Yasin Abu Bakr (born Lennox Philip; 19 October 1941 – 21 October 2021) was a Trinidad and Tobago religious leader who led the

Jamaat al Muslimeen The Jamaat al Muslimeen (, also transliterated as Jamaat-ul Muslimeen or Jama'at al-Muslimeen, ''"School of Muslims", "Group of Muslims", "The Muslim Group", "The Muslim Assembly", "The Muslim Society", "The Muslim Community"'') is a radical extr ...

, a

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 ...

group in Trinidad and Tobago. The group staged an attempted ''coup d’état'' in 1990.

Life

Abu Bakr was born Lennox Philip in Trinidad and Tobago and grew up in a suburb of

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

as the eighth of fifteen children. He would later attend and graduate from

Queen's Royal College Queen's Royal College ( St.Clair, Trinidad), referred to for short as QRC, or "The College" by alumni, is a secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago. Originally a boarding school and grammar school, the secular college is selective and noted for it ...

, and would spend time on his tertiary studies in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. Abu Bakr would later convert to Islam, although there are two conflicting descriptions of how it took place. One story states it occurred in 1969 after an Egyptian preacher visited Trinidad. The other story states it occurred in the early 1970s while still in Canada, and that he would return to Trinidad already converted in 1973. He would change his name shortly after converting. In the 1970s he lived in Libya as a guest of

Muamar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

. Upon his return to Trinidad and Tobago he founded

. Abu Bakr collapsed and died at his home on 21 October 2021 at the age of 80.

Coup

In 1990, 100 of Abu Bakr's followers stormed the

Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is compose ...

and took the Prime Minister hostage. Abu Baker surrendered to police six days later, and spent two years in jail.

Personal life

Abu Bakr's son, Fuad, would later embark on a political course, eventually becoming the leader of the New National Vision party, a minor political party founded in 1994 in Trinidad and Tobago. His attempt at obtaining a seat in the 2020 general elections proved unsuccessful.

References

External links

* Angela Potter
"Trinidad Muslims Being Closely Monitored"
Associated Press, 1 November 2001. * Robin Walker
"Profile: Jamaat al Muslimeen"
BBC News, 3 June 2007. * Danny Gold
"The Islamic Leader Who Tried to Overthrow Trinidad Has Mellowed… a Little"
''Vice News'', 30 May 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Bakr, Yasin 1941 births 2021 deaths Trinidad and Tobago religious leaders Trinidad and Tobago rebels Trinidad and Tobago Muslims Converts to Islam Alumni of Queen's Royal College, Trinidad