A Salafi (Arabic: سلفي‎) is a Muslim who emphasises the Salaf ("predecessors" or "ancestors"), the earliest Muslims, as model examples of Islamic practice.^[1] The term has been in use since the Middle Ages but today refers especially to a follower of a modern Sunni Islamic movement known as the Salafiyyah, which is related to or includes Wahhabism, so that the two terms are sometimes erroneously viewed as synonymous.^[2] Salafism has become associated with literalist, strict and puritanical approaches to Islamic theology and, in the West, with the Salafi Jihadis who espouse violent jihad against civilians as a legitimate expression of Islam.^[3] Academics and historians use the term to denote "a school of thought which surfaced in the second half of the 19th century as a reaction to the spread of European ideas," and "sought to expose the roots of modernity within Muslim civilization."^[4]

Just who, or what groups and movements, qualify as Salafi remains in dispute. In the Arab World, and possibly even more so now by Muslims in the West, it is usually secondary to the more common term Ahl-as-Sunnah (i.e., "People of the Sunnah") while Ahl al-Hadith (The People of the Tradition) is more often used in the Indian subcontinent to identify adherents of Salafi orthodoxy, a term used more in Arabic academia to indicate scholars and students of Hadith. All are considered to bear the same or similar connotation and have been used interchangeably by Muslim scholars throughout the ages, Ahl al-Hadeeth possibly being the oldest recorded term used to describe the earliest adherents^[5] while Ahl as-Sunnah is overwhelmingly used by Muslim scholars, including Salafis as well as others, such as the Ash'ari sect, leading to a narrower use of the term "Salafi".^[6] The Muslim Brotherhood includes the term in the "About Us" section of its website^[7] while others exclude that organisation^[8] in the belief that the group commits religious innovations. Other self-described contemporary salafis may define themselves as Muslims who follow "literal, traditional ... injunctions of the sacred texts" rather than the "somewhat freewheeling interpretation" of earlier salafis. These look to Ibn Taymiyyah, not the 19th century figures of Muhammad Abduh, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, and Rashid Rida.^[4]

According to the 2010 German domestic intelligence service annual report, Salafism is the fastest growing Islamic movement in the world.^[9]

The Salaf[link]

The first generations of Muslims are collectively referred to as the "Pious Predecessors" (as-Salaf as-Saleh),^[10] and include the "Companions" (Sahabah), the "Followers" (Tabi‘un) and the "Followers of the Followers" (Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in). These are revered in Sunni Islamic orthodoxy and their example used in understanding the texts and tenets of Islam by Sunni theologians since the fifth Muslim generation or earlier, sometimes to differentiate the creed of the first Muslims from subsequent variations in creed and methodology (see Madhab),^[11][12] to oppose religious innovation (bid‘ah) and, conversely, to defend particular views and practices.^{[13] [14]}

This veneration is based on a number of records of the sayings of Muhammad who said, "I am the best Salaf for you"^[15] and, as narrated in the Sahih al-Bukhari of `Abd Allah ibn `Umar, a companion of Muhammad; "The best people are those of my generation, and then those who will come after them and then those who will come after them..."|Sahih al-Bukhari collected by Muhammad al-Bukhari^[16] Other narrations indicate that there will follow people who will bear false witness of Islam,.^[17]

Tenets[link]

Salafis view the Salaf as an eternal model for all succeeding Muslim generations in their beliefs, exegesis, method of worship, mannerisms, morality, piety and conduct: the Islam they practised was pure, unadulterated and, therefore, the ultimate authority for the interpretation of the Sunnah.^[18] This is not interpreted as an imitation of cultural norms or trends that are not part of the legislated worship of Islam but rather as an adherence to Islamic theology.^[19] Salafis reject speculative theology (kalam) that involves discourse and debate in the development of the Islamic creed. They consider this process a foreign import from Greek philosophy alien to the original practice of Islam. The Imam, Al-Dhahabi (d. 748H / 1348) said:

It is authentically related from ad-Daaraqutnee that he said: There is nothing more despised by me than kalam. I say: He never entered into kalam nor argumentation. Rather, he was a Salafi.^[20]

Salafism holds that the Qur'an, the Hadith and the consensus (ijma) of approved scholarship (ulama) are sufficient guidance for the Muslim. As the Salafi da'wa is a methodology and not a madh'hab, Salafis can come from the Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali or the Hanafi schools of Sunni jurisprudence^[21] and accept teaching of all four if supported by clear and authenticated evidence from the Sunnah. Their interpretation is based on a strict form of Athari theology and they are generally opposed to imitation (taqlid) of a religious authority's rulings in matters of law.

