km2 (7,833/sq mi)
• Metro	6,800,000
	Riyadh Development Authority estimate
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)
• Summer (DST)	EAT (UTC+3)
Postal Code	(5 digits)
Area code(s)	+966-1
Website	www.arriyadh.com

Riyadh (/rɨˈjɑːd/; Arabic: الرياض‎ transliterated Ar Riyāḍ pronounced [ʔɑrːiˈjɑːdˤ], English: The Gardens) is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a region with a population of close to 7 million people. The city is divided into 15 municipal districts, managed by Riyadh Municipality headed by the mayor of Riyadh, and the Riyadh Development Authority, chaired by the Governor of Riyadh Province, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz. The current mayor of Riyadh is Abdul Aziz ibn Ayyaf Al-Miqrin, appointed in 1998. Riyadh has the largest female university in the world, the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University.^[1]. It has been designated as Beta World City.

History[link]

Early history[link]

During the Pre-Islamic era, the settlement at the site was called Hajr (Arabic: حجر‎), and was reportedly founded by the tribe of Banu Hanifa.^[2] Hajr served as the capital of the province of Al Yamamah, whose governors were responsible for most of central and eastern Arabia during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. Al-Yamamah broke away from the Abbasid Empire in 866 and the area fell under the rule of the Ukhaydhirites, who moved the capital from Hajr to nearby Al Kharj. The city then went into a long period of decline. In the 14th century North African traveller Ibn Battuta wrote of his visit to Hajr, describing it as "the main city of Al-Yamamah, and its name is Hajr". Ibn Battuta goes on to describe it as a city of canals and trees with most of its inhabitants belonging to Bani Hanifa, and reports that he continued on with their leader to Mecca to perform the Hajj.

Later on, Hajr broke up into several separate settlements and estates. The most notable of these were Migrin (or Muqrin) and Mi'kal, though the name Hajr continued to appear in local folk poetry. The earliest known reference to the area by the name Riyadh comes from a 17th-century chronicler reporting on an event from the year 1590. In 1737, Deham ibn Dawwas, a refugee from neighboring Manfuha, took control of Riyadh. Ibn Dawwas built a single wall to encircle the various quarters of Riyadh, making them effectively a single town.

The three Saudi states[link]

The Mosque of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab

In 1744, Muhammad ibn Abdel Wahhab formed an alliance with Muhammad ibn Saud, the ruler of the nearby town of Diriyah. Ibn Saud then set out to conquer the surrounding region with the goal of bringing it under the rule of a single Islamic state. Ibn Dawwas of Riyadh led the most determined resistance, allied with forces from Al Kharj, Al Ahsa, and the Banu Yam clan of Najran.

Al Masmak Castle

However, Ibn Dawwas fled and Riyadh capitulated to the Saudis in 1774, ending long years of wars, and leading to the declaration of the First Saudi State.

The First Saudi State was destroyed by forces sent by Muhammad Ali of Egypt, acting on behalf of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman forces razed the Saudi capital Diriyah in 1818. In 1823, Turki ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Second Saudi State, revived the state and chose Riyadh as the new capital. Internecine struggles between Turki's grandsons led to the fall of the Second Saudi State in 1891 at the hand of the rival Al Rashid clan, who ruled from the northern city of Ha'il. Riyadh itself fell under the rule of Al Rashid in 1865. The al-Masmak fort dates from this period.

The city was recaptured in 1902 from the Al Rashid family by King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. He went on to establish the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, with Riyadh the capital of the nation.

Geography[link]

Astronaut photo of Riyadh at night

Climate[link]

Summer temperatures are very hot, approaching 50 degrees Celsius. The average high temperature in July is 43.5°C. Winters are mild with cold, windy nights. The overall climate is arid, receiving very little rainfall, but the city receives a fair amount of rain in March and April. It is also known to have many dust storms. The dust is often so thick that visibility is under 10 meters.

City districts[link]

Riyadh is divided into 15 branch municipalities,^[4] in addition to the Diplomatic Quarter. Each branch municipality in turn contains several districts,^[5] though some districts are divided between more than one branch municipality.^[4]

The branch municipalities are Al-Shemaysi, Irqah, Al-Ma'athar, Al-Olayya, Al-Aziziyya, Al-Malaz, Al-Selayy, Nemar, Al-Neseem, Al-Shifa, Al-'Urayja, Al-Bat'ha, Al-Ha'ir, Al-Rawdha, and Al-Shimal ("the North"). Although the Riyadh Development Authority conducts projects in Dir'iyyah, administratively, Al-Diriyah is a separate city outside of the Riyadh Municipality and is the seat of its own governorate.^[6]

According to the website of the Riyadh Municipality, Riyadh contains more than 130 districts.^[7][8]

Examples of some of the main districts of Riyadh are the following:

Olaya District is the commercial heart of the city, with accommodation, entertainment, dining and shopping options. The Kingdom Center, Al Faisalyah and Al-Tahlya Street are the area's most prominent landmarks.

The Diplomatic Quarter, or DQ as it is popularly known, is home to foreign embassies and international organizations as well as residential structures and malls. With lush gardens and numerous sports facilities, it is also one of the city's greenest areas. It is especially known for its fine architecture, and is considered a model for other Islamic cities around the world. Despite its name, the special privileges offered in the Diplomatic Quarter constitute a controversial issue. All Saudi laws must be obeyed and there are occasional patrols by the Mutaween, or Saudi religious police. However, foreign diplomats and their families are allowed certain privileges and it is not very uncommon to see foreign diplomats and their wives strolling on the streets of the DQ in shorts and short-sleeve shirts.

Cable-stayed bridge in Riyadh

The centre of the city, Al-Bathaa and Al-Dirah, is also its oldest part. At its heart lies the 19th-century Al Masmak fort, which is one of the city's major attractions; to the west lies the Riyadh Museum of History and Archeology and the Murabba' Palace, an old residence of first Saudi king, Ibn Saud, now a museum. The Qasr Al-Hukm, or Palace of Justice, is nearby. It is here that the Governor of Riyadh Province meets citizens, listens to their grievances and problems, and stays abreast of all aspects of the region's life. The Al-Dira area also contains commercial markets and traditional buildings, such as the Al-Mu'eiqilia market and the city's Grand Mosque.

