Rashad Khalifa was an
Egyptian-AmericanEgyptian Americans are Americans of Egyptian ancestry, first-generation Egyptian immigrants, or descendants of Egyptians who immigrated to the United States. In the 2007 U.S. census, the number of people with Egyptian ancestry was estimated at 195,000, although some estimates range from several...
biochemistBiochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
who founded
United Submitters InternationalThe Submitters is a Islamic religious community , following the teachings of Rashad Khalifa who is regarded in this faith as God's messenger of the Covenant who was prophesied in the Old Testament, The new testament and the Quran...
. He was
assassinatedAn Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure.Assassinations may be prompted by ideological, political, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by financial gain, revenge, personal public recognition, or mental illness....
in 1990.
Khalifa immigrated to the United States in 1959, where he earned a
Ph.DDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
in
biochemistryBiochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules....
. He became a
naturalizedNaturalization is the acquisition of citizenship or nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born....
U.S. citizen, living in
Tucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States, located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. As of July 1, 2006, a Census Bureau estimate puts the city's population at 541,811, with a metropolitan area population at...
.
Khalifa worked as a science adviser for the Libyan government for about one year, after which he worked as a chemist for the
United Nations Industrial Development OrganizationThe United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
, then became a senior chemist in Arizona's State Office of Chemistry in 1980.
Rashad Khalifa was an
Egyptian-AmericanEgyptian Americans are Americans of Egyptian ancestry, first-generation Egyptian immigrants, or descendants of Egyptians who immigrated to the United States. In the 2007 U.S. census, the number of people with Egyptian ancestry was estimated at 195,000, although some estimates range from several...
biochemistBiochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
who founded
United Submitters InternationalThe Submitters is a Islamic religious community , following the teachings of Rashad Khalifa who is regarded in this faith as God's messenger of the Covenant who was prophesied in the Old Testament, The new testament and the Quran...
. He was
assassinatedAn Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure.Assassinations may be prompted by ideological, political, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by financial gain, revenge, personal public recognition, or mental illness....
in 1990.
Life
Khalifa immigrated to the United States in 1959, where he earned a
Ph.DDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
in
biochemistryBiochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules....
. He became a
naturalizedNaturalization is the acquisition of citizenship or nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born....
U.S. citizen, living in
Tucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States, located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. As of July 1, 2006, a Census Bureau estimate puts the city's population at 541,811, with a metropolitan area population at...
.
Khalifa worked as a science adviser for the Libyan government for about one year, after which he worked as a chemist for the
United Nations Industrial Development OrganizationThe United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
, then became a senior chemist in Arizona's State Office of Chemistry in 1980. Khalifa's son
Sam KhalifaSam Khalifa , was a Major League Baseball player.The seventh overall pick in the 1982 June draft. He played 164 games across three seasons in the majors, most as a shortstop and all as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates...
played
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
for the
Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions, in addition to the distinction of playing in the first modern World Series. The Pirates are also often...
.
He founded the religious group called
United Submitters InternationalThe Submitters is a Islamic religious community , following the teachings of Rashad Khalifa who is regarded in this faith as God's messenger of the Covenant who was prophesied in the Old Testament, The new testament and the Quran...
(USI), a group which considers itself to be the true
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
, but prefers not to use the terms "
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
" or "Islam," instead using the English equivalents of the
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
: "Submitter" or "Submission."
Submitters believe Khalifa was a messenger of God and refer to him as God's messenger of the covenant as prophesied in the Quran and Bible, after which today's "corrupted" religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, will simply die out, and "Submission" will prevail.
Specific beliefs of the USI include the dedication of all worship practices to
God aloneIn theology, monotheism is the belief that only one god exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the Platonic concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite...
, upholding the
Qur'anThe Qur’an is the central religious text of Islam...
alone, and rejecting the traditional
hadithHadith are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hadith are regarded by traditional schools of jurisprudence as important tools for determining the Muslim way of life, the sunnah. Hadith were originally oral traditions of Muhammad's actions and customs...
and
sunnahSunnah is an Arabic word that means habit or usual practice. The Muslim usage of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of Muhammad, the main prophet of Islam....
as fabrications and lies attributed to
MuhammadMuhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh , is the founder of the religion of Islam [ إِسْلامْ ] and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets as taught by the...
by his enemies. For many years he attended Masjid Tucson in
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
.
Mathematical analysis of Qur'anic text
Starting in 1968, Khalifa used computers to analyze the frequency of letters and words in the Qur'an. In 1974 he claimed that he discovered an intricate numerical pattern in the text of the Qur'an involving the number 19 mentioned in verse 30 of chapter 74 of the Qur'an.
The details of this analysis including tables are available in the back of his book,
Quran, the Final Testament.
