Feiz Mohammad | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
| Part of a series on: Salafi movement |
|---|
 |
 Islamportal |
Feiz Mohammad (born 1970) is an Australian Muslim preacher. [1]
Feiz Mohammad | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
| Part of a series on: Salafi movement |
|---|
| |
| Islamportal |
Feiz Mohammad (born 1970) is an Australian Muslim preacher. [1]
Mohammad is of Lebanese origin, and was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1970. [2] [3]
His wife, Mahtia Rahman and his son, Yusuf Mohamad have been described as cultural Muslims, Mohammed himself not being particularly religious in his youth. After quitting school at year 10 to learn carpentry, during his adolescence he led a life full of drugs, heavy drinking and street fighting, taking an interest in boxing, where he became the NSW amateur welterweight champion in 1987, and in bodybuilding, winning the national under-19 bodybuilding title in 1989. At the age of 19 he began explore world religions, studying Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism before finally choosing Islam. [4]
Mohammad studied under Sheikh Mohammed Omran, the spiritual leader of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah Association (Australia), who sent him, in 1990, to Saudi Arabia's Islamic University of Madinah, where he spent four years studying Islamic law. He returned to Australia in 1997. [2]
Mohammad fled to Tripoli, Lebanon, in November 2005 and was believed to have lived there from 2007 through at least December 2008. [2] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] He relocated to Malaysia to continue Islamic studies, aiming for a PhD in Sharia, and returned to Australia, likely in 2010, to open a new prayer hall in Auburn. [10] [11] [12] [13]
In March 2011, Mohammad returned to Australia after a six-year absence. [14] He established the Dawah Central centre in Auburn (now the Ahlus Sunnah walJamaah Auburn). [15] It has a number of other locations in Sydney and elsewhere in Australia. [15] He is associated with and supported by the Islamic organization Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, and has delivered sermons at their centre in Auburn. [10] [14] [3] [16] His last known residence as of September 2012 was in the Southern Highlands. [15]
In Australia, Mohammad and others founded the Global Islamic Youth Centre in the Sydney suburb of Liverpool in 2000 to "cater for the physical, social, educational and religious needs, especially for the youth and the children, in accordance with the teachings of the Quran". [7] He was its head in 2005, and in 2008 was still active at the centre. [7] [8] [17] Even after he left Australia for Lebanon, he continued to direct the centre from abroad. [18]
As of December 2008, the Global Islamic Youth Centre had raised $700,000 towards a new facility in Liverpool. [7] A Centre spokesman said that the centre was "for all those kids out there who are lost," and would "encourage them to try to follow the right path." [7]
In 2007, a box set of 16 DVDs of Mohammed's sermons, called the Death Series, became a focus of attention of the Attorney-General of Australia. [19] [20] The DVDs urge young Muslims to kill infidel non-believers and sacrifice their lives for Allah. It says the children should be taught that there is "nothing more beloved to me than wanting to die as a Muhajid [holy warrior]," and that the parents should "put in their soft, tender heart the zeal of jihad and the love of martyrdom", preach jihad. He said: " Kaffir (non-Muslim) is the worst word ever written, a sign of infidelity, disbelief, filth, a sign of dirt". [7] [17] He also calls Jews "pigs," and laughs about killing them, as he makes snorting noises. [8] [9] [17] [21] [22]
The DVDs came to public attention when they were featured in the documentary Undercover Mosque , which aired on Britain's Channel 4. [9] [22] The DVDs were being sold by children in the parking lot of a Birmingham mosque. [9] [22]
The Australian Federal Police and Australia's Attorney-General investigated whether Mohammed's sermons broke laws against sedition, racial vilification, and inciting violence and terrorism. [19] [20] In January 2007, two Australian Federal Police raided the Global Islamic Youth Centre and removed copies of the Death Series DVD set from the premises. [23] Australian Acting Attorney-General Kevin Andrews called the DVDs "offensive, unacceptable and outrageous" and "importations of hatred". [22] NSW Premier Morris Iemma said the DVD preachings were "reprehensible and offensive" and that "The sort of incitement that the DVD encourages is incitement to acts of violence and acts of terror." [24] The Opposition called for him to be charged with inciting terrorism, and Federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd said the comments were obscene and an incitement to terrorism, and that he wanted the government to act, and that Mohammad "has no place in our society". [9] "I would say this to Sheik Mohammed: Do not return to Australia, you are not welcome here," said Rudd. [3] [25]
In July 2007, federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, referring to the DVDs, said that Australia needed better laws to deal with items that encourage people to commit terrorist attacks, and that "Waiting for a terrorist attack to happen is unacceptable." [26] He added: "People who may be susceptible to carrying out a terrorist act ought not to be instructed in how to do it, how to use household products to produce a bomb, or be encouraged to think about violent jihad and taking their own life." [26]