Architectural Landmarks[link]

Vernacular Architecture of Old Riyadh[link]

The old town of Riyadh within the city Walls did exceed an area of 1 square km, therefore there are very few significant architectural remnants of the original walled oasis town of Riyadh exist today. The most prominent is the al-Masmak fort and some parts of the original wall structure with its gate which have been restored and reconstructed. There are also a number of traditional mud-brick houses within these old limits, however they are for the most part dilapidated.

Expansion outside the city walls was slow to begin with although there were some smaller oases and settlements surrounding Riyadh. The first major construction beyond the walls was King Abdulaziz's Murabba' palace. It was constructed in 1936, completed in 1937 and a household of 800 people moved into it in 1938. The palace was big enough to be mistaken as the city of Riyadh by travellers approaching it from the north. During the life King Abdulaziz, the palace was subject to numerous expansions (of grounds and buildings). It was constructed in the style of Najdi architecture of mud-bricks and marked a level of architectural maturity that was unprecedented on that scale. Nowadays, only a fragment of what it encompassed is restored and rebuilt in the traditional manner. However, the palace is now part of a bigger complex called "The King Abdulaziz Historical Centre".

There are other traditional villages and towns in the area around traditional Riyadh which the urban sprawl reached and currently encompasses. These are Diriyah, Manfuha and Wadi Laban to name a few. Unlike in the early days of development in Riyadh during which vernacular structures were razed to the ground without consideration, there is a new-found appreciation for traditional architecture. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities is making efforts for revitalizing the historic architecture in Riyadh and other parts of the kingdom.^[20]

Contemporary Architecture of Riyadh[link]

Kingdom Centre

Burj Al Mamlakah[link]

The 99-floor, 300 m (1000 ft) high Kingdom Centre (Arabic: برج المملكة‎) is the tallest skyscraper in Riyadh and the 67th tallest building in the world. The tower is built on 94,230 square meters of land. The Kingdom Centre is owned by a group of companies including Kingdom Holding Co. headed by Al-Waleed bin Talal, a prince of the Saudi royal family, and is the headquarters of his holding company, the Kingdom Holding Company. The project cost 2 billion Saudi Arabian Riyals and the contract was undertaken by Saudi Arabia's EL-Seif Engineering Contracting Co.. The Kingdom Centre is located on Al-Urubah Road between King Fahd Road and Olaya Street in the growing business district of Al-Olaya.^{[clarification needed]} The Kingdom Centre is the winner of the 2002 Emporis Skyscraper Award, selected as the "best new skyscraper of the year for design and functionality". A three-level shopping center, which also won a major design award, fills the east wing. The large opening is illuminated at night in continuously changing colors. The shopping center has a separate floor for women only to shop where men are not allowed to enter.

Burj Al Faisaliyah[link]

Al Faisaliyah Center

Al Faisaliyah Center (Arabic: برج الفيصلية‎) is the first skyscraper constructed in Saudi Arabia, and is the second tallest building in Riyadh after the Kingdom Center. The golden ball that lies atop the tower is said to be inspired by a ballpoint pen, and contains a restaurant; immediately below this is an outside viewing deck. There is a shopping center with major world brands at ground level. Al Faisaliyah Center also has a hotel at both sides of the tower while the main building is occupied by offices run by different companies.

Riyadh TV Tower[link]

The Riyadh TV Tower is a 170 meter high television tower located inside the premises of Saudi Ministry of Information. It was completed in 1978.

Ministry of Interior Building[link]

The headquarters for the country's Interior Ministry has a unique design of an upside down pyramid.

Al Masmak Castle[link]

This castle was built around 1865 under the reign of Mohammed ibn Abdullah ibn Rasheed (1289–1315 AH), the ruler of Ha'il to the north, who had wrested control of the city from the rival clan of Al Saud. In January 1902 Ibn Saud, who was at the time living in exile in Kuwait succeeded in capturing the Masmak fortress from its Rashid garrison. The event, which restored Saudi control over Riyadh, has acquired almost mythical status in the history of Saudi Arabia. The story of the event is often retold, and has as its central theme the heroism and bravery of the King Abd Abdulaziz Ibn Saud.

Economy[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

This section requires expansion.

Riyadh is one of the richest cities in the Middle East and the 80th richest city in the world. Once a small walled city, Riyadh has developed into a dynamic metropolis over the years. Along with the urban areas of Dhahran, Dammam, Khobar and Jeddah, Riyadh has become a focal point for both travel and trade.

In addition to being the center of power, the city is also a commercial hub. Numerous educational, financial, agricultural, cultural, technical, and social organizations have set up base here. The architecture is mostly modern, including contemporary high-rise towers, but the Al-Dira district, the nucleus of the city, has been rebuilt in a style meant to evoke the old mud-brick buildings of pre-20th century Nejd.

King Saud Medical City

From the beginning of oil exploration in Saudi Arabia to the present day, the government has promoted growth in the private sector by privatizing industries such as power and telecommunications. Saudi Arabia announced plans for privatizing the electricity companies. A lot of these new private conglomerates and companies headquarters are located in Riyadh, along with National Banks headquarters. Because of that, Riyadh is considered as the capital city financial and business center of the Middle East.

King Khalid International Airport has a major impact on the commercial movement in Riyadh, providing air transportation for millions of people each year and shipping goods to the city from all continents. When Sama, an airline, existed, its head office was in Riyadh.^[21][22]

King Fahd Road[link]

King Fahd road is the main road in Riyadh city and considered as the most beautiful street of Riyadh. It was constructed in 1980-1981. Many business places in Riyadh prefer to locate their head offices on King Fahd road, and headquarters of major companies and organizations are located on both sides of the road. Huge malls, business towers and skyscrapers are widely distributed on this road. However, many roads are becoming more attractive to businesses as King Fahd road is now crowded most times of the day. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz road, Mohammed bin Fahd "Tahlia", Prince Sultan, north ring road have all became alternatives for business and companies' head offices.^{[citation needed]}

The northern end reaches the Airport over another highway. According to many opinions^[who?], King Fahd Road is one of the most beautiful street in Saudi Arabia, making the road a popular tourist attraction. Famous landmarks such as Kingdom Centre, Al Faisaliyah Center, Al Anoud Tower and the Ministry of Interior building are also located on King Fahd Road. However, it is fast becoming second to King Abdullah Street which has seen major building projects and a train track and tunnel system is currently under construction.

