Pierre Vogel (born July 20, 1978), also known as Abu Hamza ( ar, أبو حمزة) is a German Islamist

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

and a former professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Early life and boxing career

Vogel was born in

Frechen Frechen (; Ripuarian: ''Frechem'') is a town in the Rhein-Erft District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Frechen was first mentioned in 877. It is situated at the western Cologne city border. It is the site of the 1257 Battle of Frechen betwee ...

. He turned professional at the age of 22, fighting briefly (for two years) as a cruiserweight for the

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

club and was undefeated in seven bouts.

Religion

Vogel converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in 2001 and shortly thereafter began courses in

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

in Germany, and then studied in

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

. He is considered to be one of the most influential Islamists in Germany.

Private life

Vogel is married to a Muslim Moroccan woman and father of three children.

Media perception

He has been described in one German report as a "radical Muslim", while Matthias Matussek, author and commentator for ''

Spiegel Online ''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON''). It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wit ...

'', described him as representative of the "dark Nazi variant" of Islam in Germany. When he appeared at a Muslim meeting in

Dillingen, Saarland Dillingen (also: ''Dillingen an der Saar'') (french: Dillange) is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland. It has about 20,000 inhabitants and is divided into the three districts Dillingen-city center, Pachten and Diefflen. The city is ...

, 25 April 2010, he said that polygamy is legitimate due to the fact that there are more women than men in Germany. In January 2016, Vogel shared a video giving out the personal details of a woman who claimed to have been raped by men of Middle Eastern appearance in Cologne, claiming that she had falsified her story in order to slander Islam. The video's creator deleted it after a legal challenge from the victim.

References

External links

* (Pierre Vogels current website)
einladungzumparadies.de
(Pierre Vogel's former website) * diewahrereligion.de

(Pierre Vogel's former website) *
Eine Reportage über dem Ex-Profi Boxer Pierre Vogel, der zum Islam konvertiert ist
aus dem 2. kroatischen Staatsfernsehen (mit kroatischen Untertiteln) HRT 2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Pierre Converts to Islam from Protestantism 1978 births Living people People from Frechen Sportspeople from Cologne (region) German male boxers German Islamists German Salafis Cruiserweight boxers