Salafism condemns many common practices as polytheism (shirk) and impermissible intercession of religious figures, such as venerating the graves of Islamic prophets and saints. They maintain that many other practices are bid‘ah or innovation, beliefs or actions of worship are totally without sanction. Salafis believe that Islam's decline after the early generations results from religious innovations and from an abandoning of pure Islamic teachings; that an Islamic revival will only result through emulation of early generations of Muslims and purging of foreign influences.

Salafis, similar to adherents of most other Islamic denominations, place great emphasis on ritual - not only in prayer but in every activity in daily life. Many are careful to always use three fingers when eating, drink water in three pauses with the right hand while sitting^[22] and make sure their jellabiya or other garment worn by them does not extend below the ankle so as to follow the example of Muhammad and his companions.

History[link]

From the perspective of Salafis the history of the Salafi dawah starts with Muhammad himself. They consider themselves direct followers of his teachings as outlined in the Qur'an and Sunnah (prophetic traditions), and wish to emulate the piety of the first three generations of Islam (the Salaf). All later scholars are merely reviver's (not 'founders') of the original practices. Modern scholars may only come to teach (or remind) Muslims of the instructions of the original followers of Islam, who based their beliefs and actions on the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Landmarks claimed in the history of Salafi da'wah are Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d.240 AH / 855 AD) who is known among Salafis as Imam Ahl al-Sunnah, and one of the three scholars commonly titled with the honorific Sheikh ul-Islam, namely, Taqi ad-Deen Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728 AH / 1328 AD) and Ibn al-Qayyim (d.751 AH / 1350).^[23][24][25]

Early examples of usage[link]

• Some scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, have noted: "There is no criticism for the one who proclaims the madh'hab of the Salaf, who attaches himself to it and refers to it. Rather, it is obligatory to accept that from him by unanimous agreement because the way of the Salaf is nothing but the truth."^[20]

• The term salafi has been used to describe to theological position of particular scholars. Abo al-Hasan Ali ibn Umar al-Daraqutuni (d. 995 C.E., 385 A.H.) was described by al-Dhahabi as: "Never having entered into rhetoric or polemics, instead he was salafi."^[26]

• Also, al-Dhahabi described Ibn al-Salah, a prominent 12th century hadith specialist, as: "Firm in his religiosity, salafi in his generality and correct in his denomination. [He] refrained from falling into common pitfalls, believed in Allah and in what Allah has informed us of from His names and description."^[27]

• In another of his works, Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi said of Ibn al-Salah: "I say: He was salafi, of sound creed, abstaining from the interpretations of the scholars of rhetoric, believing in what has been textually established, without recourse to unjustified interpretation or elaboration.^[28]

• In his book, Tabsir al-Muntabih, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned the ascription al-Salafi and named Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdillah ibn Ahmad Al-Sarkhasi al-Salafi as an example of its usage. Ibn Hajar then said: "And, likewise, the one ascribing to the salaf."^[29]

• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani also used the term, salafi to describe Muhammad ibn al-Qaasim ibn Sufyan al-Misri al-Maliki (d. 966 C.E., 355 A.H.) He said that al-Malaiki was: "Salafi al-madh'hab – salafi in his school of thought."^[30]

• In the book Al-Ansaab by Abu Sa'd Abd al-Kareem as-Sama'ni, who died in the year 1166 (562 of the Islamic calendar), under the entry for the ascription al-Salafi he mentions an example or more of people who were so described in his time.^[31] In commenting upon as-Sama'ni, Ibn al-Athir noted; "And a group were known by this epithet."^[32]

Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab[link]

Many today consider Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab as the first figure in the modern era to push for a return to the religious practices of the salaf as-salih.^[33] His evangelizing in 18th century Arabian Peninsula was a call to return to the practices of the early Muslims. His works, especially Kitab at-Tawhid, are still widely read by Salafis around the world today, and the majority of Salafi scholars still reference his works frequently.^[34] After his death, his views flourished under his descendants, the Al ash-Sheikh, and the generous financing of the House of Saud and initiated the current worldwide Salafi movement.^{[citation needed]}

Some Salafis reject the Wahhabi label because they consider it unfounded, an object of controversy,^[35] holding that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab did not establish a new school of thought but restored the Islam practisced by the earliest generations of Muslims.^{[citation needed]} Followers of Salafiyyah consider it wrong to be called "Wahhabis" as the 16th Name of God is al-Wahhab ("the Bestower") and to be called a "Wahhabi" they see as being equal to Allah, which they strictly prohibit. Wahhabism has been called a "belittling" and derogatory term for Salafi,^[36] while another source defines it as "a particular orientation within Salafism,"^[21] an orientation some consider ultra-conservative,^[37][38] and yet another describes it as a formerly separate current of Islamic thought that appropriated "language and symbolism of Salafism" until the two became "practically indistinguishable" in the 1970s.^[39]