The Industrial City[link]

The industrial areas are located on the East and the North-East of the city, including some of the world's largest factories of oil-related industries. Aramco has large operations in the area which includes oil refineries. Electricity and water-treatments plants supply the city with their much-needed energy and water, which also reach the nearby towns.

Demographics[link]

Population[link]

The city has experienced very high rates of population growth, from 150,000 inhabitants in the 1960s to over 5 million, according to the most recent sources.^{[citation needed]}

As the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh is a diverse city with residents from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Yemen and Sudan. The population of Riyadh is 60% Saudi and 40% foreign, with foreigners mainly coming from Asia and Arab countries.^{[citation needed]} Many of these foreigners are more than just temporary residents; many migrated decades ago and have since become permanent residents of the city.

Culture[link]

King Fahd Stadium

Places of worship[link]

The city has over 4,300 mosques^{[citation needed]}

In the city's municipal cemeteries, graves are not permitted to have tombstones, but in March 2012 local authorities approved a project to mark each grave using electronic devices. Spokesman Sulaiman Al-Bathi explained: "This will put an end to the old methods used by families, relatives and friends to identify the graves of their loved ones".^[23]

Cuisine[link]

Like other Saudi cities, the Nejdi dish Kabsa is the most traditional meal in Riyadh. The Yemeni dish Mandi is also popular meal, particularly as a lunchtime meal. Fast food is also popular in the city, with several multinational chains.

People living in Riyadh can also enjoy the diversity of international cuisine at the modern malls, hotels and restaurants. From fine dining high end dining to the local hidden desert stall Riyadh's selection is endless.

Museums and collections[link]

In 1999 a new central Museum was built in Riyadh at the eastern side of the King Abdul Aziz Historical Centre. This National Museum of Saudi Arabia combined several collections and pieces that had up till then been scattered over several Institutions and places in Riyadh and the Kingdom. For example the meteorite fragment known as the "Camel's Hump" that was on display at the King Saud University in Riyadh became the new entry piece of the National Museum of Saudi Arabia.

The Royal Saudi Air Force Museum or Saqr Al-Jazira is located on the East Ring Road of Riyadh between exits 10 and 11. It contains a collection of aircraft and aviation-related items used by the Royal Saudi Air Force and Saudia.

Media[link]

Riyadh is served by four Arabic, two English, and one Urdu language newspapers, Asharq Al-Awsat (which is owned by the city governor), Al-Riyadh, Al-Jazeera and Al-Watan. The Saudi Gazette and Arab News are in English, whereas the Urdu News is read by Urdu speakers in the city. Television stations serving the city area include Saudi TV1, Saudi TV2, Saudi TV Sports, Al-Ekhbariya, ART channels network. Arabic is the main language used in television and radio but radio broadcasts are also made in different languages such as Urdu, French, or English; other languages are also used by cable, satellite and other speciality television providers. The Riyadh TV Tower is a 170 m (560 ft) high television tower with an observation deck overlooking Riyadh. Construction was begun on the tower in 1978 and finished in 1981. It is considered part of the Ministry of Information.

Sports[link]

Football is the most popular sport in Riyadh. The city hosts four major football clubs, such as Al Shabab, which was established in 1947 and holds a good record in the Saudi Premier League. Al-Nasr club is another famous team in the league, which has been named champion of the Saudi League six times. It was established in 1955. Another well-known club, Al-Hilal, was established in 1957 and has won ten championships. There is also Al-Riyadh Club, which was established in 1954, and many other minor clubs.

The city also hosts several large stadiums such as King Fahd International Stadium with a seating capacity of 70,000. The stadium hosted the FIFA Confederations Cup three times, in the years 1992, 1995 and 1997. And also the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1989.

Cricket is also the second most popular sport in Riyadh. Cricket is mostly played by the expat population, who are predominantly from the Indian Sub continent.

Language[link]

The Riyadh city area has a distinctive regional speech pattern called the Najdi dialect. It is often considered to be one of the most recognizable accents within the Arabic language. Najdi Arabic is widely spoken in the desert regions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia. English is also widely spoken and is understood by many residents of Riyadh.

Transportation[link]

Airports[link]

Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport (IATA: RUH), located 35 kilometers north from the city center, is the city's main airport. It's one of the seven international airports in the country serving over 15 million passengers a year. This Airport faces a huge load of passengers which is increasing every year, especially during the Muslim festive season in which mostly foreign residents travel to their home countries. In addition, there is also the (Riyadh old airport) or (Riyadh Air Base airport) as it names know, the Air Base airport now is use via official delegations and dignitaries.

Highways[link]

The city is served by a modern major highway system. The main Eastern Ring Road connects the city's south and north, while the Northern Ring Road connects the city's east and west. King Fahd Road runs through the center of the city from north to south, in parallel with the East Ring Road. Makkah Road, which runs east-west across the city's center, connects eastern parts of the city with the city's main business district and the diplomatic quarters.

Railway[link]

Saudi Railway Authority operates two separate passenger and cargo lines between Riyadh and Dammam passing through Hofuf, and Haradh. Two future railway projects connecting Riyadh with Jeddah and Mecca in the western region and connecting Riyadh with Buraidah, Ha'il and Northern Saudi Arabia are underway. Developers are the RC corporation, wholly owned by H O’Donovan, W Daly and S Burgoyne, however, are now being built single-handedly by H O'Donovan.

Public transport[link]

The Saudi Arabian Public Transport Co. (SAPTCO), the national bus system, does not provide public transportation inside the city, but transports passengers to several cities across the kingdom and neighboring countries.

