Ismail ibn Musa Menk

Mufti Ismail ibn Musa Menk (born 27 June 1975) is a Zimbabwean Islamic scholar born to Indian parents. He is the Grand Mufti[5][6] of Zimbabwe's Muslim community,[7][8] which makes up roughly 1% of the country's total population,[9] and head of the fatwa department for the Council of Islamic Scholars of Zimbabwe.

Mufti[1]

Ismail Ibn Musa Menk
Menk in 2015
Born (1975-06-27) 27 June 1975
Salisbury, Rhodesia (present-day Harare, Zimbabwe)
NationalityZimbabwean[2]
Occupation(s)Motivational speaker, Islamic scholar, Grand Mufti[1]
EraContemporary
Notable workMotivational Moments
HonorsThe 500 Most Influential Muslims (2013–2014, 2017)
Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe
Personal
ReligionIslam
EducationKantharia Darul Uloom[3]
Muslim leader
AwardsKSBEA 2015 Awards for Social Guidance, 2015
Websitemuftimenk.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active9 November 2010–present
Subscribers4.48 million[4]
Total views391.2 million[4]
Associated actsMuslim Speakers
Huda TV
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers

Menk was named one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan in 2013, 2014 and 2017.[10][11]

In September 2023, International motivation speaker, Mufti Menk visited Trinidad and Tobago during his special visits in the Caribbean.[12] MP Saddam Hosein, while sharing a Facebook post expressed that he is honored with a visit from an international beacon of peace and understanding.[13]

Early life

Menk was born on 27 June 1975 in Salisbury to Indian parents , being son of Maulana Musa Ibrahim Menk, a Muslim preacher in Zimbabwe.[14] Mufti Menk is able to speak Gujarati and Urdu[15] due to his parents being migrants from India, as common with the Bharuchi Vohra Patel community where he undertook his initial studies with his father, Moulana Musa, memorizing the Quran and learning Arabic.[16] He went to St. John's College (Harare) for senior school.[17] He then completed his religious education and Mufti course from Kantharia Darul Uloom located in Gujarat, India.[18] Menk has been identified as a Deobandi[17][19][20] as well as a Salafi[21] by different sources, though he has not publicly acknowledged his involvement in either movement.

Views

Menk opposes terrorism and has pledged his aid in curbing religious extremism in the Maldives.[22] On 31 March 2018, he urged Liberian Muslims to avoid Muslim—Christian violence, arguing that Muslims and Christians are brothers and sisters from one father, the prophet Adam.[23] He blames western media for misleading the world that Muslims are terrorists.[24] According to Gulf News, Menk said that everyone on this earth is a part of a family and has one maker, therefore, no one has the right to force any belief or faith on another.[25]

Works

In 2018 he published a collection of his sayings as a book titled Motivational Moments[26][27] and in 2019 published the second edition, titled Motivational Moments 2.[28]

Awards and recognition

Pakistan visit

Menk visited Pakistan in September 2022 to highlight flood-hit areas of Sindh.[32]

Controversies

Travel bans

On 31 October 2017, Singapore banned Menk from its borders because it believes he expresses views incompatible with its multicultural laws and policies. According to the Straits Times, he has asserted that "it is blasphemous for Muslims to greet believers of other faiths during festivals such as Christmas or Deepavali". Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement that its decision to reject Menk's application for a short-term work pass stemmed from his "segregationist and divisive teachings".[33][34] The Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe, Menk's own institution, released a statement to express "regret and dismay" regarding the ban. It said that Menk was an "asset to multi‐cultural, multi‐religious Zimbabwe" and that viewers should "listen to his sermons in full" and not "edited clips of a few minutes" to see the moderate path he has chosen.[35] Mufti Menk actually addressed this issue in a youtube video of his, in which he clarifies that he actually said, that you must not force your beliefs onto others.

In November 2018, the Danish government banned Menk from entering its borders for 2 years.[36][37]

Homophobia

The Huffington Post has described Menk as an "openly homophobic Islamic preacher" who has denounced the act of homosexuality as "filthy".[38] In 2013, he was due to visit six British universities – Oxford, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow – but the speaking tour was cancelled after student unions and university officials expressed concern about his views.[39] Menk's controversial statement included these words: "How can you engage in acts of immorality with the same sex?... The Qur'an clearly says it is wrong what you are doing... Allah speaks about how filthy this is... With all due respect to the animals, homosexuals are worse than animals."[40]