Trevor Stanley states that, while the origins of the terms Wahhabism and Salafism "were quite distinct" – "Wahhabism was a pared-down Islam that rejected modern influences, while Salafism sought to reconcile Islam with modernism" – they both shared a rejection of "traditional" teachings on Islam in favor of a direct, more puritan reinterpretation. Stéphane Lacroix, a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris, also affirmed a distinction between the two: "As opposed to Wahhabism, Salafism refers here to all the hybridations that have taken place since the 1960s between the teachings of Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Wahhab and other Islamic schools of thought. Al-Albani’s discourse can therefore be a form of Salafism, while being critical of Wahhabism."^[40]

The migration of Muslim Brotherhood members from Egypt to Saudi Arabia and Saudi King Faisal's "embrace of Salafi pan-Islamism resulted in cross-pollination between Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab's teachings on tawhid, shirk and bid‘ah and Salafi interpretations of the sayings of Muhammad.^[41]

Contemporary Salafism[link]

Salafism is attractive because it underscores Islam's universality.^[42] It insists on the literal truth of Muslim scripture and what might be called a very confined and narrow brand of sharia or religious law.^[42] Yet they may challenge secularism by appropriating secularism's traditional role of defending the socially and politically weak against the powerful.^[43]

In recent years Salafis have come to be associated with the jihad of Al-Qaeda and related groups that advocate the killing of civilians, which are opposed by most other Muslim groups and governments, such as Emir Khattab an islamist revolutionary from Saudi Arabia who died fighting in Chechnya and has often been quoted denouncing violence against non-combatants. Debate continues today over the appropriate methods of reform, ranging from violent "Qutubi jihadism" to lesser politicized proselytizing.^{[citation needed]} A majority of Salafi scholars stand firmly with the present-day manifestations of jihad, particularly as it relates to terrorism and the killing of civilians and innocents. They hold their opinion against as:

No individual has the right to take the law into his own hands on any account. Even the closest of Prophet Muhammad's companions never killed a single of his opponents even when invectives were hurled at him day and night in the first thirteen years of his Da'wah at Makkah. Nor did they kill anyone in retaliation when he was pelted with stones at Ta'if.

The spread of Salafism has prompted political leaders in the Middle East to accommodate a greater role for jihadist in public policy.^[44]

Salafist jihadism is a school of thought of Salafi Muslims who support jihad. The term was coined by scholar Gilles Kepel^[45][46] to describe Salafi who began developing an interest in jihad during the mid-1990s. Practitioners are often referred to as Salafi jihadis or Salafi jihadists. Journalist Bruce Livesey estimates Salafi jihadists constitute less than 1 percent of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims (c. 10 million).^[45]

Despite some similarities, the different contemporary self-proclaimed Qutubi groups often strongly disapprove of one another and deny the other's Islamic character.^[36][36][47]

Salafism in China[link]

Salafism is intensely opposed by the Hui Muslims in China, by the Hanafi Sunni Gedimu and Sufi Khafiya and Jahriyya. So much so that even the Yihewani (Ikhwan) Chinese sect, which is fundamentalist and was founded by Ma Wanfu who was originally inspired by the Salafis, condemned Ma Debao and Ma Zhengqing as heretics when they attempted to introduce Salafism as the main form of Islam. Ma Debao established a Salafi school, called the Sailaifengye (Salafi) menhuan in Lanzhou and Linxia, and it is a completely separate group than other Muslim sects in China.^[48]

Salafis have a reputation for radicalism among the Chinese Gedimu and Yihewani groups. The Sunni Muslim Hui avoid Salafis, even if they are family members, and they constantly disagree.^[49]

The amount of Salafis in China is so insignificant that they are not included on percentage lists of Muslim sects in China.^[50]

The Kuomintang Sufi Muslim General Ma Bufang, who backed the Yihewani (Ikhwan) Muslims, persecuted the Salafis, forcing them into hiding. They were not allowed to move or worship openly. The Yihewani had become secular and Chinese nationalists, and they considered the Salafiyya to be "heterodox" (xie jiao), and people who followed foreigners' teachings (waidao). Only after the Communists took over were the Salafis allowed to come out and worship openly again.^[51]

In contrast to his treatment of Salafis, General Ma allowed polytheists to openly worship, and Christian missionaries to station themselves in Qinghai. General Ma and other high ranking Generals even attended the Kokonuur Lake Ceremony where the Chinese "God of the Lake' was worshipped, and during the ritual, the Chinese national anthem was sung, all participants bowed to a portrait of Kuomintang party founder Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and the God of the Lake was also bowed to, and offerings were given to him by the participants.^[52] Ma Bufang invited some Kazakh Muslims to attend the ceremony honoring her god.^[53] Ma Bufang received audiences of Christian missionaries, who sometimes gave him the Gospel.^[54][55] His son Ma Jiyuan received a silver cup from Christian missionaries.^[56]

