Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno
Sheikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno (1925[1] – October 8, 2010)[2] was a highly respected yet controversial, in Western English speaking countries, Islamic scholar and prolific author.
His name has also been transliterated differently in the English speaking world. Whilst his publishers Dar-Us-Salam in Riyadh translate it as 'Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno', it is also rendered as Muhammad Bin/Ibn Jamal/Jamaal/Jameel Zeeno/Zaino/Zayno/Zaynoo/Zeenoo/Zino/Zainu.
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Biography[edit]
Zeno was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1925 (1344 AH). At the age of 10 he attended a boarding school for 5 years, during which he became a Hafiz.
He then went on to study forensic science at the University of Aleppo,[citation needed] which was part of the Islamic Waqf. He became a Sheikh and joined the House of Teachers in Aleppo where he taught for 29 years before leaving to teach in a madrasah in the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Later he traveled to Jordan to give Dawah where he became an Imam, teacher and influential preacher.[3]
In 1979/1980 (1400 AH) he went onto teach in Dar-ul-Hadith al-khairiyah[4] in Mecca, Saudi Arabia where he was a teacher for many years.[5]
Earlier in his life, Zeno was a Sufi of the Hanafi Madhhab and Shadhili Tariqah who later left these practices for Salafism.[6][7]
Career[edit]
Because of his simple style, his books gained popularity in the Islamic world, especially in Western countries. He uses authentic sources while writing the books, which is why they are appreciated by scholars. Generally in the Islamic world, the authenticity of a book is judged by its author's name and his name has acquired such position.[5]
His work is widely recognised but is also controversial, especially in prisons.[8]
Controversy[edit]
Zeno (as Zainu) features heavily in the 2005 report 'Saudi Publications On Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques'.,[9] by Freedom House, the New York-based human rights organization.
Zeno’s book, ‘Islamic Guidelines for Individual and Social Reform’, featured in the 2007 PBS Frontline documentary Homegrown: Islam In Prison, which was part of the America at a Crossroads television series.[10] The documentary states that his books were distributed to prisons by the controversial Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation.
Zeno featured heavily a study by the right-leaning Centre for Social Cohesion, 'Hate on the State: How British libraries encourage Islamic extremism'[11] by James Brandon and Douglas Murray, in which he has been described as "One of the most virulent Wahhabi clerics whose books are stocked in the Tower Hamlets libraries." which BBC News also reported on.[12]
Works[edit]
- Islamic Creed (Questions and Answers) / Islamic Creed Based on Quran and Sunnah
- Pillars of Islam and Iman
- What a Muslim Believes / What A Muslim Should Believe
- Islamic Guidelines for Individual and Social Reform
- How to Understand the Qur'an
- Methodology of the Saved Sect
- Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah
See also[edit]
- Abd-al-Hamid Siddiqui
- Sheikh Abd Al-Aziz Fawzan Al-Fawzan
- Sheikh Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo
- Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
- Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan
- Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan
- List of Muslim educational institutions
References[edit]
- ^ www.ahlalhdeeth.com
- ^ www.ahlalhdeeth.com
- ^ www.ahlalhdeeth.com
- ^ www.bakkah.net
- ^ a b Abdul-Malik Mujahid, Publisher's Note, The Pillars of Islam & Iman by Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno, Riyadh: Dar-us-Salam Publications, 1996, pg. 11
- ^ IA Forums - View Single Post - Some questions
- ^ IA Forums - View Single Post - Taqi Uthmani and writing Fatiha with urine
- ^ The Counterterrorism Blog: Radical Indoctrination in the U.S. Prisons
- ^ http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/45.pdf
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_homegrown.html
- ^ Hate on the State: How British libraries encourage Islamic extremism
- ^ Radical books in London libraries
External links[edit]
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