Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah Abdullah (born 1984), better known as Abu Walaa, is an

Islamic 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 mai ...

preacher based in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

, Germany. In 2016 he was arrested for supporting terrorism.

Biography

Born in al-Tamim, Iraq, he immigrated to Germany in 2001. He preached at the ''Deutschsprachiger Islamkreis Hildesheim e. V.'' (DIK)

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

founded in 2012, and took part as a speaker in a great number of

Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

events due to his popularity through his online video releases and his Facebook followers. He became known as a "preacher without face" (german: Prediger ohne Gesicht), because in many of his videos, his face would be hidden from the camera.Spiegel: Festnahme von "Abu Walaa" - Polizei stellt den "Prediger ohne Gesicht"

Arrest

On the morning of November 8, 2016, the German police arrested Abu Walaa in Bad Salzdetfurth alongside four suspected accomplices in Hildesheim and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

accused of supporting a foreign terrorist organization according to article 129b of the German Penal Code. He is suspected of being the head of an Islamic group, recruiting young Muslims in Germany to fight for

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...

in Syria and Iraq for the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL or ISIS). The German authorities had long been investigating his activities. Based on testimony by Turkish-German Anil O., a young man fighting in Syria and arrested upon his return to Germany, the German prosecutor's office demanded Abu Walaa's arrest after Anil O. admitted he was influenced by Abu Walaa at his Hildesheim mosque for jihad.

Conviction

Abu Walaa was convicted of support and membership in a terrorist organisation on 24 February 2021 by the Oberlandesgericht in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

. He was sentenced to 10,5 years in prison."IS-Chefanwerber in Deutschland zu zehneinhalb Jahren Haft verurteilt"

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

23´4 February 2021

References

{{reflist 1984 births Living people People from Hildesheim Iraqi emigrants to Germany Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Germany Islamic terrorism in Germany