Haitham al-Haddad

Haitham al-Haddad is a British scholar and television presenter[1] of Palestinian origin.[2][3][4] Al-Haddad sits on the boards of advisors for Islamic organisations in the United Kingdom, including the Islamic Sharia Council. He is the chair and operations advisor and a trustee for the Muslim Research and Development Foundation.[5] Some of his views have been considered as controversial, including remarks on Jews, homosexuality, Osama bin Laden and female genital mutilation.[4][6][7][8] Haddad is said to be a student of the Salafi methodology.[9]

Educational qualifications

Haitham al-Haddad gained a PhD at SOAS, University of London[10] and is a Saudi-trained Imam.[11]

Controversial remarks

In 2001, Haitham al-Haddad allegedly said "I will tell you the truth about the fight between us and Jews who are the enemies of God and the descendants of apes and pigs".[7] He later said that "this is the translation of what has been attributed to me" and that it had been incorrectly translated from Arabic to English.[7]

A journalist for Radio Netherlands Worldwide wrote, "Strikingly, the cleric omits the definite article "the" before "Jews." In the Arabic language, this omission could be taken to mean he was not speaking about Jews in general but only about those Jews who are enemies of God and descendants of apes and pigs.[7]

Haddad controversially praised Osama bin Laden in 2011 following his death.[12][13][14]

In an anti-gay article called ‘Standing up against Homosexuality and LGBTs’, Haddad wrote of “the scourge of homosexuality”, which he calls a “criminal act”.[15] On women, he declared that “a man should not be questioned why he hit his wife, because this is something between them”.[16] In addition to this he has also claimed that “the most honourable and worthy role for a woman is striving to be a fine wife...this role does not only secure the best for a woman in the hereafter, but also fits perfectly with her natural disposition”[17]

He has claimed that there is a "proper" way of performing FGM,[10] further saying "it is consensus of all the scholars that female circumcision is sunnah [proper]".[18]

Controversial events

2012 Netherlands visit

In February 2012, the Dutch parliament majority tried to prevent Haddad speaking at VU University in Amsterdam. The university subsequently cancelled the event. Haddad blamed the opposition to him on a Jewish lobby.[4][19]

London "mega-mosque" project

Main article: Abbey Mills Mosque

Haddad called[20] for a 15,000-people march to put pressure on Newham council to permit building of a large mosque in West Ham, London Borough of Newham, which would have been three times the size of St Paul's Cathedral.[21][22]

"Halal Fun Day"

In February 2014, al-Haddad's leadership of the MRDF caused controversy after the organisation booked Legoland Windsor for a private event, which it called a "Halal Fun Day". A local UKIP councillor claimed that residents were "up in arms", and called for a demonstration, protest groups Casuals United and the English Defence League also stated that they would protest.[23] Later that month, due to backlash and threats from those nationalist groups, Legoland cancelled the planned event.[24]

University of Westminster

In February 2015, the University of Westminster postponed a talk by al-Haddad after it was revealed that Mohammed Emwazi, known as "Jihadi John", became radicalised at that university. Over 3,000 had signed a petition for him to be banned from campus, stating that his presence could endanger LGBT students.[25]

University of Kent

In March 2015, the University of Kent postponed a talk by al-Haddad, hosted by the university's Islamic Society as part of "Discover Islam Week". The university's Vice-Chancellor cancelled the talk after controversy spread among some students regarding al-Haddad's messages.[26][27]

He has been banned from speaking at the London School of Economics and the London Metropolitan University.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Islamic Network TV - Now Broadcasting Live Every Day". www.islaam.net. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "Haitham Al Haddad". Huda (TV). Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Our Speakers. Peace TV". Peace TV. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Radical cleric determined to debate in Amsterdam | Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Rnw.nl (2012-02-16). Retrieved on 2012-05-10.
  5. ↑ Muslim Research & Development Foundation – Welcome to the MRDF website. Mrdf.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-05-10.
  6. ↑ Hasan Afzal: Is FOSIS Training the Violent Extremists of Tomorrow?. Huffingtonpost.co.uk (2012-02-03). Retrieved on 2012-05-10.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Cleric did say “Jews are descendants of apes and pigs” | Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Rnw.nl (2012-02-17). Retrieved on 2012-05-10.
  8. ↑ Muslim Council: women cannot debate wearing veil. Telegraph (2011-04-16). Retrieved on 2012-05-10.
  9. ↑ Bowen, Innes. Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XhcoBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT75&dq=Haitham+al-Haddad+salafi&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib5Zm9o-bJAhVGshQKHcDdCXQQ6AEILDAD#v=onepage&q=Haitham%20al-Haddad%20salafi&f=false: Oxford University Press.
  10. 1 2 "Anger as preacher who supports FGM speaks at SOAS campus debate - London - News - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  11. ↑ James Brandon, Salam Hafez, Crimes of the Community: Honour-Based Violence in the UK, p 91. ISBN 1903386640
  12. ↑ "UK Plans to Silence Hate Preachers With ASBOs [VIDEO]". Ibtimes.co.uk. 2013-12-22. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  13. ↑ "Radicals who spread message of brutality, hate and intolerance". The Times. 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  14. ↑ Stanton, Jenny. "Jihadi John's old university was a 'hotbed of radicalism where students celebrated 9/11' | Daily Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  15. ↑ "Standing up against Homosexuality and LGBTs". Islam21c. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  16. ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  17. ↑ "A Vision for Muslim Women in the West". Islam21c. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  18. ↑ "Preacher Haitham Al-Haddad, Who Supports FGM, Speaks At SOAS University". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  19. ↑ Lipshiz, Cnaan (2012-02-22). "UK-based Palestinian extremist speaks at... JPost - International". Jpost.com. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
  20. ↑ "Urgent message from Sheikh Haitham Al-Haddad about 'Mega-mosque' in London.". YouTube. 2012-11-27. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  21. ↑ Else Kvist. "Socalled mega mosque fuels protest fears ahead of Newham council meeting - Crime". London 24. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  22. ↑ Hough, Andrew. "Plans for new east London 'mega-mosque' rejected by local council". Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  23. ↑ Jeory, Ted (16 February 2014). "Far Right targets LEGOLAND after park hired by Muslim cleric for kids' HALAL fun day". Daily Express. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  24. ↑ Rahman, Khaleda (26 February 2014). "Family day out at Legoland for Muslims cancelled after far-right group threatens safety of staff and children". Daily Mail. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  25. ↑ Gander, Kashmira (26 February 2015). "'Jihadi John': Talk with anti-gay scholar postponed at university where Mohammed Emwazi studied". The Independent. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  26. ↑ http://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/haitham-al-haddad-33512/
  27. ↑ http://www.canterburytimes.co.uk/University-Kent-extremist-Muslim-preacher-talk/story-26181517-detail/story.html
  28. ↑ http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3917169.ece
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