Abd al Haqq Kielan ( ar, عبدالحق كيلان, born 22 June 1941) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

cleric. He is an

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

at the mosque in Eskilstuna and at the

Islamic Association in Stockholm Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

. He is also chairman of the Swedish Islamic Society and permanent secretary of the

Swedish Islamic Academy Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. Kielan was born Leif Karlsson in Eskilstuna,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He first came in contact with Islam during a travel to Morocco in 1963. He converted to the religion in 1984 when he also changed his legal name to Abd al Haqq Kielan, an Arabic name which loosely means "humble servant of the truth". Kielan caused controversy after an interview in 2004 where he said that "it's doubtful" whether women should be entitled to their own social life outside the home. In the interview he also said that women should not be entitled to marry on their own initiative, and that "according to the

Law of Moses The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...

, adultery is punishable by death by stoning for both the sexes".

References

1941 births People from Eskilstuna Swedish imams Converts to Islam 21st-century imams Living people {{Islam-bio-stub