In The Name Of Allaah, The Merciful, The Gracious
Unwanted Months With The Ahbash
The Ahbash sect is a new deviant Islamic sect that made its first official debut in Lebanon in 1983. The leader and founder of this sect is Abdullah Al-Harari Al-Habashi, originally from Ethiopia. This sect is deemed by Muslim scholars to have gone beyond the pale of Islam, due to their false creed (Aqueedah).
(Abdullah Al Harari Al Habashi, Founder of the deviant Ahbashi Sect, or Al Ahbash)
This account is not meant to make any judgements about any issue or individual in our community. However, I testify that all the information supplied below have been witnessed and collected in the presence of the writer. That is, none of this information has been brought here by any other party. By stating this, reader is not obliged to endorse the content of this account. The intention of writing this account came as a result of the current disputes in the Mosque regarding the Imam elections. The aim of writing this account is to promote democracy and freedom of speech among the Muslim community in the area. If there’s any other reason behind writing this account, it would be just to recap what has been happening in the Mosque in light of the current issues.
MOSQUE ELECTIONS
In the election day of the AGM (Annual General Meeting), which was held on Sat 11th of November 2006, members of the Muslim community gathered from different backgrounds to participate in electing the administrative positions for the Mosque. Many new faces have been seen for the first time in that meeting. However, most of them appeared to have come from about three particular backgrounds. Surprisingly, most of the new comers voted unanimously for two particular persons to be the President and the Vice-president of the Mosque. Both positions went to the very same two people who later became the President and the Vice-president of the Mosque. Additionally, both individuals have come from one particular ethnic background and they have once claimed that they share the same religious belief (Aqeedah). Among the attendees, there were about 10 ethnic backgrounds represented who used to attend the five daily prayers in the Mosque, however; it was apparent that none of them had voted for the current President nor the Vice-president of the Mosque.
It was suggested by some members who attended the meeting that there should have been an organised ballot process. That is, every individual who attended the meeting can write a name of a person on a piece of paper that he/she wished to give their voices to, to fill any particular position in the Mosque. Then, these pieces of paper were collected by the organizers of the vote. However, the current President won the first round of votes. Surprisingly, the number of voices collected on papers was more than the number of people who attended the ballot. The organizers of the vote had suggested repeating the vote, and so they did. This time, the current President had won that position again as the President of the Mosque.
On the 1st of December 2006, another meeting was held in the Mosque, after Maghrib Prayer. Some issues were discussed in that meeting. For example, painting the Mosque, installing new air conditioners, and other issues as well. More to the point, there was no mentioning of appointing the current full time Imam, whom the current President and the Vice-president only showed strong support for him.
A sister from the Mosque was in charge of writing the minutes of that meeting. Kammal, later on, had told everybody in the Sunday Meeting (more information about this meeting in the following section) that the current full time Imam was not elected to fill the position of the Mosque’s full time Imam by the members of the committee, nor by the community of the Mosque. Kammal added that the current Imam’s name was documented in the minutes by the sister, who documented the minutes as a volunteer Imam.
Meanwhile, the current full time Imam was leading the five prayers. I used to pray behind him and noticed that he was not making any Duaa in group after the prayer finishes (raising both hands and making congregational prayers at the end of Prayers). I remember that no one had publicly asked the Imam to make Duaa after any prayer, including the current President and the Vice-President. Next Friday, the President, stood before the congregation after Jumaa Prayer and declared: ‘We have decided to appoint [he mentioned the current Imam’s name] as a full time Imam’. It appeared that there was not any strong opposition against the new appointed Imam by the President. About a week after the new nominated Imam was assigned to the position, it became apparent that he started making the congregational Duaa after the Prayers. As a result, the opposition against him grew stronger among the community of the Mosque. Particularly, among those who wanted to find out more about which Aqeedah (creed) that the appointed Imam follows.
Speculations about the Imam came to existence soon after. A meeting with the Imam was requested by some individuals who attend the five daily prayers in the Mosque. This meeting was held one day after Magrirb Prayer. The Imam was asked many questions by certain individuals, including myself. My question was ‘Why are there some new faces starting to attend the Prayers in the Mosque after you became an Imam?’ ‘I’m a youth worker’, the Imam answered. The current Imam had also explained that he talked to them about coming to the Mosque. However, in another meeting with the current Imam, he was asked the same question. His answer was different this time. ‘There was Munkar (mischief and wrong actions) in the Mosque’ [referring to Wahabiasim], so the new faces were not coming to the Mosque because of it. Both meetings with the Imam were attended by the President and the Vice-president and some of the community of the Mosque.
In one of the meetings in the Mosque, the current President had said that the majority of Muslims in the world follows the same belief (creed) as the President himself. However, it has been noticed that the current President was supported by about no more than five ethnic backgrounds, and not all of these ethnicities are in favour with the President’s ideas. The rest of the ethnicities attending the Mosque, apparently more than 20, seemed to be in disagreement with the current President and the vice-president.
In this very meeting, there were about 15 members of the community who had attended to listen to the current Imam’s justifications of the speculations that were raised about him. After he heard from the first person, the current Imam appeared to be upset and soon he left the gathering and walked out of the Mosque. Many members had asked the current President and the Vice-president, who attended the gathering, to bring the current Imam back, so he can answer the questions of the attendees. The current President, however, did not respond to their requests.
THE FRIDAY ANOUNCEMENTS
On Friday, the 28th of January, the current Acting Secretary in charge announced right after Jumaa Prayer in the Mosque that he had obtained information about the current Imam in regards to the Imam’s involvement with Habashi group. The current Acting Secretary in charge had also stated that he had a very strong and documented evidence to support his claims. Additionally, the current Acting Secretary in charge was willing to exhibit the evidence that he had obtained to anyone that was interested in viewing it. The current Acting Secretary in charge did not judge either party. As the current Acting Secretary in charge was making his own statements, the current Vice-president interrupted saying ‘liar!’
The current Acting Secretary in charge ended his statement by informing the congregation in the Mosque that the computer and the files were taken from the Mosque by the President without any prior knowledge or agreement of the other members of the Committee.
Soon after, the microphone was given to the Public Relation Officer of the Mosque. He started off by asking the congregation about who had attended the elections in the Mosque, on the 11th of November 2006, to raise their hands. I was one of them, so I raised my hand. He asked us if we still remember that he, the current Public Relation Officer, was elected by the majority to fill the position of the Public Officer of the Mosque or not? The answer was positively unanimous. However, the current Public Relation Officer said that his name on the document as a Public Relation Officer has been forged, and the name of the current President was replaced instead. That document was signed by the current President and the Vice-president. I have viewed that document with the signatures of the President and the Vice-president on it.
However, the current Vice-president stood up and asked for the microphone. ‘[the current Acting Secretary in charge’s name], you should go on TV’, the Vice-president said. He had also said that the Public Relation Officer should go on TV too. As I remember, the current Vice-president spoke on the microphone, but it appeared to everyone that he did not make any insight regarding the current Acting Secretary In Charge and the Public Relation Officer’s claims. Eventually, it was suggested by some people in the Mosque that it would be better to postpone discussing these issues till The Sunday’s meeting.
THE SUNDAY’S MEETING
In The Sunday’s meeting, which was held on Sunday, the 28th of January 2006, there were four people on the panel. Starting from the left; the current Full Time Imam, the current President, the current Vice-president and the current Vice-treasurer of the Mosque. All of the four people mentioned, including the Vice-treasurer, appeared to agree on the same exact principals and views regarding the situation in the Mosque.
The current Vice-president started the session by mentioning the rules of the meeting:
* Don’t interrupt, otherwise the interrupter will be taken out by the security guards, and then he/she will be taken to the police department.
* To ask a question, you need to write it down on a piece of paper, and then pass it on to the panel. The panel reserves the right to answer or reject the question.
* No one is allowed to use any sort of visual or audio recording unless authorised by the current President.
It has come to my knowledge that no one was advised about these rules in advance before being invited to attend the Sunday’s meeting. A member of the Muslim community had brought a video camera to document the event. However, he was advised soon after the session had started, by a security guard, that no filming or audio recording was permitted.
I and others felt intimidated by these rules. However, at the beginning, in his speech, the current President advised the audience that they are trying to warn them against Wahabiasim. So then, I immediately interrupted and asked the President to illustrate to the audience what Wahabiasim is? ‘Wahabiasim is the teaching of Wahabiasim’, he replied, with no further significant explanation. In another statement made by the President himself, he was explaining that he does not hold anything against Wahabiasim. However, in two instances or more in his speech, he referred to Wahabiasim as the poison.
Again, concerning Wahabiasim, the current full time Imam had added more explanation to illustrate what Wahabiasim is. ‘Wahabis believe that it’s Haram (unlawful/impermissible) to visit graves’, the current Imam explained. The four people that were on the panel, including their supporters, believe that Saudis are Wahabis--(the term ‘Wahabiasim’ is strongly denied by Saudis). However, Muslims in Saudi Arabia believe in this following Hadeeth that was reported in Sahih Muslim (No. 4866): Abdullah Bin Buraida reported on the authority of his father that Allaah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing of Allaah be on Him) said this: ‘I prohibited you from visiting the graves, but (now) you may visit them, …’. As far as I am aware of, Muslims in Saudi Arabia believe it’s permissible for men to visit graves, and they do regularly, but they don’t believe in Tawasul (asking help and assistance from dead people).
As for the justification of the current President concerning the incident when he took the computer and the files out of the Mosque after Fajr Prayer, he commented that he had sent a text message to the current Acting Secretary In Charge and the current Treasurer informing them that he had done this for security reasons. However, when the current President was asked why specifically did he do this? ‘I lost trust in the current Acting Secretary In Charge’, the current President replied, without providing any other reason why he lost that trust.
Towards the end of the discussion, the current Acting Secretary In Charge, the current Treasurer and the sister, who documented the 1st of December meeting, had admitted that they were not consulted about appointing the current Imam to be a full time Imam. The President, in few instances, had said that the election of this current Imam was mentioned in the meeting of the committee. The current Acting Secretary In Charge said it was written in the minutes that this current Full Time Imam was praying as a volunteer Imam, according to the minutes of the 1st of December meeting.
REQUESTS FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF ELECTIONS
Later on, the current President of the Mosque and his fellows had repeatedly asked the community of the Mosque for another round of elections. Purpose of their request is to prove to the community that they are powerful and confident enough to win the support of the majority of the Muslim community. Kammal told me in person that he had refused their requests, due to the fact that they had already won the first round of elections and by that time, they had full rights of the administrative positions. They kept putting pressure on the community of the Mosque until they had won their agreement. This time, new and strict rules had taken place; for the sake of better and fair organization of the event (eg only people legally residing in the area will be allowed to vote). The date of final elections was announced and from both sides of the community sent as many initiations to their supporters as they could.
In the mid of March, 2007, the final elections event was held. People started arriving. Many people who came to support the current alleged Habashi Imam had never been seen in the Mosque before, as witnessed by many community members. The current President had managed to provide organizers, security and high ranking police officers in the event place. They had also arranged some food catering for participants and voters.
When I arrived there, soon I went to drop my vote in the ballot box. In the way, the current President and Kammal stopped me from voting for either party, the original Muslim community or the Ahbashies, on the account that I had already moved to another city and no longer resided in the city where the Mosque is. This was actually part of the election process legislations. As an immediate response, I had to present to both of them a current house rent certificate from the area of the Mosque. Besides, I had explained to both of them that I had partially moved to another city to do some extra courses related to my postgraduate studies, and I still spend a couple of days in the city every week. Kammal, although he was undoubtedly aware I would vote for his party, he did not allow me to vote. Nevertheless, the current President did and eventually I had voted. Many members of the community expressed their fears that they had seen larger numbers of the alleged Habashi Imama’s supporters and voters than they saw from the community of the Mosque.
At the end of the election designated time, ballot boxes, organizers and security gathered in a privet room to count the votes and announce the results. Prior to this time, Kammal and other members of the Mosque had agreed that upon revealing the elections results - regardless of whether we would win or lose – we all had to leave the Mosque only on that particular night ‘Isha Prayer’. In the privet meeting, the current President gave some initial new laws and made some statements as though he won the elections and remained the President of the Mosque. Kammal also made a statement, indicating that the results of the elections are not to be broken, changed or amended by either party. Nevertheless, votes were counted and results were revealed. Surprisingly enough, the current President, the alleged Habashi Imam and their followers won 130 votes. Kammal and the community of the Mosque won 218 votes. This is very unexpected, as felt by all participants, regardless of which party they supported.
The ex-President of the Mosque left the privet room, in a state of extreme shock, heading towards me, as I was desperately awaiting the results. ‘You are a DISBELEIVER, your fathers are DISBELEIVERS, Mohammed Ibn AbdulWahaab is a DISBELEIVER, Ibn Taymiah is a DISBELEIVER too’ the ex-President crying and swearing at me! Immediately and all at once, security officers came out to have control over the critically agitated situation. I had been pulled out of the situation and as already been advised, I and all other members of the community of the Mosque had instantly evacuated the Mosque at that only night. A few members of the community of the Mosque stayed, though. ‘Some Habashies seriously tried to physically hurt me’ said one Egyptian brother who remained in the Mosque that night.
The next day, none of the ex-President, Vice-Present and their supporters had attended the Mosque any more. The Alleged Habashi Imam had abandoned the Mosque too. One day later, the 20th of March, the ex-President and his supporters published a story in The Australian newspaper claiming that Saudi, Egyptian, Algerian extremist students had taken over the Mosque and ousted the Australian born Imam. A couple of stories had been published in the following weeks. One of these stories included a statement made by a leader of a Jewish student organization backing up the claims of the ex-President of the Mosque.
Since then, lost peace, tranquillity and unity have returned to the Mosque, as witnessed by me and the community of the Mosque. Struggle with the alleged Habashi Imam and his supporters came to an end at this stage. Some other minor developments might have occurred in my absence.
NB: The writer maintains the right to leave names of individuals and places undisclosed.
Written by:
Muhamed Abuzaifah
Australia (Riyadh, KSA)
10th of March 2007
Updated: 14th of February 2008
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