An electric sky train system has been approved and the first phase will be installed in King Abdullah Road, King Fahd Road and Al Olaya Road. It will run for 25km and will include communication services such as phones and internet. There is no date when they will start the project.^[24]

Hospitals[link]

• Dr.Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Complex in Olaya - Riyadh
• Dr.Sulaiman Al-Habib hospital in arryan- Riyadh
• Obeid Specialized Hospital, Farazdaq St, Al- Malaz - Riyadh
• Al Hammady Hospital - Riyadh
• Al Mashary Hospital - Riyadh
• Al Mowasat Hospital - Riyadh
• Al Shumaisi government hospital - Riyadh
• Armed Force Hospital - Riyadh
• Prince Sultan Cardiac Center - Riyadh
• Al Yamama Hospital - Riyadh
• Dallah Hospital - Riyadh
• Green Crescent Hospital - Riyadh
• Home Doctor G.C.H.S. - Riyadh
• Riyadh Military Hospital - Riyadh
• Specialized Medical Center - Riyadh
• Saudi German Hospital - Riyadh
• King Abdulaziz Medical City - Riyadh
• King Abdulaziz University Hospital - Riyadh
• King Fahad Hospital - Riyadh
• King Fahad Medical City - Riyadh

See also[link]

Saudi Arabia portal

• List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Riyadh

• Riyadh City, official site with News, history and photos
• Riyadh Map, official map of Riyadh (in Arabic)
• Saudi Arabian Information Resource, official site with history and photos
• Riyadh travel guide from Wikitravel

	Buraidah	Al Majma'ah
	Dawadmi		Al-Hasa
		Riyadh    East
		Al-Kharj

Al Stewart
Stewart performing in Santa Monica, California on 13 February 2010
Background information
Birth name	Alastair Ian Stewart
Born	(1945-09-05) 5 September 1945 (age 66) Glasgow, Scotland
Origin	Wimborne, England
Genres	Rock Folk rock Pop rock Psychedelic rock Soft rock
Occupations	Musician Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar keyboards
Years active	1966–present
Website	www.alstewart.com

Al Stewart (born Alastair Ian Stewart, 5 September 1945) is a Scottish^[1] singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician.

Stewart came to stardom as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s, and developed his own unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history.^[2]

He is best known for his 1976 hit single "Year of the Cat", the title song from the platinum album of the same name.

Though Year of the Cat and its 1978 platinum follow-up Time Passages brought Stewart his biggest worldwide commercial successes, earlier albums such as Past, Present and Future from 1973 are often seen as better examples of his intimate brand of historical folk-rock - a style to which he has returned in recent albums.^[3]

Stewart was a key figure in a fertile era in British music and he appears throughout the musical folklore of the age. He played at the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1970, knew Yoko Ono before she met John Lennon, shared a London apartment with a young Paul Simon, and hosted at the legendary Les Cousins folk club in London in the 1960s.^[4]

Stewart has released sixteen studio and three live albums since his debut album Bedsitter Images in 1967, and continues to tour extensively around the US and Canada, Europe and the UK. His latest release, is Uncorked, which was released on his independent label, Wallaby Trails Recordings.^[5]

He has worked with Peter White, Alan Parsons, Jimmy Page, Richard Thompson, Rick Wakeman, Tori Amos and Tim Renwick and recently has played with Dave Nachmanoff and former Wings lead-guitarist Laurence Juber.

Early life[link]

Though born in Glasgow, Al Stewart grew up in the town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England after moving from Scotland with his mother. He attended Wycliffe College school in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, as a boarder. After that, as he sings in the song "Post World War II Blues" (from Past, Present and Future): "I came up to London when I was 19 with a corduroy jacket and a head full of dreams."

Having bought his first guitar from future Police guitarist Andy Summers, Stewart traded in his electric guitar for an acoustic guitar when he was offered a weekly slot at Bunjies Coffee House in London's Soho in 1965. From there, he went on to compete at the Les Cousins folk club on Greek Street, where he played alongside Cat Stevens, Bert Jansch, Van Morrison, Roy Harper and Ralph McTell.^[4]

It was at this time that Stewart also met Yoko Ono, who persuaded him to part with the only £100 he had in the world to put towards her film entitled No 4, a compilation of naked bottoms^{[citation needed]}.

Career[link]

Stewart's first record was the single "The Elf" (backed with a version of the Yardbirds' "Turn into Earth"), which was released in 1966 on Decca Records, and included guitar work from Jimmy Page (later of the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin), the first of many leading guitarists Stewart worked with, including Richard Thompson, Tim Renwick and Peter White. Stewart then signed to Columbia Records (CBS in the UK), for whom he released six albums. Though the first four of these attracted relatively little commercial interest, Stewart's popularity and cult-following grew steadily through albums that contain some of Stewart's most incisive and introspective songwriting.

Early albums[link]

Stewart's debut album Bed-Sitter Images was released on LP in 1967 (though technically his first recording was 'The Elf', an extract from Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' set to music and released by Decca in 1966, which sold an estimated 496 copies). A revised version appeared in 1970 as The First Album (Bed-Sitter Images) with a few tracks changed, and the album was reissued on CD in 2007 with all tracks from both versions. His first recording of any kind appears on Jackson C. Frank's first album, 1965's Jackson C. Frank, playing guitar on "Yellow Walls".

Love Chronicles (1969) was notable for the 18-minute title track, an anguished autobiographical tale of sexual encounters that was the first mainstream record release ever to include the word "fucking".^[6] It was voted "Folk Album of the Year" by the UK music magazine Melody Maker, and also features Jimmy Page and Richard Thompson on guitar.

His third album, Zero She Flies followed in 1970 and included a number of shorter songs which ranged from acoustic ballads and instrumentals to songs that featured electric lead guitar. These first three albums (including The Elf) were later released as the two CD set To Whom it May Concern: 1966–70.

In 1970, Stewart jumped into a car with fellow musician Ian Anderson and headed to the small town of Pilton, Somerset. There, at Michael Eavis's Worthy Farm, Stewart performed at the first ever Glastonbury festival to a field of 1,000 hippies who had paid just £1 each to be there.

On the back of his growing success, Stewart released Orange in 1972. It was written after a tumultuous break-up with his girlfriend and muse, Mandi, and was very much a transitional album, combining songs in Stewart's confessional style with more intimations of the historical themes that he would increasingly adopt (e.g. "The News from Spain", with its prog-rock overtones, including dramatic piano by Rick Wakeman).

The fifth release, Past, Present and Future (1973), was Stewart's first album to receive a proper release in the United States, via Janus Records. It echoed a traditional historical storytelling style and contained the song "Nostradamus," a long (9:43) track in which Stewart tied into the re-discovery of the claimed seer's writings by referring to selected possible predictions about twentieth century people and events. While too long for mainstream radio airplay at that time, the song became a hit on many U.S. college/university radio stations, which were flexible about running times.