Khalifa's research did not receive much attention in the
WestThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context...
. In 1980,
Martin GardnerMartin Gardner is an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, pseudoscience, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...
mentioned it in
Scientific AmericanScientific American is a popular science magazine published since August 28, 1845, which according to the magazine makes it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States...
. Gardner later wrote a more extensive and critical review of Khalifa and his work.
Many popular magazines and newspapers in the
Muslim worldThe term Muslim world has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Muslims, adherents of Islam. This community numbers about 1.3-1.5 billion people, roughly one-fifth of the world population. This community is spread across many different nations and ethnic...
reported his discoveries. Khalifa's first publicized report appeared in the Egyptian magazine
Akher Sa'a (January 24, 1973). Updates of his research were subsequently published by the same magazine (November 28, 1973 and December 31, 1975). Many other magazines and newspaper articles by and about Khalifa appeared throughout the world in many languages.
Various Muslim organisations however have criticised Dr. Rashad's studies, accusing him of spreading heresy and ignorance. His proclamation of himself as a prophet.
Dr. Rashad Khalifa always proclaimed and taught that Muhammad was the last Prophet. He never claimed to be a Prophet and explained very clearly the difference between a Prophet and a Messenger of God in his translation, newsletters and other works.
Dr. Rashad's theories have also come under criticism by Islamic purists, who have rebuked his theories by pointing to his selective and biased methods of counting used to propound his theory.
Criminal Charges
In October, 1979, Khalifa was accused of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual contact with a minor. The accuser, a 16-year-old-girl, testified at a hearing that Khalifa sexually molested her while recruiting her for research on the human aura. There was no evidence of intercourse found when the girl was examined at a local hospital. Justice of the Peace James P. West ruled there was probable cause to hold Khalifa for trial on the charges.
Assassination
On January 31, 1990, Khalifa was murdered at Masjid Tucson. He was stabbed multiple times and his body drenched in
xylolThe term xylene or xylol refers to a mixture of three aromatic hydrocarbon isomers which is used as a solvent in the printing, rubber, and leather industries. Xylene is a clear, colorless, sweet-smelling liquid that is very flammable. It is usually refined from crude oil in a process called...
but not set alight. Although nobody has been convicted of his murder, James Williams, an alleged member of the Jamaat ul-Fuqra organization, was convicted of
conspiracyIn the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
in the slaying. Williams disappeared on the day of his sentencing and could not be found. In 2000 Williams was apprehended attempting to re-enter the United States and sentenced to serve 69 years in prison. His convictions were upheld on appeal by the
Colorado Court of AppealsThe Colorado Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Colorado. It was established by statute by the Colorado General Assembly under Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution of Colorado.-Jurisdiction:...
except for one count of
forgeryForgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deceive. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery...
.
CBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. Its current president is Sean McManus who is also head of CBS Sports...
reported that Muslim extremist
Wadih el-HageWadih el-Hage alias Abd'al Sabur alias the Manager is a former al-Qaeda member who is serving life imprisonment in the United States for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. He was indicted and arrested in 1998, and convicted on all counts and sentenced to life without parole in...
was "connected to the 1990 stabbing death of... Rashad Khalifa [who] was hated by Muslim extremists [that were] opposed to his teachings. El-Hage who was indicted for lying about the case, called the assassination 'a good thing.'"
On Tuesday, April 28, 2009 the Calgary Police Services of Canada arrested Glen Cusford Francis, a 52-year-old citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, on suspicion of killing Rashad Khalifa. Investigators in Tucson learned that Francis who was going by the name Benjamin Phillips had began his studies under Khalifa in January 1990. Phillips disappeared shortly after the slaying, and was said to have left the country. An investigation revealed Phillips and Francis were the same man upon discovering finger prints found in Phillips apartment. A specialty unit of the Tucson Police Department furthered in its investigation in 2006 and in December of 2008 and was able to use DNA testing on forensic evidence from the crime scene to tie Francis to the assassination.
External links
Resources
- R. Khalifa, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, Islamic Productions International, 1982. ISBN 0-934894-30-2
- R. Khalifa, http://www.submission.org/Q-T.html,Authorized English Translation
- R. Khalifa, http://books.google.com/books?id=KSZhy_x7r2QC&dq=quran+rashad+khalifa&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=_01ESsHEBM7OjAeT-4DQAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4,Authorized English Translation
- R. Khalifa, The Computer Speaks: God's Message to the World, Islamic Productions International, 1981. ISBN 0-934894-38-8
- R. Khalifa, Quran, Hadith, And Islam, Universal Unity, 2000. ISBN 1-881893-04-9.
- Y.Y. Haddad and J.I. Smith, Mission to America; Five Islamic Sectarian Communities in North America, University Press of Florida, 1993. ISBN 0-8130-1216-3.