Adnan Ibrahim

Adnan Ibrahim is a Palestinian Islamic scholar who holds a masters and a PhD in Arabic studies from the University of Vienna.[1]

Adnan Ibrahim
Adnan Ibrahim in his private library
Born
Gaza, Palestine.
NationalityPalestinian, Austrian
Alma materUniversity of Vienna
SchoolSunni
Main interests
Philosophy
Ethics
Science
Islam
Atheism
Websitewww.adnanibrahim.net

Life

Adnan Ibrahim was born and brought up in a refugee camp in Gaza/Palestine, later moving to Yugoslavia and studying medicine in Sarajevo.[2] In the 1990s he moved to Vienna because of the Third Balkan War,[3] where he became Imam of the Shura mosque in Leopoldstadt in 2002.[4][5] He holds Austrian citizenship.[6]

His preaching in Arabic reaches a wide audience through digital media.[7]

According to Raphael Israeli, "After the London bombings in 2005, he issued a fatwa saying Muslims who hear of plans for a terrorist attack must report them to the police immediately."[8] He is also known for having preached and lectured against female genital mutilation.[9]

Views

Stoning

Adnan Ibrahim rejects the punishment of stoning for adultery. A similar opinion to this has been offered by other influential scholars such as Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi while declined by others.[10]

Controversy

In 2007 Austrian media described him as a controversial figure: liberal in theology and opposing terrorism in Europe, his preaching on Middle Eastern politics has praised anti-Israeli militants and led to accusations of supporting Hamas against Israel.[11] Known as an "enlightened and reforming imam, particularly with regard to women's issues", in 2014 he again reportedly preached in support of Hamas, although the accuracy of the translation was called into question.[12]

During a speech at the Strasbourg Islamic center, a video of which was posted on the internet in January 2011 (as translated by MEMRI), Ibrahim claimed that Nicolaus Copernicus had actually stolen ideas from the Arab Islamic astronomer Abu Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Shatir. He is not the only scholar to suggest this.[13] He also claimed that other western scientists, including Galileo Galilei, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Leonardo da Vinci were actually "thieves...who robbed the Islamic heritage, which was kept in the darkness of church crypts for over 200 years." Ibrahim claimed these comments were made by "a Polish prime minister" when, on a visit to Syria, supposedly admitted all of this to then president Hafez al-Assad that all of these scientists had stolen knowledge from Islamic scholars. Ibrahim also claimed that Muslim scientist Baha Al-Amili had developed a formula for "perpetual energy" and created lighting in a mosque in the city of Isfahan that burned indefinitely without any energy source.[14]

References
  1. "أطروحة لنيل الدكتوراه في موضوع " حرية الاعتقاد في الإسلام ومعترضاتها القتال ،الذمة والجزية ،وقتل المرتد " عدنان إبراهيم - جامعة فيينا". www.studies.ma.
  2. Wiener Imam erneut mit Extremismus-Vorwürfen konfrontiert, Der Standard, Jan. 25, 2007.
  3. Raphael Israeli, The Islamic Challenge in Europe, New Brunswick NJ, 2009), p. 139.
  4. Neue Extremismus-Vorwürfe: Wiener Imam bestreitet Aufruf zum "Heiligen Krieg", NEWS, Jan. 24, 2007.
  5. Tom Heneghan, "Vienna Imam Says Yes to Europe, No to 'Euro-Islam'", interview with Sheikh Adnan Ibrahim, Reuters, April 12, 2006.
  6. Der "Hassprediger", Der Standard, May 15, 2007.
  7. Nadia Oweidat, On Web: Islamic Spring vs. ISIS?, CNN, American edition, September 30, 2014: "while his sermons are sometimes delivered to just a few dozen followers in a small mosque in Vienna, hundreds of thousands of people are watching and downloading his sermons over the Internet."
  8. Raphael Israeli, The Islamic Challenge in Europe (Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick NJ, 2009), p. 140.
  9. Sabine Strasser, "Political Activism and Anthropology in Austria", in Taking Sides: Ethics, Politics, and Fieldwork in Anthropology, edited by Heidi Armbruster and Anna Lærke (Berghahn Books, 2008), p. 190.
  10. "شبهة حول حكم الرجم والرد عليها".
  11. Der Islam in Österreich: Wie vorbildlich ist die Integration?, Ö1, May 16, 2007.
  12. "'Wahrer Jihad': Wiener Imam lobt Hamas", Die Presse, Sept. 8, 2014.
  13. N. Guessoum, Copernicus and Ibn Al-Shatir: Does the Copernican Revolution have Islamic Roots?, The Observatory 128 (2008), pp. 231-239.
  14. Archival - Vienna Imam: Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Da Vinci Were Thieves Who Robbed the Islamic Heritage, MEMRITV, Clip No. 4992 (transcript), January 6, 2011 (video clip available here).
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