Such airplay helped the album to reach #133 on the Billboard album chart in the US. Other songs on Past, Present and Future characterized by Stewart's 'history genre' mentioned American President Warren Harding, World War II, Ernst Röhm, Christine Keeler, Louis Mountbatten, and Joseph Stalin's purges.

Alan Parsons years[link]

Stewart followed Past, Present and Future with Modern Times (1975), in which the songs were lighter on historical references and more of a return to the theme of short stories set to music. Significantly, though, it was the first of his albums to be produced by Alan Parsons, and Allmusic regards it as his best. It produced his first hit single, "Carol", and received substantial airplay on album oriented stations and reached #30 in the US, some 30 years before Bob Dylan would release an album of the same name.

Stewart's contract with CBS Records expired at this point and he signed to RCA Records for the world outside North America. His first two albums for RCA, Year of the Cat (released on Janus in the U.S., then reissued by Arista Records after Janus folded) and Time Passages (released in the U.S. on Arista), set the style for his later work, and have certainly been his biggest-selling recordings.^[7]

As Stewart told Kaya Burgess of The Times: "When I finished Year of the Cat, I thought: ‘If this isn’t a hit, then I can’t make a hit.’ We finally got the formula exactly right."^[4]

The most amazing fact about this album is that Stewart had all of the music and orchestration written and completely recorded before he even had a title for any of the songs. He mentioned, in a Canadian radio interview, that he has done this for 6 of his albums, and he often writes 4 different sets of lyrics for each song.^[8]

Both albums reached the top ten in the US, with "Year of the Cat" peaking at #5 and "Time Passages" at #10, and both albums produced hit singles in the US ("Year of the Cat" #8, and "On the Border", #42; "Time Passages" #7 and "Song On the Radio", #29). Meanwhile "Year of the Cat" became Stewart's first chart single in Britain, where it peaked at #31. The overwhelming success of these songs, both of which still receive substantial radio airplay on classic-rock/pop format radio stations, has perhaps later overshadowed the depth and range of Stewart's body of songwriting.^[9] On tour in 2008, Stewart commented that he wished his fans would "never again listen to anything I recorded prior to 1988."

1980s[link]

Stewart then released 24 Carrots (#37 US 1980) and his first live album Live/Indian Summer (#110 US 1981), which both featuring backing by Peter White's band Shot in the Dark (who released their own unsuccessful album in 1981). While "24 Carrots" did produce a #24 single with "Midnight Rocks," the album sold less well than its two immediate predecessors.

After those releases, Stewart was dropped by Arista and his popularity declined. Despite his lower profile and waning commercial success, he continued to tour the world, record albums, and maintain a loyal fanbase. There was a four-year gap between his next two albums, the highly political Russians and Americans (1984) and the upbeat pop-oriented Last Days of the Century (1988), which appeared on smaller labels and had lower sales than his previous works.

1990s[link]

Stewart followed up with his second live album, the acoustic Rhymes in Rooms (1992), which featured only himself and Peter White, and Famous Last Words (1993), which was dedicated to the memory of the late Peter Wood (who co-wrote "Year of the Cat"), who died the year of its release.

Stewart followed these up with a concept album, Between the Wars (1995), covering major historical and cultural events from 1918 to 1939, such as the Versailles Treaty, Prohibition, the Spanish Civil War, and the Great Depression.

In 1995, Stewart was invited to play at the 25th anniversary Glastonbury festival, taking to the same stage he had graced in 1970 at the first ever festival.

21st century[link]

In 2000, Stewart released Down in the Cellar, a concept album themed on wine. Stewart had begun a love-affair with wine in the 1970s when, he admitted, he had more money than he knew how to spend,^[10] and so turned to fine wines.

In 2005 he released A Beach Full of Shells, which was set in exotic places from First World War England to the 1950s rock'n'roll scene that influenced him.

In 2008, he released Sparks of Ancient Light produced, like his most recent albums, by Laurence Juber. Here he weaves tales of William McKinley, Lord Salisbury and Hanno the Navigator.

Stewart and guitarist Dave Nachmanoff released a live album, Uncorked (Live with Dave Nachmanoff) on Stewart's label, Wallaby Trails Recordings, in 2009.^[11]

Stewart and Nachmanoff played the Glastonbury Festival 40th anniversary in June 2010 on the Acoustic stage.

Stewart sang a duet with Albert Hammond of Hammond's "It Never Rains in Southern California" on Hammond's 2010 album "Legend."

In 2011, Stewart sang a duet with his guitarist and opening act Dave Nachmanoff on Nachmanoff's album "Step Up". The song, "Sheila Won't Be Coming Home", was co-written by Stewart and Nachmanoff.

Residence[link]

Born in Scotland, raised in Dorset and gaining fame in London, Stewart moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. He married in the mid-1990s, and he, his wife and their two daughters moved to Marin County, California.

Use of historical and literary sources[link]

Historical references[link]

Stewart's historical work includes such subjects as:

• World War I pilots - "Fields of France", from the album Last Days of the Century
• The career of Admiral Sir John Fisher of the World War I Royal Navy inspired "Old Admirals", from Past, Present, and Future
• The Wehrmacht's invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II is the focus of "Roads to Moscow", from Past, Present, and Future.^[12] There are references to both Wehrmacht General Heinz Guderian and also to the German Tiger tank^[12] and to the brutal treatment of returning Russian soldiers, which is drawn from the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn book The Gulag Archipelago.
• Both the Basque separatists in Spain and the crisis in the former republic of Rhodesia are referenced in "On the Border", from Year of the Cat
• The Soviet Union is the focus of "In Red Square", from Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.
• The English sailor Sir Richard Grenville is profiled in "Lord Grenville", from Year of the Cat.
• The French Revolution is addressed in the song "The Palace of Versailles", from Time Passages.
• Henry VIII of England (misidentified by Stewart as Henry Plantagenet (Henry II))^[13] and Thomas More (Henry VIII's chancellor) are referenced in "A Man for All Seasons" from Time Passages.
• The assassin of Jean-Paul Marat is the subject of "Charlotte Corday", from Famous Last Words.
• The subject of Nazi war criminals hiding in South America is featured in "Running Man" from 24 Carrots.
• The scandals of the foreshortened Warren Harding administration are the subject of "Warren Harding" from Past, Present and Future.
• Ernst Röhm, leader of the Nazi SA, is the subject of "The Last Day of June, 1934" from "Past, Present and Future."