Vic Alhadeff, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO, said "He has a significant number of followers and ... it is inevitable that there will be some who will be influenced by these grotesque remarks." [22] Opposition education spokesman Andrew Stoner said the NSW government must ensure that his Global Islamic Youth Centre would not teach the "extremist views" and "messages of hate" of Mohammad to young school children. [27]
He said:
"Jews are pigs that will be killed at the end of the world". [13] He also said concerning Jews, "They have got the most extreme racial pride in them. They say that every single non-Jew is a slave created to serve the Jews ... Their time will come like every other evil person's time will come." [28] [29]
In late 2008, a site he created called Faith Over Fear had links to the centre. [17] Its primary video showed Mohammad calling on Muslims to sacrifice their lives to wage war against the West. [17]
Mohammed later apologized in an interview for referring to Jews as pigs, and said that his reference to jihad was misunderstood. [20] In September 2012, speaking of his record controversial statements, Mohammad said: "So, not that I retract what I have said in the past, but I now am wiser than I was in the past." [30]
In an internet chat room, Mohammad incited Muslim followers to behead Dutch politician Geert Wilders, it became known in September 2010. [8] His rationale was his accusation that Wilders had "denigrat[ed]" Islam, and that anyone who "mocks, laughs or degrades Islam" as Wilders had must be killed "by chopping off his head". [8] [11] [31] [32] [33] The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf released an excerpt of the talk, after Dutch intelligence officials received a tip about the threat. [11] [34] Sheikh Fedaa Majzoub, the vice president of the NSW branch of the National Imams Council, said that the comments were "completely rejected by us as Islamic authorities". [11] Sheikh Taj el-Din al Hilaly, former mufti of Australia and imam of the Lakemba mosque, also spoke out against the remarks. [11]
After the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Wilders wrote:
Three years ago, Feiz Mohammed issued an internet video in which he called for my beheading. I was, he said, "evil filth". "Chop his head off," he told his followers. I am threatened for the simple reason that I am an Islam critic. But, make no mistake, I am not the only one who is in danger. The Tsarnaev brothers drew inspiration from Feiz Mohammed's internet rants and decided to kill innocent onlookers at a marathon. Everyone is in danger. [35]
In March 2011, Australia's most senior Islamic leader, Imam Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly of Australia's largest mosque at Lakemba, denounced Feiz Mohammad. [10] He called Feiz Mohammad dangerous, and insisted that he be banned from delivering sermons to young Muslims. [10] He said his preaching "can lead young people to move away from their family and community [and] to distance and isolate themselves." [36] He added, "If religion had something like the Australian Medical Association, or a trade authority, they would not allow him to be preaching, they wouldn't give him a licence ... I haven't seen a change in him." [37]
Feiz Mohammad had responded to requests from Australian authorities to remove videos by al-Qa'ida spiritual leader Anwar al-Awlaki from his website. [10] [36] [37] [38]
It was reported in April 2013 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, had a YouTube page that included four of Feiz Mohammad's videos. [2] [39] Mohammad volunteered to NSW police that he had no connection with the suspects. [2] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] Attorney-General of Australia Mark Dreyfus said that Mohammad "condemned the use of violence" and has "changed his attitude", supporting a community program to prevent the radicalisation of Australian youth. [45] Dutch politician Geert Wilders wrote: "Dreyfus has great faith in the conversion of the hate-preacher. But I do not share this optimism.... I have not heard the sheik recall his demand for my beheading. Nor did the Tsarnaev brothers hear Sheik Mohammed declare that the Islam he preached earlier is not the true Islam." [35] Professor Clive Williams, who teaches at Macquarie University's Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, believes Mohammad's extremist videos should be taken off the internet. [39]
Abdullah el-Faisal is a Jamaican Muslim cleric who preached in the United Kingdom until he was convicted of stirring up racial hatred and urging his followers to murder Jews, Hindus, Christians, Americans and other "unbelievers".
Omar Bakri Muhammad is a Syrian Islamist militant leader born in Aleppo. He was instrumental in developing Hizb ut-Tahrir in the United Kingdom before leaving the group and heading to another Islamist organisation, Al-Muhajiroun, until its disbandment in 2004.
Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly was an Egyptian Australian imam of Lakemba Mosque in Sydney and a Sunni Muslim leader in Australia. The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils appointed him Mufti of Australia in 1988. He referred to himself as the Grand Mufti of Australia and New Zealand, although this title was not unanimously endorsed, and was also described by some Muslims as honorary, rather than substantial.