Comparison with other forms of Islamism[link]

Salafism differs from the Islamic revival movements of the 1970s and 1980s commonly referred to as Islamism, in that many Salafis reject not only Western ideologies such as Socialism and Capitalism, but also common Western concepts like economics, constitutions, political parties and revolution.^{[citation needed]}

Salafi Muslims often preach disengagement from Western activities like politics, "even by giving them an Islamic slant."^[57] Instead, it is thought that Muslims should stick to traditional activities, particularly Dawah. Nevertheless, Salafis do not preach willful ignorance of civil or state law. While preaching that the Sharia takes precedence, Salafi Muslims conform to civil or state law as far as they are required, for example in purchasing mandatory auto insurance. A Salafi Muslim might purchase "third party, fire and theft" insurance in order to avoid going to jail, but he/she would not purchase "fully comprehensive" insurance because commercial insurance is seen as gambling.^{[citation needed]}

Criticism[link]

Salafism, or at least the so called "puritanical" forms of it, has been recently criticized by Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl of UCLA School of Law. El Fadl claims that the Salafi methodology "drifted into stifling apologetics" by the mid-20th century, a reaction against "anxiety" to "render Islam compatible with modernity," by its leaders earlier in the century.^[58]

Some Salafi writers would allegedly claim, for example, that "any meritorious or worthwhile modern institutions were first invented and realized by Muslims." The result was that "an artificial sense of confidence and an intellectual lethargy" developed, according to Abou El Fadl, "that took neither the Islamic tradition nor" the challenges of the modern world "very seriously."^[59][60]

Egyptian scholar Tawfik Hamid says that Salafist Muslim fundamentalists believe that Saudi Arabia's petroleum-based wealth is a divine gift, and that Saudi influence is sanctioned by God. Thus this extreme brand of Sunni Islam that spread from the Saudi Arabia to the rest of the Islamic world is regarded not merely as one interpretation of the religion but the only genuine interpretation. The expansion of violent and regressive idea, he continues, began to take global roots in the late 1970s, and is precisely due to the growing financial clout of Saudi Arabia. In his words, this Arabian sponsored version of Islam is “puritanical, extreme and does, yes, mean that women can be beaten, apostates killed and Jews called pigs and monkeys.”

German Government's Statement on Salafism[link]

German government officials have stated that Salafism has a strong link to terrorism but have clarified that not all Salafists are terrorists. The statements by Germany government officials criticizing salafism were televised on Deutsche Welle broadcasts for the week of April 18, 2012.

Salafi scholars[link]

Older authorities accepted by modern Salafis as Salafi[link]

[edit] Arabian Peninsula

[edit] Egypt

[edit] India

[edit] Mesopotamia and Greater Khorasan

[edit] Greater Syria

[edit] Al-Andalus

[edit] Yemen

Contemporary Salafi scholars[link]

[edit] Afghanistan

• Muhammad Muhsin Khan

[edit] Albania

[edit] Egypt

• Muhammad Hussein Yacoub

[edit] Mauritania

• Muhammad Ash-Shanqeeti

[edit] Morocco

• Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali

[edit] Pakistan

• Ehsan Elahi Zaheer

[edit] Saudi Arabia

[edit] Somalia

• Muhammad Al-Sumaalee^[62]

[edit] Syria

• Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno

[edit] Yemen

• Abdur-Rahman al-Mu'allimee al-Yamani
• Muqbil bin Haadi al-Waadi'ee

See also[link]

Islam portal

References[link]

Abu Usamah at-Thahabi (born March 10, 1964) is an Imam at Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham, England.

History[link]

Abu Usamah, Khalifah At-Thahabi, born Frankie Lipscomb, was born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey, the third eldest of four children. His siblings names include Kimberly, Sylvia, and also Daryl.

He reverted to Islam in 1986, and applied to attend the University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia, an Islamic school popular with reverts and international students. He attended the university for eight years where he graduated from the College of Da'wah and Usool-ad-Din. There he completed his BSc in Usool-Ul-Deen(theology) and learned the Arabic language. After his graduation from the University, Abu Usamah went to teach in the UK before returning to the US in 1996 in order to pursue his first position of Imam in Orlando, Florida. He was an imam at mosques in Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Peoria. Abu Usamah is very engaged in the Islamic community. He has also be immensely active in the giving of da'wah within the Islamic community.