Literary sources[link]

"Sirens of Titan", from Modern Times is a musical precis of Kurt Vonnegut's novel of the same title.

On occasion, Stewart has set poems to music, such as "My Enemies Have Sweet Voices" (lyrics by the poet Pete Morgan) on the 1970 album Zero She Flies. During his 1999 UK tour, Stewart invited Morgan to read the lyrics as he performed this song in the Leeds City Varieties Theatre show of 7 November 1999.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Bed-Sitter Images (1967)
• Love Chronicles (1969)
• Zero She Flies (1970) #40 UK
• Orange (1972)
• Past, Present and Future (1973) #133 US
• Modern Times (1975) #30 US
• Year of the Cat (1976) #5 US (RIAA: Platinum) (BPI: Gold) #38 UK
• Time Passages (1978) #10 US (RIAA: Platinum) (BPI: Silver) #39 UK
• 24 Carrots (1980) (with Shot In The Dark) #37 US #55 UK
• Russians and Americans (1984) #83 UK
• Last Days of the Century (1988)
• Famous Last Words (1993)
• Between the Wars (1995) (with Laurence Juber)
• Down in the Cellar (2000)
• A Beach Full of Shells (2005)
• Sparks of Ancient Light (2008)

Live albums[link]

• Live/Indian Summer (1981) #110 US
• Rhymes in Rooms (1992) (with Peter White)
• Uncorked (2009) (with Dave Nachmanoff)

Compilations[link]

• The Early Years (1977)
• The Best of Al Stewart - Songs From the Radio (1985)
• Chronicles... The Best of Al Stewart (1991)
• To Whom it May Concern 1966-1970 (1993)
• Premium Gold Collection (1996)
• Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time (1996) (limited distribution of B-sides and rarities)^[14]
• On the Border (1998)
• Singer Songwriter (2001)
• The Very Best Al Stewart Album Ever (2002)
• The Essential Al Stewart (2003)
• Introducing... Al Stewart - Running Man (2003)
• Greatest Hits (2004)
• Just Yesterday (2005)
• A Piece of Yesterday - The Anthology (2006)
• The Definitive Pop Collection (2006)

Charted Singles[link]

• Year of the Cat (1976 #8 US, #31 UK)
• On the Border (1977 #42 US)
• Time Passages (1978 #7 US, #1 US Adult Contemporary)
• Song on the Radio (1979 #29 US)
• Midnight Rocks (1980 #24 US)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Page
• Al Stewart at Allmusic
• Dutch Fan Page
• German Fan Page
• German Fan Page (alternative link)
• Comprehensive discography
• Al Stewart Friends
• The Al Stewart Mailing List
• Blogcritics.org Al Stewart Collection: Interviews, Discography, more
• Al Stewart and Awaken evenings

Reggie Watts
Watts in December 2008
Background information
Birth name	Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts
Born	(1972-03-23) March 23, 1972 (age 40)
Genres	Observational comedy, surreal comedy, electronic music, trip hop, soul
Instruments	Voice, loop sampler, piano, synthesizers
Associated acts	Maktub, Soulive
Website	reggiewatts.com
Notable instruments
Line 6 DL4 delay modeler, Electro Harmonix 2880, iPhone

Reggie Watts (born March 23, 1972) is a Brooklyn-based comedian and musician. His shows are mostly improvised and consist of stream of consciousness stand-up in various shifting personae, mixed with loop pedal-based a cappella compositions. He performs regularly on television, radio, and in live theater. His comic skills come into play in improvisational performance, as well as performance of written music.

Early life (1972–1990)[link]

Born in Germany as Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts,^[1][2] Watts is the only child of Christiane and Charles Alphonso Watts; his mother is French and his father is African-American.^[3] His father was an officer in the United States Air Force and the family lived in Germany and Spain before relocating to Great Falls, Montana, where Watts was raised and graduated from Great Falls High School.^[2] Watts also took piano and violin lessons from the age of five until he was 16.^[4]

Seattle (1990–2004)[link]

Watts moved to Seattle at age 18 where he briefly attended the Art Institute of Seattle before eventually studying jazz at Cornish College of the Arts.^[1] He went on to play in a number of Seattle bands of wildly varying styles/genres, including Hit Explosion, Swampdweller, Action Buddy, Chiarrscuro, Clementine, Smell No Taste, Wayne Horvitz 4+1 Ensemble,^[5] Das Rut, Synthclub, Elemental, Eyvand Kang Seven Nades, Free Space, etc. He became the front man for soul, rock, and hip hop group Maktub, with whom he has recorded five albums.^[6][7]

In Seattle, Watts became interested in alternative performance styles. He composed musical scores for Northwest dance choreographers KT Niehoff, Amy O'Neal, Maureen Whiting, Pat Graney and Beth Huerta. He dabbled in sketch comedy with future theatrical collaborator Tommy Smith.^[8]

Watts' genesis as a solo performer started to emerge at the beginning of 2002. While touring years earlier with the Wayne Horvitz 4+1 Ensemble, Watts was forced to downsize his effects pedal from a Roland Space Echo tape delay to a Line 6 DL4 delay modeler, a smaller device that makes it easy to travel. He began using the Line 6 in live shows with Maktub, in order to replicate the duplicate harmonies from the recorded material. Then he experimented with improvising entire songs in solo acts with the Line 6, playing initial gigs at small Seattle venues and artist bungalows. Inspired by The State and Wet Hot American Summer, he began infusing spontaneous comedic material with the beat box-driven musical compositions.^[9]

Brooklyn/Manhattan (2004–present)[link]

