Siraj Wahhaj

Siraj Wahhaj
Born Jeffrey Kearse
(1950-03-11) March 11, 1950
Brooklyn, New York City
New York, United States
Nationality American
Occupation Islamic scholar
Religion Sunni Islam
Spouse(s) Wadiyah Wahhaj
Website Official website

Siraj Wahhaj (born Jeffrey Kearse, March 11, 1950) is an African-American imam of Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn,[1][2] New York and the leader of The Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA).[1] He was also the former vice president of Islamic Society of North America.[3]

Early life

Wahhaj was born as Jeffrey Kearse and raised in Brooklyn. His mother was a nurse and his father a hospital dietitian. His brother is writer and editor Gregory S. Kearse of Silver Spring, Maryland. He went to church religiously and went on to become a Sunday school teacher as a teenager in a Baptist church.[4] Wahhaj then later went on to the New York University on a partial scholarship. He also played basketball where he met a teammate who interested him in the Nation of Islam, an African-American movement. He subsequently converted to Islam.

In 1969 he ended his schooling and joined the Nation of Islam, changing his name to Jeffrey12x.[4] During this time he was vocal in his belief that “white people are devils." He said of this, “I preached it. I taught it.”[5] Wahhaj says of his interest in the Nation: "It wasn't the theology that attracted me to the Nation of Islam at all... It was the kind of do-for-self black pride."

When Elijah Muhammed died in 1975, "His teachings began to unravel in my mind", and he became a Sunni Muslim with the encouragement of Muhammad's son Warith Deen Mohammed. Mohammed took over and reorganized the Nation of Islam, urging members to come to orthodox Islam. Kearse then changed his name again to Siraj Wahhaj, which means "bright light" in Arabic. He was chosen to study Islam at the Umm al-Qura university of Mecca for a period of four months in 1978.[5] He also briefly taught a course in Islamic studies at Howard University, where Johari Abdul-Malik is the chaplain.

Public Life

Siraj Wahhaj leads the daily prayers and performs the Friday sermon at Masjid at-Taqwa.[6] He also conducts full days of teaching in Islamic studies, Arabic and marital counselling.[6]

In 1991, he became the first Muslim to offer an invocation (opening prayer) at the United States House of Representatives.[1][3][7]

Views on governance and the punishment of certain crimes

Wahhaj has made statements in support of Islamic laws over liberal democracy. He also supports capital punishments such as stoning for adultery and cutting off of hands for thievery. He has said: "Islam is better than democracy. Allah will cause his deen [Islam as a complete way of life], Islam to prevail over every kind of system, and you know what? It will happen."[8]

He has also said: "If Allah says 100 strikes, 100 strikes it is. If Allah says cut off their hand, you cut off their hand. If Allah says stone them to death, through the Prophet Muhammad, then you stone them to death, because it’s the obedience of Allah and his messenger—nothing personal."[9]

1993 World Trade Center bombing

Wahhaj was an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He was quoted as saying that he hopes all Americans eventually become Muslim and also referred to the FBI and CIA the "real terrorists".[10]

Wahhaj defended the Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel-Rahman, the former leader of the Egyptian terrorist organization, Gama'a al-Islamiyya by testifying on his behalf at his trial.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Samory Rashid, Black Muslims in the US: History, Politics, and the Struggle of a Community, p 120. ISBN 1137337516
  2. ↑ Michael Wolfe, Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith, p 139. ISBN 1579549888
  3. 1 2 "Wahhaj, Siraj". The Muslim 500. The Muslim 500. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 Paul M. Barrett (2007-02-16). American Islam. Washington Post. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
  5. 1 2 Dulong, Jessica,The Imam of Bedford-Stuyvesant, May/June 2005, volume 56, number 3. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Marci Reaven, Steve Zeitlin, Hidden New York: A Guide to Places That Matter, p 312. ISBN 0813541247
  7. ↑ "Siraj Wahhaj". Peace TV. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Barrett, Paul M. (2007). American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. Page: 115.
  9. ↑ Barrett, Paul M. (2007). American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. Page: 114.
  10. ↑ Goldenberg, Sally (2009-11-12). "1993 World Trade Center bombing co-conspirator, Siraj Wahhaj, meets with Mayor Bloomberg". NYPOST.com. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  11. ↑ "Masjid At-Taqwa :: The Investigative Project on Terrorism". Investigativeproject.org. Retrieved 2012-09-18.

External links

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