References[link]

Islamic scholar Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Bāz
Title	Shaykh
Born	(1910-11-21)November 21, 1910 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Died	May 13, 1999(1999-05-13) (aged 88)
Ethnicity	Arab
Region	Middle East
Maddhab	Hanbali
Main interests	Sharia, Fiqh, Hadith
Influences	Ibn Abd al Wahhab
Influenced	Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani

Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز‎) (November 21, 1910 – May 13, 1999), was a Saudi Arabian Islamic scholar, considered as one of the renowned Muslim scholars of the twentieth century. He was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.

Youth[link]

Ibn Baz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1910 to a family with a reputation for their interest in Islam. His father died when he was only three, placing a big responsibility on his mother to raise him. When asked about his childhood, the sheikh said: “my father died when I was three years old, and I only had my mother who took care of me and educated me encouraging me to learn more about Shari'ah; she also died when I was twenty six.” By the time he was thirteen he had begun working, selling clothing with his brother in a market. Despite the fact that he helped a great deal in supporting his family, he still found time to study the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, and Tafsir. In 1927, when he was sixteen, he started losing his eyesight after being afflicted with a serious infection in his eyes. By the time he was forty, he had totally lost his sight and had become blind.^[1][2]

Education[link]

At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern, sophisticated university system. However, Ibn Baaz managed to learn a great deal through his constant reading of Islamic literature as well as his association with different scholars from whom he learned. These include:^[3][4]

• 'Abdullāh bin Fayrij whom he studied the Qur'an with at an early age.
• Muhammad ibn Zayd, the chief judge in the Eastern region.
• Rāshid ibn Sālih al-Khunayn.
• 'Abdul-Latif ibn Muhammad ash-Shudayyid.
• 'Abdullāh bin 'Abdur-Rahmān ibn Kimar
• 'Abdullāh bin Qu'ood.
• Sālih ibn Hussayn al-'Irāqi.
• 'Abdul-Rahmān al- Warrāq.
• The Mufti of his time, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Latif ash-Shaikh. Ibn Bāz studied under this scholar for ten years. He had studied all the branches of Shari'ah from him during the years 1927 until 1938.
• Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Latif ibn Abdur-Rahmān ibn Hassan ibn ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhāb.
• Sa’ad ibn Hamad ibn Atiq, the chief judge of Riyadh at the time.
• Hammad ibn Farris, under whom ibn Bāz studied the field of Arabic grammar.
• Sa’ad Waqqās al-Bukhāri, one of Makkah’s most renowned scholars in Tajweed.
• Sālih ibn 'Abdul-Aziz ibn 'Abdur-Rahmān ibn Hasan ibn Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahhāb, one of the judges in the city of Riyadh.

Career[link]

He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:^[5]

• The judge of Al Kharj district upon the recommendation of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh from 1938 to 1951.
• Held a teaching position in Riyadh at the Ma'had al-'Ilmee in 1951
• In 1951 after spending fourteen years in al-Kharj as a judge, he was transferred to Riyadh where he became a teacher in the Riyadh Institute of Science and taught in the Faculty of Sharia from 1951 to 1961.
• In 1961 he was appointed Vice President, and later President, of the Islamic University of Madinah.
• In 1970 he became the Chancellor of the University upon the death of Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal ash-Shaykh and he remained chancellor until 1975.
• In 1975 a royal decree named him Chairman of the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta with the rank of Minister.
• In 1992 he was appointed Grand Mufti of the Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars and was granted presidency of the administration for scientific research and legal rulings.
• President of the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatawa.
• President and member of the Constituent Assembly of the World Muslim League.
• President of the Higher World League Council.
• President of the Islaamic Fiqh Assembly based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
• Member of the Higher Council of the Islamic University of Medina.
• Member of the Higher Committee for Islaamic Da'wah in Saudi Arabia.

Over the years, he held a large number of positions as president or member of various Islamic councils and committees, and chaired a number of conferences both within Saudi Arabia and overseas, in addition to writing a great number of books in different fields and issuing a large body of fatwa. In 1981 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.^[6][7] He was the only Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia not to come from the Al ash-Sheikh family.^[8]

Activities[link]

Ibn Bāz had undertaken a number of charitable and other activities such as:^[6]

• His endless support for Dawah organizations and Islamic centers in many parts of the world.
• The establishment and supervision of schools for teaching the Qur'an.
• The foundation of an organization that facilitates marriage for Muslim youth.
• The popular radio program, Nurun AlaDarb ("light on the path"), in which he discussed many current issues and answered questions from listeners as well as providing fatwa if needed.

Ibn Bāz was considered by many to be prolific speaker both in public and privately at his mosque. Like his books, his lectures and sermons were numerous and revolved frequently around the situation of the Muslim world. In addition, much of his time was devoted to the lessons he gave after Fajr prayer, teaching during the day, meeting delegates from Muslim countries and sitting with people after Maghrib prayer to provide counseling and advice on personal matters. He also used to invite people after Isha prayer to share a meal with him.^[6]

Ibn Bāz was among the Muslim scholars who opposed regime change using violence.^[9] He called for obedience to the people in power unless they ordered something that went against God.^[10]

Works[link]

This section requires expansion.

