Sermons Of Pro-ISIS Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faisal, Who Is Banned From Preaching, Are Disseminated On YouTube

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March 17, 2016

The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

Pro-ISIS Jamaican cleric Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faisal, whose sermons are frequently uploaded by the "Umm Thalaatha" YouTube channel, spent four years in a UK prison for murder and inciting hatred. A graduate of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Saudi Arabia, he is said to have inspired several terrorists, among them shoe bomber Richard Reid, 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, London bombers Muhammad Sidique Khan and Germaine Lindsay, and Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouq Abdulmutullab. After he was deported from the UK back to Jamaica, the Islamic Council of Jamaica banned him from preaching.[1] However, the Jamaica Observer stated, "Jamaican police have maintained, however, that while the cleric will have to be constantly monitored, he has never incited murder or preached race hate messages on the island."[2] Al-Faisal has also delivered occasional sermons on the U.S.-based online video chat platform Paltalk. He has preached alongside other pro-ISIS radical clerics such as Abu Baraa and Abu Izzadeen.[3]Abu Baraa, aka Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, was charged in August 2015 with inviting support for ISIS under Section 12 of the UK's Terrorism Act 2000.[4] Abu Izzadeen, aka Trevor Brooks, formerly a preacher, was arrested in Hungary in January 2016, possibly en route to Syria, for breaching counterterrorism restrictions for traveling abroad. He had previously served time in the UK in 2008 on terrorism charges.[5]

On February 26, 2016, Al-Faisal delivered a sermon which was uploaded onto "Umm Thalaatha's" YouTube channel, titled "The Manhaj [path] For Establishing The Sharia," in which he railed against former Egyptian president Muhammad Morsi, saying that he should be hanged by the "apostate" Egyptian government. In his sermon, Al-Faisal condemned Morsi not for being a Muslim Brotherhood member but because the Muslim Brotherhood had participated in the democratic political process in Egypt, thereby discrediting jihad and "promoting fitna [dissent]." He also strongly endorsed violence as the best path (manhaj) for Muslims, and said that all homosexuals should be executed in accordance with the shari'a. The sermon is listed under the education category on YouTube.

Social Media Promotion

On March 16, 2016, a Facebook user using the name Umm AbdulKareem noted that the cleric sends her his weekly sermons. This could indicate that Al-Faisal sends his sermons to others to disseminate in order to circumvent the legal restrictions placed on him. She wrote: "Sheikh Al-Faisal has been sending me his weekly khutbah's [sermons] for about a month now, would my Facebook people's like me to post them weekly for you?? Here is one sent last week." Included in the post was a link to his most recent YouTube video.

Telegram

Sheikh Al- Faisal's sermons have also been disseminated on Telegram. A user in the pro-ISIS group Dawlah [ISIS] Family shared a video titled "Shaykh Al-Faisal about IS, AQ, & Murtad [apostate] Zahran Alloush."

Quotes From The Sermon

In one part of this sermon, Al-Faisal approved of executing Morsi: "If they hang Morsi it's good for the Ummah."

Promoting violence over democracy, he stated: "The way forward is not the ballot, the way forward is the bullet."

On shari'a and homosexuality, he said: "When Shariah comes to a country, you have to kill all the homosexuals."

In another part, he stated that the beliefs adopted by the Tamliki Jahmaa, are wrong. He explained that this group had reinterpreted the ayas (verses) of jihad in the Koran. They believe that one should only do da'wah, i.e. preaching, instead of physically fighting to wage jihad. Al-Faisal angrily called this a "lie on Allah,"  and explained that this belief rendered them infidels.

[1] Jamaicaobserver.com/news/Al-faisal--welcomed-31, January 31, 2010.

[2] Jamaicaobserver.com/news/Al-faisal--welcomed-31, January 31, 2010.

[4] Telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11784970/Anjem-Choudary-charged-with-supporting-a-terror-organisation.html, August 5, 2015.

[5] Express.co.uk/news/uk/632949/British-Islamic-extremists-jailed-fled-UK-back-of-lorry, January 8, 2016.

 

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