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Hisham Kabbani

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Lebanese-American Islamic scholar (1945–2024)
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Hisham Kabbani
Kabbani in 2007
Born(1945-01-28)28 January 1945
Beirut, Lebanon
DiedDecember 2024(2024-12-00) (aged 79)
SpouseHajjah Naziha Adil
WebsiteHishamKabbani.com
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Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (28 January 1945 – December 2024) was a Lebanese-American Sunni Sufi Muslim scholar belonging to the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. Kabbani has counseled and advised Muslim leaders to build community resilience against violent extremism. In 2012, the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named him on The 500 Most Influential Muslims. His notable students include the world-famous boxer Muhammad Ali and former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Biography

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Shaykh Kabbani was born in Beirut, Lebanon.

On the order of Shaykh Nazim, Shaykh Kabbani relocated to the United States in 1990, where he developed over a dozen Sufi centers focused on Islamic spirituality and cultural enrichment.

He was also the founder and chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA), a non-profit, non-governmental educational organization dedicated to teaching personal moral excellence. ISCA has spearheaded a number of peace initiatives, hosted notable conferences, actively engages in inter-religious dialogue, and promotes traditional and moderate Islamic views.

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani was married to Hajjah Naziha Adil, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, through her paternal and maternal lineages, which includes Shaykh Abdul Qadir Gilani and globally renowned poet Jalaluddin Rumi. Hajjah Naziha was the eldest child of Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil (died 2014), and Hajjah Amina bint Ayesha (died 2004), a shaykha and Islamic scholar who wrote extensively on lives of the prophets, whose family escaped religious persecution in Tatarstan, Russia.

Kabbani died in December 2024, at the age of 79.

Activities

For more than 20 years, Shaykh Hisham and Hajjah Naziha have advanced Shaykh Nazim's legacy by directing various emergency disaster relief and humanitarian aid projects in Somalia (famine relief), Banda Aceh, Indonesia (orphan assistance and student scholarships); NWFP, Pakistan (earthquake relief); Kabul, Afghanistan (modern medical equipment and winter clothing); and Kahramanmaras, Turkey (earthquake relief). The Hajjah Naziha Charities are the natural evolution of their past work to advance those outreach projects dearest to Shaykh Nazim's heart.

Kabbani was also a member of the Elijah Interfaith Institute Board of World Religious Leaders. Shaykh Hisham Kabbani has held meetings with numerous world leaders and has been a key speaker at various conferences, such as the World Economic Forum.

Fatwas

In 2011. Shaykh Kabbani and Homayra Ziad (Islamic Studies, Trinity College, CT), wrote a fatwa using Quranic exegesis, a review of hadith, and linguistic analysis to determine that the Quran does not condone domestic violence. According to the authors of the fatwa, the broader message of the Qur'an is the promotion of harmony and affection between husband and wife so that they may develop amongst themselves a sacred bond of love and mercy.

Shaykh Kabbani also wrote a fatwa on the principles of jihad, which was translated into Arabic and distributed by the US military in Iraq.

Controversy and criticism

In 1999, Shaykh Kabbani came into conflict with various Muslim groups including the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) after he stated that 80 percent of mosques are being run by "extremist ideologies". Muslim organizations responded harshly, stating that Kabbani's remarks "could have a profoundly negative impact on ordinary American Muslims". Shaykh Kabbani plunged into further controversy when he accused Muslims who advise the United States about Islam as being "extremists themselves". When asked during a conference whether he would name the Islamic groups he believed were "extremist", Kabbani answered, "after the program". When subsequently confronted with the question during the end of the discussion, Kabbani refused to answer. In a joint statement pertaining to Shaykh Kabbani's accusations, several Muslim groups said that "Shaykh Kabbani has put the entire American Muslim community under unjustified suspicion. In effect, Shaykh Kabbani is telling government officials that the majority of American Muslims pose a danger to our society."

Kabbani (left) with Shaykh Nazim (far right) in prayer at an Islamic conference in 1996.