The number of books written by Ibn Bāz exceeds sixty and the subject matter covered many topics such as Hadith, Tafsir, Fara'ed, Tawheed, Fiqh and also a great deal of books on Salat, Zakat, Dawah, Hajj and Umrah.^[6]

Death[link]

On Thursday morning, May 13, 1999, Ibn Bāz died at the age of 88. The next day, following Friday prayer, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, and hundreds of thousands of people performed the funeral prayer at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.^[11]

King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Ibn Bāz's death.^[12]

In his career as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, he attempted to both legitimize the rule of the ruling family and to support calls for the reform of Islam in line with Salafi ideals. Many criticized him for supporting the Saudi government when, after the Gulf War, it muzzled or imprisoned those regarded as too critical of the government, such as Safar al-Hawali and Salman al-Oudah.

When Ibn Bāz died in 1999. The loss of "his erudition and reputation for intransigence" was so great the Saudi government was said to have "found itself staring into a vacuum" unable to find a figure able to "fill ibn Bāz's shoes."^[13] His influence on the Salafi movement was large, and most of the prominent judges and religious scholars of Saudi Arabia today are former students of his.

Controversies[link]

His obituary in The Independent said "His views and fatwas (religious rulings) were controversial, condemned by militants, liberals and progressives alike".^[14] According to his obituary in The Economist, Ibn Baz "was an easy man to mock. His pronouncements—that the earth was flat, that photography of a living thing was immoral, that women who studied with men were no better than prostitutes—embarrassed the more liberal princes".^[15] He was also criticized by hardline Salafists and Jihadists for supporting the decision to permit U.S. troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia in 1991.^[16]

Cosmology[link]

In 1966, when Ibn Baz was vice-president of the Islamic University of Medina, he wrote an article denouncing Riyadh University for teaching the "falsehood" that the earth rotates and orbits the sun: "The Holy Quran, the Prophet's teaching and the majority of Islamic scientists prove...that the sun is running in its orbit and...that the earth is fixed and stable".^[17] King Faisal was reportedly so angered by this statement he ordered the burning of all copies of the article.^[17] In 1982 Ibn Baz published a book, Jarayan al-shams wa'l qamar wa-sukan al-ard ("The Motion of the Sun and the Moon and the Stationarity of the Earth"), in which he repeated his belief that the sun orbited the earth.^[18] He threatened all who did not accept his view with a fatwa of takfir, declaring them infidels.^[19] Ibn Baz did not change his mind until 1985 when Prince Sultan bin Salman returned home after a week aboard the space shuttle Discovery to tell him that he had seen the earth rotate.^[17]

Women's rights[link]

Criticism of Ibn Baz includes his harsh and inflexible attitudes towards women^[20] and for being a bulwark of restrictions on women's rights.^[21] Commenting on the Sharia rule that the testimony in court of one woman was insufficient, Ibn Baz said: "The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) explained that their shortcoming in reasoning is found in the fact that their memory is weak and that their witness is in need of another woman to corroborate it."^[21] He also issued a fatwa against women driving cars, which may have been his most well known ruling.^[22] He declared: "Depravity leads to the innocent and pure women being accused of indecencies. Allah has laid down one of the harshest punishments for such an act to protect society from the spreading of the causes of depravity. Women driving cars, however, is one of the causes that lead to that."^[21]

Gulf War[link]

During the Gulf War Ibn Bāz issued fatwa allowing the deployment of non-Muslim troops on Saudi Arabia soil to defend the Kingdom from the Iraqi army. Some noted that this was in contrast to his opinion in the 1940s, when he contradicted the government policy of Islamically allowing non-Muslims to be employed on Saudi soil.^[23] However, according to The New York Times, his fatwa overruled more radical clerics.^[22] In response to criticism, ibn Baz condemned those who "whisper secretly in their meetings and record their poison over cassettes distributed to the people."^[22]

Osama bin Laden[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Open Letter to Shaykh Bin Baz on the Invalidity of his Fatwa on Peace with the Jews

Ibn Baz held the view of righteously following the Salaf (Predecessors')].^[14] However, his views were, according to The Independent, not draconian enough for Osama bin Laden who condemned ibn Baz for "his weakness and flexibility and the ease of influencing him with the various means which the interior ministry practices".^[14] Ibn Bāz was the subject of Osama bin Laden's first public pronouncement intended for the general Muslim public. This open letter condescendingly criticized him for endorsing the Oslo peace accord between the PLO and Israeli government.^[24] Ibn Baz defended his decision to endorse the Oslo Accords by citing the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, saying that a peace treaty with non-Muslims has historical precedent if it can avoid the loss of life.^[25][26]

