Safar Al-Hawali
Encyclopedia
Safar bin Abdul-Rahman al-Hawali (born 1950) is a Saudi Islam
ic scholar who lives in Mecca
. His name is sometimes associated with either Osama bin Laden
and terrorism
.
from Umm al-Qura University, Mecca in 1986. During the 1990s, he was arrested for a period of time by the Saudi authorities for his criticism of the government when he distributed sermons on cassette tapes to incite militants to overthrow the government. Along with another preacher Salman al-Ouda
, al-Hawali is said to have led the sahwa or "awakening" movement in Saudi Arabia, a form of salafism.
opposed the presence of US troops on the Arabian peninsula
. In 1991, al-Hawali delivered a sermon stating: "What is happening in the [Persian] Gulf is part of a larger Western design to dominate the whole Arab and Muslim world." Bin Laden is said to often cite al-Hawali and al-Oada "to justify his own pronouncements against the United States."
He is a personal favorite of terrorists including Osama bin Laden
. Some argue that it is completely not fair to associate Al-Hawali with Osama Bin Laden. Some have said to refer to his messages that was sent to the Bin Laden's camp, which indicates that he opposes Osama bin Laden's work, and that there is no relation between him and Osama bin laden, "They are not in the same line they are opposite each other." Hawali's pro-terrorism fatwas include an endorsement of the September 11, 2001 attacks
. Hawali is a close associate of Salman al-Ouda
, q.v.
as part of his master thesis at Umm Al-Qura. This research was supervised by Muhammad Qutb
, the brother of Sayyid Qutb
. Here Al-Hawali traced the history of the separation between the church and state and how the idea was imported to the Muslim world. In his Ph.D. research, Al-Hawali made an analysis of the separation between the claim of faith and deeds of worship
.
In the year 2000, he wrote a treatise on the Second Intifada, entitled The Day of Wrath. He argued that the Biblical prophecies used by Christian fundamentalists to support the state of Israel
actually predict its destruction. The treatise was subsequently translated into Hebrew
by the Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta
group.
After September 11, 2001
, Al-Hawali wrote an open letter to President Bush
.
When 60 American intellectual
s issued an article justifying America's war in Iraq
, Al-Hawali wrote a counter-article, rebutting their claims and pointing to the history of US foreign policy.
Samuel P. Huntington
included Al-Hawali in his famous Clash of Civilizations
article. "It is not the world against Iraq," as Safar Al-Hawali, dean of Islamic Studies at the Umm Al-Qura University in Mecca, put it in a widely circulated tape. "It is the West against Islam."
Al-Hawali wrote an article in Al-Bayan magazine on unitarianism
among Christians. He traced the history of those who reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and believe in one supreme god. He claimed that monotheists had been subject to great persecution, by both Catholic
s and Protestants; and that five among the US presidents had been Unitarians.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic scholar who lives in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. His name is sometimes associated with either Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
.
Biography
He received his doctorate in Islamic theologyIslamic theology
Islamic theology is a branch of Islamic studies regarding the beliefs associated with the Islamic faith. Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of aqidah. However, this term has taken a significant technical usage in Islamic history and theology, denoting those...
from Umm al-Qura University, Mecca in 1986. During the 1990s, he was arrested for a period of time by the Saudi authorities for his criticism of the government when he distributed sermons on cassette tapes to incite militants to overthrow the government. Along with another preacher Salman al-Ouda
Salman al-Ouda
Salman bin Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ouda or Salman al-Ouda , Salman al-Oadah, Salman Al-Audah, or Salman Al-Awdah -alias Abu Mu'ad - is a Saudi cleric or Sheikh and Muslim scholar. Al-Ouda is a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars and on its Board of Trustees...
, al-Hawali is said to have led the sahwa or "awakening" movement in Saudi Arabia, a form of salafism.
Views
Hawali is best known in the West as a proponent of Islamist terrorism. He is mentioned in Osama bin Laden's fatwa as a sheikh unjustly arrested allegedly "by orders from the USA." Like bin Laden, al-Hawali and another preacher Salman al-OudaSalman al-Ouda
Salman bin Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ouda or Salman al-Ouda , Salman al-Oadah, Salman Al-Audah, or Salman Al-Awdah -alias Abu Mu'ad - is a Saudi cleric or Sheikh and Muslim scholar. Al-Ouda is a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars and on its Board of Trustees...
opposed the presence of US troops on the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. In 1991, al-Hawali delivered a sermon stating: "What is happening in the [Persian] Gulf is part of a larger Western design to dominate the whole Arab and Muslim world." Bin Laden is said to often cite al-Hawali and al-Oada "to justify his own pronouncements against the United States."
He is a personal favorite of terrorists including Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. Some argue that it is completely not fair to associate Al-Hawali with Osama Bin Laden. Some have said to refer to his messages that was sent to the Bin Laden's camp, which indicates that he opposes Osama bin Laden's work, and that there is no relation between him and Osama bin laden, "They are not in the same line they are opposite each other." Hawali's pro-terrorism fatwas include an endorsement of the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. Hawali is a close associate of Salman al-Ouda
Salman al-Ouda
Salman bin Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ouda or Salman al-Ouda , Salman al-Oadah, Salman Al-Audah, or Salman Al-Awdah -alias Abu Mu'ad - is a Saudi cleric or Sheikh and Muslim scholar. Al-Ouda is a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars and on its Board of Trustees...
, q.v.
Written works
Safar Al-Hawali wrote a book on secularismSecularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
as part of his master thesis at Umm Al-Qura. This research was supervised by Muhammad Qutb
Muhammad Qutb
Muhammad Qutb, , is an Islamist author, scholar and teacher best known as the younger brother of the Egyptian Islamist thinker Sayyid Qutb...
, the brother of Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s....
. Here Al-Hawali traced the history of the separation between the church and state and how the idea was imported to the Muslim world. In his Ph.D. research, Al-Hawali made an analysis of the separation between the claim of faith and deeds of worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
.
In the year 2000, he wrote a treatise on the Second Intifada, entitled The Day of Wrath. He argued that the Biblical prophecies used by Christian fundamentalists to support the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
actually predict its destruction. The treatise was subsequently translated into Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
by the Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta
Neturei Karta
Neturei Karta is a Haredi Jewish group formally created in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisroel...
group.
After September 11, 2001
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Al-Hawali wrote an open letter to President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
When 60 American intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s issued an article justifying America's war in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Al-Hawali wrote a counter-article, rebutting their claims and pointing to the history of US foreign policy.
Samuel P. Huntington
Samuel P. Huntington
Samuel Phillips Huntington was an influential American political scientist who wrote highly-regarded books in a half-dozen sub-fields of political science, starting in 1957...
included Al-Hawali in his famous Clash of Civilizations
Clash of Civilizations
The Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world....
article. "It is not the world against Iraq," as Safar Al-Hawali, dean of Islamic Studies at the Umm Al-Qura University in Mecca, put it in a widely circulated tape. "It is the West against Islam."
Al-Hawali wrote an article in Al-Bayan magazine on unitarianism
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
among Christians. He traced the history of those who reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and believe in one supreme god. He claimed that monotheists had been subject to great persecution, by both Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s and Protestants; and that five among the US presidents had been Unitarians.