Yasser Al-Habib

Sheikh Yasser al-Habib (Arabic: ياسر الحبيب born 20 January 1979) is a Muslim Shia 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 methods in expressing his religious views and his investigations and conclusions in the Islamic history, based upon Shia and Sunni sources.

Al-Habib started his religious activities in Kuwait, starting off as a member of the Dawah Party, later he founded a non-profit religious organization named Khoddam Al-Mahdi Organization, and he also expressed his religious views regarding Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Omar bin al-Khattab, 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 current place of residence.

Early life

Al-Habib was interviewed by Elaph, a well-known Arabic online newspaper, where 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 Ayatollah Mohammed Reza Shirazi.^[2]

In 2011, he founded Khoddam Al-Mahdi Organization at Kuwait and In 2003, Al-Habib was sentenced to 35 years in prison in Kuwait for insulting Aisha and Sunni caliphs, who are revered in Sunni Islam. However, his imprisonment was cut short in 2004 on the occasion of the country's National Day, but his rearrest was ordered a few days later. He fled the country first to Iraq, then to Iran. Then he went to London where Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Shirazi, younger brother of Sadiq Shirazi, has lived for forty years. Finally he could get asylum in Britain.^[3]

Now he lives in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, and had started his religious and political activity such as founding Al Muhassin Mosque and setting up Fadak (TV channel).^[4]

Views

He recorded two lectures in English titled: Who killed the Prophet Muhammad and Why do Shiites hate Umar Ibn al-Khattab.^[5] Sunni 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.^[6]

Wahhabism

Al-Habib said:

Bakris and Batris

Sheikh al-Habib refers to Sunnis as Bakris, meaning the followers of Abu Bakr. He says that the real Sunnis (Ahlul Sunnah) are the ones who follow the Sunnah of Muhammad, that is Shia Muslims. 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 explains that the reality behind why people called themselves Ahlul Sunnah wal Jama'ah only began after the Umayyad ruler Umar bin Abdul Aziz forbade the Sunnah (tradition) of cursing Ali bin Abi Talib publicly (as previously invented by the Muawiyah). It was upon then that people protested to this new prohibition, declaring that Umar bin Abdul Aziz had prohibited the Sunnah of cursing Ali bin Abi Talib. Thus they began calling themselves Ahlul Sunnah wal Jama'ah; stressing that they adhere to the Sunnah of cursing Ali bin Abi Talib, and that they are the Jama'ah of Muawiyah.

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

He described Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (the Lebanese marja who died on 4 July 2010)^[8] 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.^[9]

Celebrating Aisha's death anniversary and its reaction

In September 2010 Sheikh Yasser al-Habib angered the Sunni Muslims by calling Aisha, "an enemy of God" which led Kuwait to revoke his citizenship accusing him of trying to stir up discord among Muslims.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15]}

In October 2010 Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tried to calm tensions between Shias and Sunnis by issuing a fatwa against insulting Muhammad's companions and wives.^[16]

Cursing the wives of the prophets and the wives of the Great Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is one of the taboos and prohibitions.^[16]

Criticism

After Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued the fatwa outlawing the insult of Sunni Dignitaries (Aisha, Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattāb),^[17] Al-Habib responded by calling the Islamic Republic of Iran "oppressive". He continued by referring to 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".^[18]

Senior Iranian cleric Naser Makarem Shirazi has referred to Al-Habib as a "hired agent or a mad man" ^[19] and stated: "Recently an illiterate fool non clergy U.K citizen in the name of Shia has insulted sacred matters of Sunni Muslim brothers".^[20]

Al-Habib has been criticized by several figures and leaders who speak in the name of Shiism including Ammar Nakshawani, leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, Ali Khamenei (who also issued a fatwa against cursing of Muhammad's companions) and Naser Makarem Shirazi.

Response

Sheikh maintains that all he does is teach the Islam as it was and should be, something that was historically disorded by Sunnis and Iran since 1979, especially under the Khamenei.

Books by Al-Habib

• Obscenity: The Other Face of Aisha. Khodam Al Mahdi Organisation. 2010. ISBN 095662300X. 

References

External links

• The drop, Office of Sheikh Al-Habib in London