Wanting to concentrate on solo comedic performance, Watts moved to the Lower East Side, New York City, in 2004. He shot comedic web shorts for Superdeluxe, Vimeo and CollegeHumor, where his video "What About Blowjobs?" became a viral hit. He also formed a theatrical collaboration with playwright Tommy Smith, and began developing web philosophy/content with online entrepreneur Jakob Lodwick, with whom he recorded the EP Pot Cookies. Moving to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2006, Watts started to branch out into performing for television and film, while continuing to pursue live performance and the creation of new performance technologies.^{[citation needed]}

Solo performance[link]

Watts was the opening act for Conan O'Brien on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, and appeared as the musical guest on the sixth, twenty-eighth, fifty-first, and 108th episodes of Conan.^[10] He also recently recorded material for his Comedy Central special Why Shit So Crazy?, released as a dual DVD/CD package.^[7]

Watts' recent solo comedic experience includes gigs at Fusebox, SXSW, Bonnaroo, Brian Eno's Luminous Festival at the Sydney Opera House, The Louvre, Montreal Comedy Festival, PopTech!, Soho Theatre (London), Vancouver Comedy Festival, CollegeHumor's "CH Live" stand-up comedy series, The Edinburgh Festival, Bumbershoot, The Sydney Festival, Sasquatch, Outside Lands Festival and cities throughout the world including Amsterdam's Boom Chicago, Paris, Cologne, Madrid, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Cape Town and Reykjavik, among others.

Watts frequently collaborates with performers/musicians around the globe. He appeared as part of the Ensemble cast of UK beatboxer Beardyman's Complete and Utter Shambles show at the Udderbelly during its residency at South Bank. He was the opening act for Regina Spektor on her European tour; he recorded vocals for Spektor's song "Dance Anthem of the 80s". He collaborated with French singer Camile Dalmais in a performance at the Centre Pompidou, Paris. He also contributed two tracks to DFA Records' Spaghetti Circus. He also performed with dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem during their first two farewell shows at Terminal 5 in New York City, and again at their final show at Madison Square Garden.

Watts' second stand-up special, Reggie Watts: A "Live" in Central Park, premiered on May 12, 2012 on Comedy Central in the "Secret Stash" completely uncensored.^[11]

Television/video[link]

On screen, Watts has appeared on Conan, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, HBO's The Yes Men Fix the World,^[12] Comedy Central's Michael and Michael Have Issues, Iceland TV, UK's "Funny Or Die," PBS' revamped The Electric Company and the music video "What About Blowjobs?" for CollegeHumor.^[2]

Waverly Films recently shot a one-hour special on Watts called "Why Shit So Crazy?". Created as a dual DVD/CD, the special features Watts in live performance at New York venues Galapagos, The Bellhouse and Le Poisson Rouge, bookended with brief sketches and a music video of Watts' "Fuck Shit Stack". As a composer, he wrote and performed music for comedian Louis CK's show, Louie,^[13] and created the theme songs for Key & Peele, Comedy Death-Ray Radio and Kristen Schaal's Penelope Princess of Pets. In 2010, Watts appeared on the Movie Network/Movie Central/HBO Canada produced Funny As Hell, a comedy series taped during the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, Quebec.^[14]

In 2012, Watts will co-star as the music portion of the new "Independent Film Channel" show titled "Comedy Bang Bang", based on the comedy podcast of the same name (formerly "Comedy Death-Ray Radio").^[15]

Also in 2012 Watts was in the Peter Serafinowicz directed music video for the Hot Chip song 'Night and Day' ^[16]

Theatre[link]

Starting in 2007, Watts began creating experimental multi-media theater with long-time friend and playwright Tommy Smith.^[8] They have generated four pieces, Transition, Disinformation, Radioplay and Dutch A/V. The collaborations between Watts and Smith feature a wide array of performing artists including dancer/choreographer Amy O'Neal (locust), comedian/actor Beth Hoyt, singer Orianna Herrman (Oracle), journalist Brendan Kiley ("The Stranger"), aerial artist Jeslyn Kelly (Fuerzabruta), and projected imagery by ex-Wooster Group video artist Joby Emmons.

Transition played at The Under The Radar Festival at The Public Theater, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time Based Art Festival and On the Boards (Seattle); it was also the winner of the MAP Fund Award and Creative Capital award. Disinformation was seen at the UTR Festival, PICA: TBA, The Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), The Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), and ICA (Boston). Radioplay premiered at Ars Nova (New York), and played at Seattle Rep (Bumbershoot), IRT Theater (New York) and Redhouse (Syracuse). Dutch A/V, a live environmental film performance and winner of the MAP Fund Award, was workshopped at IRT Theatre (New York).

Watts and Smith also regularly host Occurrence, a cabaret of alternative performers, which has been seen at Ars Nova, Galapagos, The Tank, Leftbank (Portland) and various other venues. A recording of their show Transition at On the Boards helped launch the first-ever live performance download website, OTBTV.

Awards[link]

He is winner of the 2005 Malcolm Hardee "Oy Oy" Award, the 2006 Andy Kaufman Comedy Award, and the 2006 Seattle Mayor's Arts Award.^[17] He was also awarded the 2008 MAP Fund and the 2009 Creative Capitol Grant for the performing arts, and won the 2009 ECNY Award for Best Musical Comedy Act.^[6]

Personal life[link]

Author Alice Walker is Watts' second cousin^[1] but he has not met her.^[18]

Discography[link]

• Simplified (2004)
• Pot Cookies (EP) (2008)
• Why Shit So Crazy? (2010)^[19]
• Live At Third Man (2011)^[20]
• A Live At Central Park (2012)

With Wayne Horvitz

• 4+1 Ensemble (Intution, 1996 [1998])
• From a Window (Avant, 2000)

Filmography[link]

• Tell Your Friends! (2011) as Himself
• The Yes Men Fix the World (2009) as Himself^[12]
• Steel of Fire Warriors 2010 A.D. (2008) as Mutantzoid Underling in Bar

References[link]

External links[link]

• Reggie Watts Website
• Reggie Watts at the Internet Movie Database
• Reggie Watts on Twitter
• Official "Fuck Shit Stack" video
• Official "What About Blowjobs?" video
• ReggieWatts/TommySmith Theatre

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (April 2012)

Abu Yusuf Riyadh-ul-Haq (born 1971) is an Islamic scholar based in the United Kingdom. He is internationally recognized as a prominent scholar of Islam in the Western world and considered an authority on various Islamic fields including hadith. Over 400 of ul Huq's lectures are in circulation with the earliest recordings from 1994. The Al Kawthar Academy was founded under the guidance of Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq.