References
  1. Piscatori, James; Saikal, Amin (19 September 2019). Islam Beyond Borders: The Umma in World Politics. Cambridge University Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-108-48125-0.
  2. "مفتي زيمبابوي: الفقر يحاصرنا وحملات التنصير وصلت إلى بيتي!". al-Ittihad. 15 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. Ngom, Fallou; Kurfi, Mustapha H.; Falola, Toyin (26 September 2020). The Palgrave Handbook of Islam in Africa. Springer Nature. p. 197. ISBN 978-3-030-45759-4.
  4. "About Mufti Menk". YouTube.
  5. Chimp Corps (28 April 2021). "Kyankwanzi: President Museveni, Mufti Menk Discuss 'Unity in Diversity'". ChimpReports. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  6. "Don't let negative people ruin your positive mindset- Mufti Menk tells youth". Daily Monitor. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  7. "Mufti Menk Arrives in Gambia". 2 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  8. "Mufti Ismail Menk". themuslim 500.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  9. Inter Censal Demography Survey 2017 Report, Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (2017)
  10. "The 500 Most Influential Muslims 2017" (PDF). Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre.
  11. "The 500 Most Influential Muslims 2013–14" (PDF). Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  12. Stack, Liam (4 June 2016). "The World Reacts on Social Media to Muhammad Ali's Death". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2017. Ismail Menk, the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe, the African country's highest Islamic religious authority
  13. "Singapore bans Islamic scholar Mufti Menk's entry into country for 'promoting religious discord'". Dawn. Pakistan. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  14. "Bharuchi Vahora Patel – In Africa – Gujarati Writers' Guild UK". www.mahek.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  15. Flexing my Urdu 😂😂😂 - Mufti Menk, retrieved 17 January 2023
  16. Zainal, Norhidayyu (28 March 2014). "Dakwah cara Mufti Menk". Sinar Harian. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021.
  17. "Peace comes calling a look into the Life of Mufti Menk, Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe". Cochin Herald. 31 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  18. Ngom, Fallou; Kurfi, Mustapha H.; Falola, Toyin (26 September 2020). The Palgrave Handbook of Islam in Africa. Springer Nature. p. 197. ISBN 978-3-030-45759-4.
  19. Sam Westrop, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Deobandis, Islamism and British Multiculturalism Policy" in Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan, Springer, 2016, p. 461
  20. Aljunied, Khairudin (5 December 2016). Muslim Cosmopolitanism: Southeast Asian Islam in Comparative Perspective. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9781474408905. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  21. Mokhtar, Faris. "Islamic community 'must act to counter growing influence of Salafism'". Today. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018. For example, popular televangelist Zakir Naik, jailed radical Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary, and Ismail Menk (the Mufti of Zimbabwe) all belong to the Salafi sect.
  22. "Menk pledges aid in curbing religious extremism in Maldives". Mihaaru. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  23. Sonpon, Leroy M. III (2 April 2018). "Zimbabwean Grand Mufti Warns Liberian Muslims Against Physical, Speech Violence". Liberian Observer.
  24. "Mufti blames western media for misconception on Islam". The Borneo Post. 1 April 2015.
  25. "Have respect for one another to bring about happiness, Dr Menk says". Gulf News. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  26. Otto, Jade (24 May 2017). "Motivation from Mufti Menk". Cape Times. Retrieved 1 January 2019 – via PressReader.
  27. Menk, Musa (2017). Motivational Moments. ALQ Creative. ISBN 978-9811126475.
  28. Haziq, Saman. "Islamic scholar Mufti Menk launches his second book". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  29. "MUFTI ISMAIL MENK HONORED". Aldersgate College. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  30. "4th KSBEA 2015 Global Leadership Award 2015 Winners" (PDF). The Times of India. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  31. "4th KSBEA 2015 Global Leadership Award 2015 Winners". Cochin Herald. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  32. "Renowned Islamic scholar Mufti Menk visits flood-hit areas of Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  33. "Singapore bans Mufti Menk from entering country". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  34. Yuen-C, Tham (30 October 2017). "2 foreign Islamic preachers barred from entering Singapore for religious cruise". Straits Times. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  35. "STATEMENT BY Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe MUZ (Council of Islamic Scholars) on the Mufti Menk issue" (PDF). Mufti Menk. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  36. "Den nationale sanktionsliste – Religiøse forkyndere med indrejseforbud". nyidanmark.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  37. "Indrejseforbud til endnu en religiøs forkynder". Sameksistens. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  38. "Liverpool University Agreed To Host Islamic Preacher Ismail Menk, Who Says Gays Are 'Filthy' (POLL)". The Huffington Post UK. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  39. "Universities cancel Muslim cleric's speaking tour over concerns about his anti-gay views". The Independent. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  40. "Liverpool University Agreed To Host Islamic Preacher Ismail Menk, Who Says Gays Are 'Filthy'". The Huffington Post. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
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