About a year later, in 2002, Abu ‘A’ishah Sa’eed Alam—an ex-JIMAS member and the older brother of SalafiPubs pioneer Shaykh Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Wāhid Alam founded a secondary school, Redstone Educational Academy on Langley Road, which was initially a tuition centre located near the Salafi Bookstore and would cater for the educational needs of second-generation Salafi children in the community. Like Shaykh Abu ‘Iyād Amjad Rafiq (another SalafiPubs pioneer)[1] and myself, Abu ‘A’ishah Sa’eed was also an Essex University alumnus. He left Essex in 1990 and went on to complete his PhD at the University of Manchester soon after, which as mentioned earlier, would also go on to become a site well-known on the university da‘wah scene.
Significantly, it was Abu ‘A’ishah who gave da‘wah to his family once he finished his studies and returned home to Birmingham. He not only convinced his first-generation British-Pakistani migrant parents to abandon their Sufi (esoteric/devotional) brand of traditional folk Islam, but also directed the rest of his family towards a purer and more authentic version of the religion. Abu ‘A’ishah’s effect upon his family is an example of how an enthusiastic first-generation believer broadened the cohort of Salafis beyond young second-generation British Muslims to his parents (since passed away). This also shows how religious perspectives can shift over the course of a person’s life.
Another of Abu ‘A’ishah’s Sa’eed’s brothers, Abu ‘Ammār ‘Abdul-Hameed Alam, a PGCE science graduate became headteacher of the Salafi Independent School on Wright Street. In later years, Abu ‘Ammār ‘Abdul-Hameed would become the headteacher of Redstone Academy, which had by then moved to larger premises on Moseley Road in 2004. But Abu ‘A’ishah’s newfound understanding of Islam had made its most notable mark on his brother Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Wāhid whom Abu ‘A’ishah encouraged to veer away from his lifestyle typical of most young university British Asians in the late 1980s, towards one more focused on his religious and Islamic identity.[2]
Alongside his brothers Abu ‘A’ishah and Abu Ammār ‘Abdul Hameed—and other members of the community such as Abu Fudayl Abdur-Raqeeb Francis, Abu Khadeejah would go on to aid in the development of a suitable Islamic Studies curriculum for both Salafi schools whilst also serving as an Islamic teacher at Redstone Educational Academy periodically for several years.[3] Later Shaykh Abu Idrees Muhammad Khan (an IUM graduate) and Ustādh Abu Tasneem Mushaf (student of Shaykh Muqbil ibn Hādi may Allah have mercy on him) would also teach at the school and join the efforts in spreading the da’wah across the English-speaking world.
[1] See author’s (2022) article: The Emergence of Salafism in the UK for a history of contemporary Salafism in the UK. Source: researchingsalafism.com.
[2] See author’s (2022) article: The Emergence of Salafism in the UK for a history of contemporary Salafism in the UK. Source: researchingsalafism.com.
[3] Both schools are registered with DofE.
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