Preaching and teaching[link]

After his graduation, he became the Imam of Birmingham Central Mosque and then began teaching hadith at Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah. Until 2003, ul Haq served as the honorary headmaster of Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyyah in Kidderminster, where he was previously sadr mudarris (head teacher/dean of the faculty). Since graduation he has devoted himself to the work of deen and remained actively involved in da'wah and teaching. He has taught and commented on numerous classical Islamic works and has lectured extensively on a range of topics including Quranic tafseer, hadith, aqeedah and fiqh. He has also travelled widely, teaching and lecturing in various countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America. Many of his sermons and lectures are recorded and are widely available. He has also authored two books, 'The Salah of a Believer in the Quran and Sunnah'^[1] and 'The Causes of Disunity'.^[2] A poem written by ul Haq called 'Whispers of the Night' has been published on many websites and blogs.^[3][4][5][6]

Sahih-al-Bukhari[link]

Since 2001, Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq has been teaching an abridged version of Sahih-al-Bukhari to the general public. The collection of hadith in Bukhari are considered the most authentic collection in Islam. This is the first time ever that these hadith have been taught in English in a systemic, detailed and thorough manner. All rulings derived from the hadith are explained according to the understanding of the main schools of fiqh. Ul Haq teaches these hadith through an unbroken and authentic chain of narration or sanad.^{[citation needed]} He narrated his complete sanad in Lesson 3 of the Bukhari series before teaching the first hadith.^{[citation needed]} The lessons are currently held at Al Kawthar Academy in Leicester and number over 240 that have been delivered to date,.^[7][8] Many video excerpts from the Bukhari lessons are on Al Kawthar Academy's Youtube channel.^[9]

Lecture series[link]

The earliest spiritual discourses by Riyadh ul Haq which are available online date to around 1994.^[10] Prior to commencing the weekly Bukhari classes, he taught lessons of Tafseer, Fiqh and Aqeedah.^[11] He has given many general talks often on topical subjects relevant to Muslims in the West. These lectures have been given across the UK and in many other countries often at conferences and seminars where ul Haq is an invited and keynote speaker. In early 2009, ul Haq addressed the credit crunch issue from an Islamic perspective.^[12][13]

Since 2008, ul Haq has been delivering a series of talks on 'The Mothers of The Believers'^{[citation needed]} and also a series of talks on 'The Lives and Learning of the Companions'.^[14][15]

Intensive study courses[link]

In November 2008, ul Haq delivered an intensive study course entitled 'The Etiquettes of Seeking Sacred Knowledge'.^[16] The course held over two consecutive weekends and was organised by Al Kawthar Academy. The location of the course was Azhar Academy, Forest Gate, London. This was the first intensive study course taught by ul Haq. Al Kawthar Academy organised a second intensive study course entitled 'Fundamentals of Understanding the Glorious Qur'an'.^[17] This course was held at Azhar Academy, London on 27 and 28 June 2009. Ul Haq delivered a third intensive course at Azhar Academy entitled 'Ramadhan Dawn till Dawn' on the 8th and 9 August 2009.

Further, he has devised a syllabus for a part-time Alim course which is based on a classical curriculum and is designed to help beginners progress from an elementary stage to a very advanced level in Arabic and Islamic Studies. The course covers an in-depth study of Arabic language and literature as well as Islamic theology, Qur'an, hadith and fiqh. Ul Haq teaches this course in Leicester, UK.^[18]

Influence and international recognition[link]

Ul Haq is listed in the 2010 Third Edition of 'The 500 Most Influential Muslims' published by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre^[19] This publication is the third of an annual series that provides a window into the movers and shakers of the Muslim world. It highlights people who are influential as Muslims, that is, people whose influence is derived from their practice of Islam or from the fact that they are Muslim. It gives valuable insight into the different ways that Muslims impact the world, and also shows the diversity of how people are living as Muslims today. Ul Haq appears in a section of the publication where '450 leaders are categorized by their diverse fields of work and appear unranked'. In the publication, it is stated "Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq is a very influential speaker and leading Deobandi scholar in the UK. He has been markedly influential through his work with the Al Kawthar Academy in Leicester. Al Kawthar is a leading Islamic educational institution at the forefront of knowledge proliferation through diverse media forms." ^[20]

Allegations of extremism[link]

In September 2007, The Times carried a news item by Andrew Norfolk accusing Riyadh ul Haq of being the "homegrown cleric who loathes the British"^[21] and a commentary article from the same author claiming there was a "hardline takeover of British mosques" led by ul Haq. In an opinion piece by the same author on the same date there was a claim that ul Haq was in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain, despite allegedly having extreme views.^[22] However, the hundreds of hours of recordings of ul Haq's lectures in the public domain may suggest otherwise.^{[citation needed]} Simultaneously, Andrew Norfolk published a further "comment" piece in the Times calling the Deobandis historically anti-British,^[23] but also aired the opposing views of Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, the chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain’s interfaith relations committee. Mr Mogra graduated from the same Deobandi seminary in Bury, Greater Manchester, that Mr ul Haq attended. Mr Mogra has a vision of a pluralistic, tolerant Islam "starkly at odds with mainstream Deobandi thinking", believing that for British Muslims "our loyalty to Britain must be unquestionable".^[24]

The next day Andrew Norfolk published two more opinion pieces, also in The Times, the first describing two British Muslims in a "sinister" Karachi madrassa of mutually opposing view points, the student there being "desperate" to come home to Yorkshire.^[25] The second opinion piece named another world respected Deobandi scholar (Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani), this time from Pakistan calling for followers to live peacefully in countries such as Britain only until they gain enough power to engage in jihad or battle.^[26]

Amongst the immediate responses, The Guardian carried a "Comment is Free" opinion article by Inayat Bunglawala, media secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain, calling Norfolk's work a "toxic mix of fact and nonsense".^[27] The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK) claimed on their own web-site that the Berelvis were coming out in defence of Riyadh al Haq.^[28] Two days later, MPACUK called the attacks on ul Haq a "decapitation strategy".^[29]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Al Kawthar Academy - Lectures of Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq, February 18, 2009