AlMaghrib Institute is an Islamic studies institute founded in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, by Muhammad AlShareef in 2002.Asef Bayat, Linda Herrera, ''Being Young and Muslim: New Cultural Politics in the Global South and North,'' p 170. AlMaghrib provides courses on Islam in a six-day, two-weekend intensive seminar and other courses in a shorter, three-day, single-weekend format.

Instructors

Most of AlMaghrib instructors are graduates of the

Islamic University of Madinah The Islamic University of Madinah ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة) was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in 1961 in the Islamic holy city of Medina. Many have associated the univer ...

, which is why AlMaghrib is characterized as

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 ...

in ideological orientation, despite founder Muhammad AlShareef's commitment not to use labels other than "Islam" and "Muslim". AlMaghrib's instructors include the following Islamic scholars, who are listed on AlMaghrib's website. *

Yasir Qadhi Yasir Qadhi (born January 30, 1975), is an American preacher, theologian, and imam. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Tex ...

Abdullah Hakim Quick Shaykh Abdullah Hakim Quick (born June 20, 1949) is an American-Canadian Imam and travelling lecturer. Background He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts of African American, Caribbean and Mohawk descent. He grew up in Boston. He received ...

* Omar Suleiman

Academics

AlMaghrib's founders are working toward establishing an M.A. and Ph.D.-granting Islamic seminary with a permanent campus in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, featuring teachers as full-time faculty.

Controversies

AlMaghrib has received a significant amount of public scrutiny because recordings by

Anwar al-Awlaki Anwar Nasser al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi, al-Awlaqi; ar, أنور العولقي, Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21 or 22, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American imam who was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a U.S. government drone stri ...

, the highest English-speaking cleric in

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

, continued to be sold at AlMaghrib events, although AlMaghrib banned these in 2009.Zareena Grewal, ''Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority,'' p 331. In addition, analysts have studied students of the Institute who were later involved in terrorist actions or plots, and speculated about the teachings of the Institute.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab ( ar, عمر فاروق عبد المطلب ; also known as Umar Abdul Mutallab and Omar Farooq al-Nigeri; born December 22, 1986) popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber" or "Christmas Bomber", is a Nigerian-bor ...

, who in December 2009 attempted to detonate plastic explosives on board

Northwest Airlines Flight 253 The attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 occurred on December 25, 2009, aboard an Airbus A330 as it prepared to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport following a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam. Attributed to the terrori ...

from Amsterdam to Detroit, was found to have taken a class at the AlMaghrib Institute in Houston. Abdulmutallab claimed that al-Awlaki had also been a student at AlMaghrib. "It's ironic that he came to us," said instructor

of AbdulMutallab. Qadhi told CNN, "At some level, we did not convince him of the validity of our views," and "that is cause for regret". The following former students at the Institute were later implicated in questionable activities: Daniel Maldonado, a

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to Islam, was convicted in 2007 of training in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

with a group linked to Al Qaeeda militia.

Tarek Mehanna Tarek Mehanna is a pharmacist convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, providing material support to terrorists (and conspiracy to do so), conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, conspiracy to make false statement ...

, a pharmacist, was convicted for conspiracy, in a case widely criticized by

journalists A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

civil libertarians Civil libertarianism is a strain of political thought that supports civil liberties, or which emphasizes the supremacy of individual rights and personal freedoms over and against any kind of authority (such as a state, a corporation, social nor ...

. Two young American men were held in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 2009 for seeking to train with militants. On the other hand, some other American Salafi groups have accused AlMaghrib of being "

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

" and "

apolitical Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased pos ...

." As a result of this external and internal scrutiny, AlMaghrib has attempted to change its image and avoided the public use of any classification as "Salafi". AlMaghrib Vice President, Waleed Basyouni, said " lMaghribinstitute's stance against extremism, violence and other related subjects has always been clear ... We unequivocally condemn it in all its forms." Alshareef has been banned from entering Denmark.

References

External links

AlMaghrib Official SiteAlMaghrib Institute ForumsAlMaghrib Institute Instructors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almaghrib Institute Islamic organizations based in the United States Charities based in Texas