Jump to content

Yasser Al-Habib

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.90.57.129 (talk) at 17:01, 8 May 2014. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Yasser Al-Habib
Born1979
Kuwait
Websitehttp://alqatrah.net

Sheikh Yasser al-Habib (Arabic: ياسر الحبيب) is a Muslim Ghulāt cleric, the founder and the head of the London-based Khoddam Al-Mahdi Organization, as well as Al-Muhassin mosque in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire. Al-Habib is well known for his sharp way in expressing his religious views and his investigations and conclusions in the Islamic history, as well as his hard-work in promoting the Shia faith in the world by following a different method of the most of the contemporaneous Shia clerics, wherein he focuses in his lectures and articles in discussing controversial issues between Shias and Sunnis, especially the view regarding some figures in the early Islamic history such as Abu Bakr, Omar, Aisha and their likes whom are regarded as respected and holy figures for Sunnis but not for Shias.

Nonetheless, Al-Habib is also known for criticizing Shias themselves, wherein he strongly condemns the human rights violations inside Iran for example, as well as criticizing some Shia personalities such as Ali Khamenei, Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Hassan Nasrallah and Muqtada al-Sadr, and provides evidence to support his claims on the lack of religious credentials of such personalities.

Al-Habib started his religious activities in Kuwait, wherein he founded a non-profit religious organization named Khoddam Al-Mahdi Organization, and he also expressed his religious views regarding Abu Bakr and Omar, and criticized them sharply, which led to anger the mainstream Sunnis in Kuwait and other Arabic-speaking Sunni communities, and finally led to the arrest of Al-Habib. Later, in February 2004 he was released under an annual pardon announced by the Amir of Kuwait on the occasion of the country's National Day, but his rearrest was ordered a few days later. Al-Habib fled Kuwait before he was sentenced in absentia to 10 years' imprisonment,[1] and spent months in Iraq and Iran before gaining an asylum in United Kingdom which is his currently place of residence.

Early life

Al-Habib was interviewed by Elaph, a well-known Arabic online newspaper, wherein he stated that he was born in a religious Kuwaiti family, and started his education in the Kuwaiti governmental schools, before joining Kuwait University and graduating from its Political sciences faculty. Besides his secular studies, Al-Habib stated that he studied the traditional Islamic under the guidance of his teacher Mohammed Reza Shirazi.[2]

Views

He recorded two lectures in English titled: Who killed the Prophet Muhammad and Why do Shiites hate Umar Ibn al-Khattab.[3] Al-Sha'ab newspaper described Sheikh al-Habib as a traitor and apostate in its main page, at the time that Al-Habib cursed Abu Bakr and Umar.[4]

Wahhabism

Yasser al-Habib said:

Wahhabism is a criminal and violent ideology, founded by a mentally ill man named Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab about three centuries ago. Its main principle is that all Muslims who perform Tawassul by Awliya’ Allah (Prophets, Imams and the pious ones) and visit their graves are regarded as apostates and infidels. Therefore, the seizure of their life, property and women would, like that of the infidels, be religiously lawful and permissible![5]

Bakris and Batris

Sheikh al-Habib refers to Sunnis as Bakris. He says that the real Sunnis (Ahlul Sunnah) are the ones who follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. He continues that Sunnis today follow the Sunnah and teachings of Abu Bakr instead, having rejected Ali ibn Abi Talib and Ahlulbayt. He explains in one of his lectures titled Bakris think they are Sunnis, but in reality are not that when people wanted to distance themselves from the Shia, and follow Muawiyya, they started calling themselves the Jama'ah.

He also refers to those personalities who claim that they belong to Shi'a but reconcile with the Bakri sect as Batris.

He described Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (the Lebanese marja who died in 4 July 2010)[6] as Batri. Al-Habib said that Fadlallah left a great number of doctrinal deviations, ignorant views and bad conduct which he introduced to the religion of Islam.[7]

Celebrating Aisha's death anniversary and its reaction

In September 2010 Sheikh Yasser al-Habib angered the Sunni Muslims by calling Prophet Muhammad's wife Aisha, "an enemy of God" which led Kuwait to revoke his citizenship accusing him of trying to stir up discord among Muslims.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

In October 2010 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tried to calm tensions between Shias and Sunnis by issuing a fatwa against insulting the Prophet's companions and wives.

Criticism

After Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued the fatwa outlawing the insult of Sunni Dignitaries (Aisha, Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattāb),[14] Yasser Al-Habib responded by calling the Islamic Republic of Iran "oppressive". He continued by referring to Ayatullah Khamenei as "so-called Ali al-Khamenei – who pretends to be a Shia scholar". His reasoning for naming the Iranian government as "oppressive" was because the "regime in Iran today unjustly arrests anyone who celebrates the occasion of Farhat-ul-Zahra and prevents people from visiting the tomb of Abu Lulu".[15]

Senior Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi has referred to Al-Habib as a "hired agent or a mad man".[16]

Yasser al-Habib has been criticized by many respected Shia religious scholars and leaders including Dr. Sayyed Ammar Nakshawani, leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, Ayatollah Khamenei (who also issued a fatwa against cursing of the Prophet's companions) and Ayatollah Sistani (who also issued a fatwa against cursing of the Prophet's companions), Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi. Al-Habib is widely described in the mainstream Shia Islam as a Ghulāt and Khārijī.

Books by Al-Habib

  • Obscenity: The Other Face of Aisha. Khodam Al Mahdi Organisation. 2010. ISBN 095662300X. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help)

References

  1. ^ "International Religious Freedom Report 2004 - Kuwait". Amnestyusa.org. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  2. ^ "ياسر الحبيب: هذه قصة خروجي من السجن.. والمستقبل للتشيع". Elaph. Retrieved 2 February 2014. Template:Ar icon
  3. ^ "The drop, Office of Sheikh Al-Habib in London - Video Youtube". Alqatrah.net. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  4. ^ "القطرة - موقع رؤى ومحاضرات الشيخ الحبيب - الطائفة البكرية تفتح النار على الشيخ الحبيب بالأكاذيب والافتراءات في وسائل الإعلام". Alqatrah.net. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  5. ^ The drop, Office of Sheikh Al-Habib in London - Answers - What do Wahhabis believe in
  6. ^ "Politics - Tuesday official mourning day for Fadlallah". The Daily Star. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  7. ^ "The drop, Office of Sheikh Al-Habib in London - Sheikh al-Habib Hails our Great Scholars' Refusal to pay tribute to Fadlullah". Alqatrah.net. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  8. ^ "Financial Times". ft.com. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  9. ^ "Reuters". reuters.com. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Federal News Radio". wtop.com. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
  11. ^ Kuwait strips hard-line Shiite activist of citizenship after claims of blasphemy - 9-20-2010 12737 PM Newser
  12. ^ Revoking Al-Habib's citizenship premature Safar KuwaitSamachar
  13. ^ Kuwait strips Shiite activist of citizenship
  14. ^ "Tehran Times". tehrantimes.com. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  15. ^ "The drop, Office of Sheikh Al-Habib in London - Sheikh al-Habib takes an oath to 'publicly' voice opposition to the enemies of Ahlul Bayt and warns al-Khamenei". Alqatrah.net. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  16. ^ "The drop, Office of Sheikh Al-Habib in London - Sheikh al-Habib remarks on Naser Makarem Shirazi's statement". Alqatrah.net. Retrieved 18 October 2010.

External links

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yasser_Al-Habib&oldid=607654029"