Islam is the second largest religion in Australia. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who self-identified as Muslims in Australia, from all forms of Islam, constituted 813,392 people, or 3.2% of the total Australian population. That total Muslim population makes Islam, in all its denominations and sects, the second largest religious grouping in Australia, after all denominations of Christianity.
Jack Roche is an Australian convicted on a charge of conspiring to commit an offence provided for by the Crimes Act 1976 to destroy an internationally protected building, the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Australia.
Zakir Abdul Karim Naik is an Indian Islamic public orator who focuses on comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and Peace TV. He is a well-known figure in the Islamic world, and while he does not claim to be a follower of any one school of thought in Islam, he is most closely associated with the Salafi school of thought.
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, also referred to as Tantawi, was an influential Islamic scholar in Egypt. From 1986 to 1996, he was the Grand Mufti of Egypt. In 1996, president Hosni Mubarak appointed him as the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, a position he retained until his death in 2010.
Abdul Rahman ibn Abdul Aziz al-Sudais, better known as al-Sudais, is the lead imam of the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, Saudi Arabia; the president of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques; a renowned Qāriʾ ; he was the Dubai International Holy Qur'an Award's "Islamic Personality Of the Year" in 2005.
Undercover Mosque is a documentary programme produced by the British independent television company Hardcash Productions for the Channel 4 series Dispatches that was first broadcast on 15 January 2007 in the UK. The documentary presents video footage gathered from 12 months of secret investigation into mosques throughout Britain. The documentary caused a furore in Britain and the world press due to the extremist content of the released footage. West Midlands Police investigated whether criminal offences had been committed by those teaching or preaching at the Mosques and other establishments.
Dato' Sheikh Hussain Yee or Hussein Yee, is a Malaysian Islamic preacher and an International Da'i of Islam as well as the President of Pertubuhan Al-Khaadem in Malaysia.
Man Haron Monis was an Iranian-born refugee and Australian citizen who took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Chocolate Café at Martin Place, Sydney on 15 December 2014, lasting for 17 hours, until the early hours of the following morning. The siege resulted in the death of Monis and two hostages.
Dr Sheikh Mansour Leghaei is the founder and a director of the Imam Husain Islamic Centre and the School of Islamic Theology in Earlwood, Australia, serving as the imam from 1997 to 2010. He previously served in Nigeria, where in 1992 he opened an Education Centre called Ahul Bayt.
Shady Alsuleiman is a Muslim imam and the president of the Australian National Imams Council and the United Muslims of Australia. He is from a Palestinian family who migrated to Australia in the late 1960s. He initially obtained an Ijazah (licence) with Sanad in complete and sound memorization of the Quran at Darul Uloom Al-Husainiah in Sindh, Pakistan.
On 15 September 2012, a protest against the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims was held in Sydney, New South Wales. While the protest started peacefully, violent confrontations between police and protesters began when protesters reached the United States Consulate General. In resulting clashes, six police officers and 19 protesters were injured. The violence was condemned by Australian political leaders, including Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Police arrested nine protesters in connection with the violence.
Islamic organisations in Australia include a wide range of groups and associations run and supported by the Islamic community in Australia. Organisations include major community councils, local organisations, mosques and schools. Most Australian Muslims are Sunni, with Shia then Sufi and Ahmadiyya as minorities.
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed is an Egyptian-born and educated Sunni Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of Australia from September 2011 to March 2018. He became Grand Mufti again after Afifi's death.
The Islamic Research and Educational Academy is an independent Islamic dawah organisation based in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria. It is Sunni-based and says, "We use religion to unite, where others may seek to use it to divide". It is led by Waseem Razvi.
The Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah Association of Australia (ASWJA) was founded by Melbourne sheikh Mohammed Omran. Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah is a generic term referring to Sunni Islam. Those who adopt it as organisational name do so as adherents of the Salafi movement in Australia, US, UK, and Canada.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international pan-Islamist and fundamentalist political organisation. The organisation is considered a "radical Islamic group" and has come under scrutiny from the Australian government.
Ahmad Musa Jibril, also known as Abu Khaled, is a Palestinian-American Islamic radical preacher, cleric, sheikh, and imam. In 2004 he was convicted on 42 charges including fraud. Ideologically influenced by the Sahwa movement, which combines the Islamist revolutionary ideology of Sayyid Qutb mixed with Saudi Wahabbism, he promotes Salafist militant Islamism, and has extensively preached about the Syrian Civil War in highly emotive pro-Sunni terms. While not known to be affiliated directly to any particular group, it has been claimed that he has been an inspirational source for many English speaking pro-Sunni jihadist fighters in Syria, in both al-Nusra and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and elsewhere.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help){{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)