In his remarks at the State Department that year, Shaykh Kabbani had claimed that 80 percent of the Muslim American population have been introduced to extremist ideology. Shaykh Kabbani claimed the figure was based on his interviews with religious clerics, educators, community members and young Muslims in 114 mosques in the US over an eight-year period (1991–1999). Although the "80%" figure has been widely cited by public officials, and has been repeated by several other reports, a fact check by the Washington Post concluded the statistic has not been confirmed by a quantitative, peer-reviewed study or any other type of evidence.

In his 1999 State Department speech, Shaykh Kabbani claimed that while the majority of Muslim Americans have been exposed to violent extremist ideologies, "not all of them agree with it." Later in the question and answer session he reiterated that the majority of the Muslim community which is "peace loving and tolerant" does not support extremism. In a 2000 interview with the Middle East Quarterly, he clarified his position that "the problem of extremism is not confined to the Muslim community... Extremism is an unwillingness to accept any viewpoint but one's own... Ideological extremism can result in an act of violence when an individual pursues his ideas to such an extreme that he thinks only his ideas are correct and must therefore be enforced on everyone else."

In 2001 and 2002 Shaykh Kabbani was recognized as one of the few Muslim scholars at that time to have warned of the threat of violent extremism.

In the April 2016 issue of Dabiq Magazine, Salafism-Wahhabism terrorist group the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declared him a murtad (or apostate).

Published works


Works published by Hisham Kabbani
Title Description
Remembrance of God Liturgy of the Sufi Naqshbandi Masters ISBN 978-1-871031-58-4 (1994)
The Naqshbandi Sufi Way ISBN 978-0-934905-34-3 (1995)
Angels Unveiled ISBN 978-1-930409-37-8 (1996)
Fifty Days: the Divine Disclosures During a Holy Sufi Seclusion ISBN 978-1-930409-72-9 (2010)
The Prohibition of Domestic Violence ISBN 978-1-930409-97-2 (2011)
Sufi Science of Self Realization ISBN 978-1-938058-47-9 (2005)
Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine and Beliefs ISBN 978-1-871031-86-7 (1998)
Call on Me: Powerful Supplications for Healing, Protection & Fulfillment of Needs ISBN 978-1-938058-51-6 (2003)
The Fiqh of Islam: A Contemporary Explanation of Principles of Worship, 2 volumes ISBN 978-1-938058-24-0 (2014)
Al-Muslihun: The Peacemakers As Taught In Classical Islam ISBN 978-1-938058-29-5 (2014)
Healing Verses of Holy Quran & Hadith ISBN 978-1-938058-12-7 (2013)
Principles of Islamic Spirituality: Contemporary Sufism & Traditional Islamic Healing ISBN 978-1-938058-22-6 (2013)
The Benefits of Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem & Surat Al-Fatihah ISBN 978-1-938058-15-8 (2013)
The Importance of Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alaihi Wa Salam in Our Daily Life, 2 volumes ISBN 978-1-938058-19-6 (2013)
The Hierarchy of Saints ISBN 978-1-938058-03-5 (2013)
The Heavenly Power of Divine Obedience and Gratitude ISBN 978-1-930409-99-6 (2013)
The Dome of Provisions, 2 volumes ISBN 978-1-930409-88-0 (2013)
Jihad: Principles of Leadership in War and Peace ISBN 978-1-930409-93-4 (2010)
Fifty Days: the Divine Disclosures During a Holy Sufi Seclusion ISBN 978-1-930409-72-9 (2010)
Fayd al-Salam (Arabic) ISBN 978-1-930409-85-9 (2010)
Angels Unveiled, A Sufi Perspective ISBN 978-1-930409-74-3 (1995)
At the Feet of My Master ISBN 978-1-930409-69-9 (2009)
The Nine-Fold Ascent ISBN 978-1-930409-59-0 (2009)
Who Are the Guides ISBN 978-1-930409-55-2 (2009)
Banquet for the Soul ISBN 978-1-930409-56-9 (2008)
Symphony of Remembrance ISBN 978-1-930409-49-1 (2007)
Illuminations: Compiled Lectures on Shariah and Tasawwuf ISBN 978-1-930409-52-1 (2007)
Universe Rising ISBN 978-1-930409-48-4 (2007)
Pearls and Coral, 2 volumes ISBN 978-1-930409-08-8 (2007)
A Spiritual Commentary on the Chapter of Sincerity ISBN 978-1-930409-42-2 (2006)
Keys to the Divine Kingdom ISBN 978-1-930409-28-6 (2005)
In the Shadow of Saints ISBN 978-1-930409-32-3 (2005)
The Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition Guidebook of Daily Practices and Devotions ISBN 978-1-930409-22-4 (2004)
The Approach of Armageddon? an Islamic Perspective ISBN 978-1-930409-20-0 (2003)
Angeles Revelados: Una Perspectiva Sufi (Spanish) ISBN 978-1-930409-37-8 (2016)
Les Anges Révélés (French) ISBN 978-1-938058-33-2 (2016)

