Two lectures that stood out which marked a significant turning point for Salafi daʿwah in the UK were: Deviant Sects of the Twentieth Century by Shaykh Muhammad bin Hādi, and Who are the Salafis? by Shaykh Muhammad al-Anjarī. Both lectures prompted a barrage of questions from the audience on the issues of ʿAqeedah (Creed), Tawheed (Islamic monotheism) and the correct Manhaj in calling to Islam, as well as questions about the misguidance of al-Ikhwān al-Muslimīn (the Muslim Brotherhood founded in Egypt). Attendees (including the shaykhs) noticed how these questions made some of the guests on the platform very uncomfortable. For example, they noted how Suhaib Hasan, a graduate of Madinah, caller to Islam in the UK, and a speaker at the conference, tried to conceal audience questions about the methodologies of other Islamic sects.[1] Despite Suhaib Hasan’s attempts to have these issues sidestepped, they were, to his dismay, eventually addressed. This caused the OASIS-organised Salafi conference of 1996 to be remembered by Salafis as a landmark in the history of Salafi Daʿwah in the UK, since it had the effect of exposing the figureheads who were not proponents of the clarity that ‘purist’ Salafism was offering.[2]
[1] Abdul-Wāhid 2013.
[2] For greater depth on the history of the Salafi Da‘wah in Britain read: Meeting With Suhaib Hasan and 52 Brothers Involved in the Da‘wah, (Abdul-Wāhid 2013b).
Be the first to comment