See also[link]

• Islam in Saudi Arabia
• Salafi
• Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen
• Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Official Site of 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baaz (Arabic)
• Some videos of bin Baaz
• Biography of Ibn Baaz
• Biography of Ibn Baaz – 2
• Assorted Images and Press Clippings Regarding the Death of Ibn Baaz
• Jewels of Guidance (selected words and incidents from the life of Abdul-Aziz ibn Baaz)
• Fatawa of Bin Baz

Yusuf Estes (born in 1944) is an American Muslim preacher and teacher who converted from Christianity to Islam in 1991. He was a Muslim Chaplain for the United States Bureau of Prisons through the 1990s.^[1] He was a Muslim Delegate to the United Nations World Peace Conference for Religious Leaders held at the U.N. in September 2000.^[1]

Active in Islamic missionary work in the United States, Estes is often featured as guest presenter and keynote speaker at various Islamic events as well as frequently appearing on various Islamic satellite TV channels. Estes takes a dim view of today's public school system in the United States for any children, and highly recommends schools where they might receive a religious education combined with more advanced scholastic education.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Yusuf Estes was born in Ohio, and was raised in Houston, Texas in a Anglo-Saxon Protestant family.^[3] From 1962 to 1990, his career was in the music, entertainment and marketing fields. He also taught music and served as a music minister. He owned several musical instrument companies including the Estes Piano and Organ Company. He produced and directed live entertainment programs in the United States from the mid 1960s until his last endeavor for cable TV in Florida, entitled 'Estes Music Jamboree'.^[4]

Yusuf Estes became a Muslim in 1991 after meeting an Egyptian named Mohamed.^[1] Following his conversion, Estes entered the field of Dawah, or evangelizing the Islamic faith. Estes denies the theory of Darwinian evolution and instead professes creationism as described by Islamic scriptures.^[5]

Islamic Activities[link]

After embracing Islam, Estes pursued Arabic language and Quranic studies in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey.^[6] From 2004, Estes regularly appeared on the Islam Channel, as well as Peace TV and on Huda TV which are 24/7 Islamic channels broadcasting in many countries around the globe, via satellite and via the website WatchIslam.

Estes has started a free-to-air Internet and satellite TV channel called GuideUS TV which currently broadcasts commercial-free programming on Islam 24/7. He has also set up various websites directed toward English speaking Muslims which include TubeIslam (a Muslim video sharing site), ChatIslam (a Muslim chat room), and WorldPreschool (a defunct preschool learning site for young children).^[7]

Estes produced a video presentation series called Arabic in English, designed to help English speakers learn the Arabic language easily using his proprietary teaching method.^[8] He sells the series online, and also provides a set of free chatroom-based courses with volunteer teachers.^[9] He also produced a television series entitled Qisas Al Anbiyah (Stories of the Prophets), aimed toward English speaking children of Muslim parents.^[10]

See also[link]

• Islamic Missionary Activity
• List of American Muslims

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Blade, David Yonke Toledo. (July 14, 2001) Journal Gazette Proselytizing preacher finds faith in Islam: Sheik Yusuf Estes. Page 1.
• Tilove, Jonathan. (October 23, 2001) The Star-Ledger To be a white U.S. Muslim: Converts embrace the oddity. Section: News; Page 10.
• Pinsky, Mark I. (January 6, 2003) Orlando Sentinel Muslims' radio message: we are regular people. Section: Life & Times; Page C1.
• The Hamilton Spectator (February 14, 2003) A Christian attends a mosque; A visitor finds a warm welcome and wonders if he'd be as liberal.
• Columbia State (SC). (April 7, 2003) Chaplain to speak at USC about Islam. Section: Metro/Region; Page B5.
• UWIRE (March 1, 2004) U. New Mexico speaker asks religions to unite.
• UWIRE (April 18, 2005) Muslim speaker educates U. Northern Colorado students about faith.
• US State News. (April 12, 2006) National Muslim chaplain Yusuf Estes to speak at senior center on April 14.
• The Modesto Bee (April 22, 2006) Converted preacher to speak about 'pure Islam.' Section: Lifestyles; Page G1.
• Nomani, Asra Q. (October 22, 2006) Washington Post Wife-Beating, Chapter and Verse.
• Wen, Sarah. (January 23, 2007 ) University Wire UCLA Muslim student group to promote Islam, religious unity.

