Abdul Majeed al-Zindani: Difference between revisions
add {{by whom}} |
rv BLP violation--guilt by association |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
||
The [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury Department]] placed Zindani to its list of "banned entities" as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist", citing al-Zindani as having had a "long history of working with [[bin Laden]]. Students of his Al Iman University were suspected of involvement in assassinations of missionaries and party leader [[Jarallah Omar]]. [[Anwar al-Awlaki]] |
The [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury Department]] placed Zindani to its list of "banned entities" as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist", citing al-Zindani as having had a "long history of working with [[bin Laden]]. Students of his Al Iman University were suspected of involvement in assassinations of missionaries and party leader [[Jarallah Omar]]. [[Anwar al-Awlaki]] served as Vice President of the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) founded by Zindani, and later took classes and lectured at Iman University. His name also appears on the [[United Nations Security Council Committee 1267|UN 1267 Committee]]'s list<ref name="un1267">[http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/1267/tablelist.htm UN 1267 Committee banned entity list]</ref> of individuals belonging to or associated with [[Al-Qaida]]. |
||
== Early life == |
== Early life == |
||
Revision as of 06:39, 11 November 2009
Abdul Majeed al-Zindani (other spellings: Abdelmajid al-Zendani, Abdul Majeed Zendani, Abd Al Majid Zandani; Arabic: عبد المجيد الزنداني) has been described[by whom?] as "a charismatic Yemeni academic and politician." He is the founder and head of the Iman University in Yemen, head of al-Islah political movement in Yemen, and the founder of the [[Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah]], based in Saudi Arabia.[1]
The US Treasury Department placed Zindani to its list of "banned entities" as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist", citing al-Zindani as having had a "long history of working with bin Laden. Students of his Al Iman University were suspected of involvement in assassinations of missionaries and party leader Jarallah Omar. Anwar al-Awlaki served as Vice President of the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) founded by Zindani, and later took classes and lectured at Iman University. His name also appears on the UN 1267 Committee's list[2] of individuals belonging to or associated with Al-Qaida.
Early life
Al-Zindani was born in 1942 in Yemen. He spent his early college years in Egypt, where he failed to get a degree and was influenced by the Islamic Movements and devoted his life to politics.
Iman University
Al-Zindani is the founder and president of the Iman University in Sanaa, Yemen which was founded in 1995.[1]
Political activity
Al-Zindani is "a leading member" of Yemen's al-Islah Party, (the Yemeni Congregation for Reform).
Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah
He approached the Saudi government's largest charity, the Muslim World League, in 1984, to establish a Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah, based in Saudi Arabia. He headed the Commission until stepping down as secretary general in 1995. Although he no longer has any official role with the Muslim World League, he is still invited to its events.
AIDS research
Abdul-Majid al-Zindani gave a speech praising the quality of scientific and medical research carried out at the Iman University, claiming that they had successfully treated many cases of AIDS.[3] In 20 cases, al-Zandani said that the virus had vanished completely without any side effects, and he called on the UN, which "spends enormous amounts of money to fight the disease," to send "its senior scientists to review [the university's] findings.” Since the announcement of this cure in 2005, this research has not yet been verified by other scientists.[citation needed]
Dr. Jamil al-Mughales, the head of the Clinical Immunology Services of King Abdulaziz University has disputed al-Zindani's results, claiming to have personal inspected blood tests and contradicts al-Zindani's claims.[4]
Vice & virtue movement
In July 2008, Abdul-Majid al-Zindani joined a panel of Islamic clerics and prominent tribal chiefs to announce the creation of a new morality authority. The Meeting for Protecting Virtue and Fighting Vice declared its intention to alert Yemen's police force to infringements of Islamic law. The declaration followed reports of vigilante activity by self-appointed 'morality guardians' in Hodeidah, Aden, and Sana'a. [5]
Jyllands-posten cartoon controversy
In 2006, Zindani pressed charges against 21 newspapers and their editors in Yemen for printing the controversial Muhammad cartoons, originally printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005. On November 25, 2006, the first case against the newspaper Al-Rai Al-A'm closed with al-Zidani winning the case, and the newspaper was sentenced to cease printing for 6 months and the editor Kamal al-Olufi was sentenced to one year of prison. Furthermore, al-Olufi was ordered to pay for the sentence to be printed in all major newspapers in the world.[citation needed]
Banned by US
On February 24, 2004, the US Treasury Department added Zindani to its list of "banned entities" as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist". The Department claimed it had credible evidence al-Zindani had a "long history of working with bin Laden, notably serving as one of his spiritual leaders", that he "served as a contact for Ansar al-Islam (Al), a Kurdish-based terrorist organization linked to al-Qaeda". Students of his Al Iman University were suspected of assassinating three American missionaries and "the number two leader for the Yemeni Socialist Party, Jarallah Omar".[6]
Zindani founded the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW). Anwar al-Awlaki, who was later an imam to Fort Hood shooting suspect Nidal Malik Hasan served as Vice President. During a 2004 terrorism trial in New York, FBI agent Brian Murphy testified that CSSW was a “front organization to funnel money to terrorists.”[7] Al Awlaki also took classes and lectured at Iman University in Sanaa, Yemen, headed by Zindani. John Walker Lindh is also a former student of Iman University linked to terrorist groups.
His name subsequently appeared on the UN 1267 Committee's list[2] of individuals belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda. Among the factors offered to Guantanamo captive Abdul Rahman Mohamed Saleh Naser's Administrative Review Board, justifying his continued extrajudicial detention were:[8]
- "The detainee decided to go to Afghanistan after hearing and speaking with Sheik Al Zindani.
- "Abd Al Majid Zandani was an active supporter of Usama Bin Laden. Zandani was involved in raising funds and recruiting volunteers for the Bin Laden organization. Zandani is also a religious and legal expert for Usama Bin Laden.
- "Executive Order 13224 designates Shaykh Abd Al Majid Al Zindani as a person who commits, threatens to commit, or supports terrorism."[6]
External Links
References
- ^ a b "Yemeni Sheikh of Hate". National Review. Retrieved October 5.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b UN 1267 Committee banned entity list
- ^ Yemenite Sheik Claims to Have Found the Cure for AIDS on YouTube
- ^ http://armiesofliberation.com/archives/2006/12/12/who-to-test-zindani’s-aids-herbal-cure/
- ^ http://www.pulitzercenter.org/openitem.cfm?id=1131 - Pulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting, August 11, 2008
- ^ a b United States Designates bin Laden Loyalist Cite error: The named reference "treasury" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ [http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefabackgrounder_alawlaki.pdf Tom Hays, FBI Eyes NYC ‘Charity’ in Terror Probe, Associated Press, February 26, 2004.
- ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Abdul Rahman Mohamed Saleh Naser Administrative Review Board May 18, 2005 - page 35