There is some discussion of the predicament of Haitham Al Haddad in The Beaver , the website of the students of the London School of Economics.
It contains the following:
Both the Students’ Union and the Islamic Society questioned the factually of Harry’s Place, a blog that is known for its biased stance. The Students’ Union will further investigate the allegations with the help of the Islamic Society, stating that al-Haddad is not permanently barred from speaking on campus until a conclusive decision has been made. “The speaker was not cancelled,” said Alex Peters-Day, “merely delayed.” Peters-Day reiterated that the “complaints around the event were not at all to do with the fact that it was on Sharia law – it was entirely due to the allegations made by Harry’s Place.”
Moos further argued that this incident should be resolved internally and not influenced by unquestioned sources: “the decisions we make regarding events are wholly dictated by the needs and requirements of LSE students – external parties are neither aware of the direct situation and context at LSE nor are they likely to be fully objective in their ‘concerns’. Given that, if it is clear that a speaker invited by any LSESU society is proven to have made discriminatory or racist remarks, the Islamic Society and the whole LSE community should all work together to ensure that these views are not espoused on campus.”
Stoll asserted that the Jewish Society was “pleased with how this issue has been resolved. As a Society we are pleased that this has been dealt with so swiftly and professionally by our SU officers. We have worked in cooperation with the Islamic Society through each stage of this incident and it goes without saying that we are completely convinced that his purported views do not reflect the views, or general ethos, of the Islamic Society.”
There is clearly more work to to, in order to establish the nature of Mr Al Haddad. This is a man who has a history of making racist and extremist statements, presented not simply as his personal political views, but as the unquestionable word of God. He taught the Undiebomber, Abdulmuttalab, and spoke on the same platform – by video message – as Anwar al Awlaki, the Al Qaeda hate preacher who recruited the Undiebomber to terrorism. This was at City ISOC, by the way: one of the absolute worst in London.
The Islamic Sharia Council on which he sits as a judge produces such remarkable rulings as the following:
Narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the prophet said, “if a man calls his wife to his bed and she does not come, and he goes to sleep angry with her, the angels will curse her until the morning.” Agreed upon. This narration should be enough to make any woman pay heed to the severe warning by the prophet that the angels curses are upon those who do not respond to husbands sexual needs because the purpose of a woman is to fulfil that and for that they are made in order to produce offspring. We also know that Allah does not rejects supplication made by angels as they are His closest creation who are always praising and glorifying Him.
Astonishingly, this is the answer in the context of asking what should be done about a woman who has been sexually abused as children and who consequently sometimes refuses sex with her husband. Read it all. It is just remarkable.
There are more. See here. And here. Imagine the outcry if an English judge whose court had produced judgements like this was invited to address the LSE LawSoc.
I think it is worth reproducing, for completeness, Mr Al Haddad’s reaction to the death of Osama Bin Laden. Remember, this is a man who is being very careful indeed. Have a read of his take:
The killing of Osama bin Ladin, may Allah have mercy on him, if proven to be true, may either be a coincidence or part of a strategic manoeuvre by the US and its allies to justify the adoption of new tactics in their ‘war on terror’ that has clearly proven to be counterproductive. It may be alleged that he was killed a long time ago but the killing was only now announced as a justification for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. All of these are possibilities that no one can emphatically confirm, and indeed, there need not be an exertion of effort to confirm or disprove the claims as wisdom dictates that we deal with facts and realities whilst planning for the worst of scenarios.
Whatever the case may be, Osama left this worldly life to meet his Lord who is the ultimate judge. Almighty Allah knows everything about him, his actions, and the conspiracies that surround his life. He knows what Osama did, what he didn’t do, and what we were made to believe that he did. In any case, he died as a Muslim and it is an established part of our Islamic creed that every Muslim, unlike the disbelievers, will eventually enter paradise. According to a number of scholars, the Muslim killed by the enemies of Islam is considered a martyr, regardless of whether he died during combat or simply in a state of non-combative military engagement such as being killed whilst sleeping. Other scholars limit the title of martyr only to those Muslims who are killed during active combat. Whatever the case may be, all scholars have agreed that mistakes made by a Muslim fighter in combat do not deprive him of his rights, whether it be the right of regarding him a martyr or any other Islamic right. The Prophet (peace be upon him) became very angry at his close companion Usamah ibn Zayd when he killed a disbeliever after he had said “there is no God but Allah”. The Prophet furiously repeated, “have you killed him after he said: there is no God but Allah!” However, the Prophet (peace be upon him) continued to appoint Usamah ibn Zayd as the general of the Muslim army and actually appointed him to lead the biggest military expedition that was undertaken during the Prophet’s life.
Any position we adopt must be bound by the guidelines of the Shari’ah and free from emotions and personal whims. We should intend to say (and act upon) what pleases Allah and not what pleases certain individuals, groups or governments. Saddam Hussain, may Allah have mercy on him, was amongst the persons most hated by Muslims having committed many heinous crimes. However, when he was hung he proclaimed: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”. Based upon this, we have no choice but to ask Allah to bestow His mercy upon Saddam as he clearly died a Muslim. Allah informs us that he does not give the courage to any person on his/her deathbed to declare the testimony of faith unless he or she is a true Muslim. Allah says,
“Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allah will cause to go astray those who are Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.), and Allah does what He wills.”[1]
Having said this, I would like to state that although these matters are in agreement with Islamic principles, the application of the principles in relation to certain individuals should not be a cause of fitnah and disunity among Muslims. Unity of Muslims and the purity of their hearts towards each other must be observed regardless of the scale of disagreements between them, as long as the scale of disagreement remains within the bounds of Islam.
Even though we fundamentally disagree with al-Qaeda and we condemn the unjustified killing that is attributed to them, it was very much instigated by the enemies of Islam themselves. In fact, I strongly believe that the presence of al-Qaeda is pleasing to the US especially as it allows the US justification for their crimes. In comparison, any amount of people killed by al-Qaeda has undoubtedly been trebled by the killing sprees of the US in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Gaza and other countries.
It is surprising how this major world Superpower was not only terrorized by a single man walking the face of the earth, but was also terrorized by him even whilst dead. President Obama declared that they would deal with the body of Bin Ladin in accordance with Islamic law and thus they threw it into the sea. This is the so-called respect that the US shows to Islam. In reality, these are the actual morals and values that America really calls for.
Whatever we say, Allah has the final say, and on the day of resurrection the truth will be revealed. Muslims will dwell in the delight of paradise and the disbelievers will be burned in the hellfire forever.
“These two opponents (believers and disbelievers) dispute with each other about their Lord; then as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them, boiling water will be poured down over their heads. With it will melt or vanish away what is within their bellies, as well as (their) skins. And for them are hooked rods of iron (to punish them). Every time they seek to get away from it out of anguish, they will be driven back therein, and (it will be) said to them: “Taste the torment of burning!” Truly, Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous good deeds, to Gardens underneath which rivers flow (in Paradise), wherein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls and their garments therein will be of silk. And they are guided (in this world) unto goodly speech and they are guided to the Path of He who is Worthy of all praises.
Were I the president of the LSE ISOC, I would be making it very clear that my organisation fully repudiates and disassociate itself from Al Haddad, and would apologise for attempting to bring him onto campus.