External links[link]

• Personal website of Yusuf Estes
• IslamAlways
• IslamTomorrow
• ShareIslam
• Yusuf Estes audio and video lectures from Halal Tube

Imran Hosein
Imran Hosein at the 1st Islamic Retreat
Born	1942 Trinidad and Tobago
Residence	Trinidad
Occupation	Islamic scholar, Author, Philosopher
Title	Shaikh, Mawlānā, Aalim
Religion	Sunni Islam
Website
http://www.imranhosein.org

Sheikh Imran Nazar Hosein (Arabic: نزار عمران حسين) is an International Islamic Scholar, Philosopher and author, specialising in world politics, economy, eschatology, modern socio-economic/political issues and expert on international affairs. He is best-selling author of Jerusalem in the Qur'an.

Biography[link]

Imran Nazar Hosein was born on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad and Tobago.

He worked for several years as a Foreign Service Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

He lived in New York for ten years during which time he served as the Director of Islamic Studies for the Joint Committee of Muslim Organizations of Greater New York. He lectured on Islam in several American and Canadian universities, colleges, churches, synagogues, prisons, community halls, etc. He also participated in many inter-faith dialogues with Christian and Jewish scholars while representing Islam in USA. He was the Imam, for sometime, at Masjid Dar al-Qur'an in Long Island, New York. He also led the weekly Jumu'ah prayers and delivered the sermon at the headquarters of the United Nations Organization in Manhattan, New York, once a month for ten years continuously.

He is a former Principal of the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in Karachi, Pakistan, Director of Research of the World Muslim Congress in Karachi, Pakistan, Director of the Islamic Institute for Education and Research in Miami, Florida, and Director of D'awah for Tanzeem-e-Islami of North America.

He has traveled extensively around the world on Islamic lecture-tours since graduating from the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies at age 29. And he has also written more than a dozen books on Islam . Jerusalem in the Qur'an - An Islamic View of the Destiny of Jerusalem has become a best seller and has been translated and published in several languages.

Prof. Dr. Malik Badri, Dean of the International Institute for Islamic Thought and Civilization in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, wrote the Foreword to the book.

Imran's first book, entitled Islam and Buddhism in the Modern World is the only book on the subject by a Muslim scholar. That book was viewed favourably by Vice Chancellor of University of Karachi and renowned historian, Dr. Ishtiaq Husain Quraishi, Pakistani jurist and philosopher, A. K. Brohi, and Muslim sociologist, Dr. Basharat Ali.

Maulana Dr. Fazlur Rahman Ansari, a scholar of Islam of the modern age, wrote the Foreword to that book.

Imran Hosein's three new books, published in 2007, on 'Surah al-Kahf' of the Qur'an and on the subject of 'Signs of the Last Day in the Modern Age', offer insights into interpretation of the Qur'an and the Hadith of Muhammad in so far as they attempt to explain the modern age.

Books[link]

• 'The Gold Dinar and Silver Dirham - Islam and Future of Money'
• 'Dreams in Islam - A Window to Truth and to the Heart
• 'A Muslim response to the Attack on America'
• 'Jerusalem in the Quran'
• 'The Religion of Abraham and the State of Israel - A View from the Qur'an'
• 'The Caliphate, the Hejaz and the Saudi-Wahhabi Nation-State'
• 'One Ameer, One Jamaat - The Organization of a Muslim Community in the Age of Fitan'
• 'Islam and Buddhism in the Modern World'
• 'The Prohibition of Riba in the Qur'an and Sunnah'
• 'The Importance of the Prohibition of Riba in Islam'
• 'The Strategic Importance of the Fast of Ramadan and Isra & Mi'raj'
• 'The Qur'anic Method of Curing Alcoholism and Drug Addiction'
• 'George Bernard Shaw and the Islamic Scholar'
• 'Surah al-Kahf: Text, Translation and Modern Commentary'
• 'Surah al-Kahf and the Modern Age'
• 'Signs of the Last Day in the Modern Age'
• 'The Islamic Travelogue (Two different travelogues exist)'
• 'An Islamic View of Gog and Magog in the Modern Age'

External links[link]

• Official web site
• Imran Hosein audio and video lectures from Halal Tube

Online Books[link]

A complete listing of his books may be found here

• 'A Muslim response to the Attack on America'
• 'Jerusalem in the Quran'
• 'Surah Al Kahf - Arabic text - Translation and Modern Commentary'
• 'Dreams in Islam'
• 'The Importance of the Prohibition of Riba in Islam'
• 'Surah Al-Kahf and the Modern Age'
• 'An Islamic View of Gog and Magog in the Modern World'

Online Audio[link]

• 'Audio Lectures'
• 'Additional Lectures'

Online Video[link]

• 'Video Lectures'
• 'Additional Video Lectures'
• 'Google Video Lectures'

See also[link]

• Maulana Abdul Aleem Siddiqi

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. (June 2007)

References[link]