Ismail ibn Musa Menk ( ar, إسماعيل بن موسى منك, translit=ʾismāʿīl ibn mūsā mink) (born 27 June 1975) is a Zimbabwean

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

, best known as Mufti Menk. He is the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe's Muslim community, which makes up roughly 1% of the country's total population,Inter Censal Demography Survey 2017 Report
Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (2017) and head of the

fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...

department for the Council of Islamic Scholars of Zimbabwe. Menk was named one of

The 500 Most Influential Muslims ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' (also known as ''The Muslim 500'') is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. The publication is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies C ...

in the world by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Early life

Menk was born on 27 June 1975 in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

to Gujarati Indian parents from the Bharuchi Vohra Patel community, being son of Maulana Musa Ibrahim Menk, a Muslim preacher in Zimbabwe. Mufti Menk is able to speak Gujarati Urdu, due to his parents being migrants from India, as common with the Bharachi Vohra community where he undertook his initial studies with his father, Moulana Musa, memorizing the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

and learning

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. He went to

St. John's College (Harare) St. John's College is an independent, day high school for boys aged 12–18 in Borrowdale, a suburb in Harare, Zimbabwe. The school, established in 1986, is owned and governed by the St John's Educational Trust, as is St. John's Preparatory Schoo ...

for senior school. He then completed his religious education and Mufti course from Kantharia Darul Uloom located in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Menk has been identified as a

Deobandi Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautav ...

Sam Westrop, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Deobandis, Islamism and British Multiculturalism Policy" in ''Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan'', Springer, 2016, p. 461 as well as a

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 genera ...

by different sources, though he has not publicly acknowledged his involvement in either movement.

Views

Menk opposes terrorism and has pledged his aid in curbing religious extremism in the Maldives. On 31 March 2018, he urged Liberian Muslims to avoid Muslim—Christian violence, arguing that

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 ...

s and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

are brothers and sisters from one father, the prophet

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

. He blames western media for misleading the world that Muslims are terrorists. According to

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launc ...

, Menk said that everyone on this earth is a part of a family and has one maker, therefore, no one has the right to force any belief or faith on another.

Works

In 2018 he published a collection of his sayings as a book titled ''Motivational Moments'' and in 2019 published the second edition, titled ''Motivational Moments 2.''

Awards and recognition

*Menk was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate of Social Guidance by Aldersgate College, Philippines and its collaborative partner Aldersgate College – Dublin, Ireland on 16 April 2016. *KSBEA 2015 Awards – Global Leadership Award in Social Guidance was awarded by the '' Cochin Herald''. * He was listed as one of

in 2014 and 2017.

Pakistan visit

Menk visited

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 September 2022 to highlight flood-hit areas of Sindh, Pakistan.

Controversies

Travel bans

On 31 October 2017, Singapore banned Menk from its borders because it believes he expresses views incompatible with its multicultural laws and policies. According to the ''

Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

'', he has asserted that "it is blasphemous for Muslims to greet believers of other faiths during festivals such as Christmas or Deepavali". Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement that its decision to reject Menk's application for a short-term work pass stemmed from his "segregationist and divisive teachings". The Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe, Menk's own institution, released a statement to express "regret and dismay" regarding the ban. It said that Menk was an "asset to multi‐cultural, multi‐religious Zimbabwe" and that viewers should "listen to his sermons in full" and not "edited clips of a few minutes" to see the moderate path he has chosen. Mufti Menk actually addressed this issue in a youtube video of his, in which he clarifies that he actually said, that you must not force your beliefs onto others. In November 2018, the Danish government banned Menk from entering its borders for 2 years.

Homophobia

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' has described Menk as an "openly homophobic Islamic preacher" who has denounced the act of homosexuality as "filthy". In 2013, he was due to visit six British universities –

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

– but the speaking tour was cancelled after

student union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social ...

s and university officials expressed concern about his views. Menk's controversial statement included these words: "How can you engage in acts of immorality with the same sex?... The

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

clearly says it is wrong what you are doing...

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...

speaks about how filthy this is... With all due respect to the animals, homosexuals are worse than animals."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menk, Ismail ibn Musa Living people Zimbabwean Sunni Muslims Zimbabwean religious leaders 21st-century imams Quran reciters 21st-century Muslim theologians Islamic University of Madinah alumni Muftis 1975 births People from Harare Islamic television preachers Hanbalis 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam