Abdesslam Yassine

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Abdesslam Yassine is the charismatic leader of Moroccan Islamist organisation Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane, translatable as Justice and Good Deeds or Justice and Charity. Prior to his politicisation Yassine was a teacher and then schools inspector for the Ministry of Education, as well as a member of one of the most famous Mordoccan Sufi brotherhoods. Yassine reportedly fell out with the leadership of the brotherhood over its refusal to engage more directly in political matters, and founded his own organisation, which is secretive, arguably cult-like and which venerates him as a saint-like figure. Yassine was jailed in a mental asylum for three years for publishing an open letter to King Hassan II denouncing his rule as unIslamic. Following his release he was kept under house arrest for many years, before eventually being released in the early years of the rule of King Mohammed VI. Yassine has written many publications, the best known of which is probably L'Islam ou le Deluge (Islam or the Flood).