References

  1. Di Stefano Pironti, Alexandra (January 4, 2013). "Mystical Islam Deters Fundamentalism". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  2. "The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2012". The Muslim 500. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. "A Sufi Muslim Takes on Wahhabism". December 12, 2004. Islamic Supreme Council of America. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. "hajjah-naziha-adil". Hajjah-naziha-adil (21). May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  5. "على جمعة ينعى شيخ الطريقة النقشبندية فى أمريكا". جريدة الدستور (in Arabic). 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  6. "Sufilive Charities". May 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Hajjah Naziha Charity, UK". Hajjah Naziha (20). May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  8. "Hajjah Naziha Charitable Society". 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. "Elijah Interfaith, Sharing Wisdom Fostering Peace #MakeFriends". www.elijah-interfaith.org.
  10. "The Prohibition of Domestic Violence". WORDE. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  11. "Our WORDE Issue Number 7". Our WORDE (7). December 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Islamic Extremism: A Viable Threat to U.S. National Security", January 7, 1999
  13. Curtiss, Richard (April–May 1999). "Dispute Between U.S. Muslim Groups Goes Public". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: 71, 101.
  14. ^ "Dispute Between U.S. Muslim Groups Goes Public – 1999 April-May - WRMEA". www.wrmea.com.
  15. Goodstein, Laurie (28 October 2001). "Muslim Leader Who Was Once Labeled an Alarmist Is Suddenly a Sage". New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  16. Mordechai, Kedar (June 2011). "Shari'a and Violence in American Mosques". Middle East Quarterly.
  17. Ahmad, Akbar (2010). Journey Into America. Washington DC: Brookings. pp. 5, 254.
  18. Ottaway, David (19 August 2004). "US Eyes Money Trails of Saudi-Backed Charities". The Washington Post.
  19. Emerson, Steven (March 10, 2011). "Muslim American groups, not Rep. Pete King, are the ones fomenting hysteria with hearings on tap". New York Daily News.
  20. Kessler, Glen (15 March 2011). "Peter King's claim about radical Muslim imams: Is it true?". The Washington Post.
  21. Pipes, Daniel (June 2000). "Interview with Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani: "The Muslim Experience in America Is Unprecedented"". Middle East Quarterly.
  22. Waller, Michael. "A resounding voice in traditional Islam: Sheik Muhammad Hisham Kabbani". Institute of World Politics.
  23. Goodstein, Laurie (28 October 2001). "Muslim Leader Who Was Once Labeled an Alarmist Is Suddenly a Sage". New York Times.
  24. "Kill the Imams of the West" (PDF). Dabiq 1437 Rajab (April - May 2016) (14). Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant: 15. Retrieved 2016-04-30. Other Sūfī leaders in the West are no different, if not worse in some respects; like Hisham Kabbani, ...

External links

Titles in Islam
Preceded byPosition established Self-Appointed Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America (Self-Appointed Grand Mufti of the United States)
1998–2024 		Vacant
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