Ahmad Abu Laban
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Ahmad Abu Laban (Arabic: أحمد أبو لبن) (born 1946, Jaffa, Palestine) is the leader of the organisation called the Islamic Society in Denmark.
In 1948 his family emigrated to Egypt, and he grew up there. In 1969 he graduated as a mechanical engineer. In 1974 he married his cousin Inam; the couple has 7 children. He studied Islamic theology with scholars in different Muslim countries. He was employed in the Persian Gulf oil industry from 1970 to 1982, and in a contracting company in Nigeria from 1982 to 1984. He contributed to Islamic projects in education in different states of Nigeria. He immigrated to Denmark in 1984 and lives there today.
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[edit] Current positions
Ahmad Abu Laban works as a religious advisor with Islamic Society in Denmark. According to the Society's website, he is a member of the "Co-ordination council of Imams" in Europe.[1]
[edit] Controversy
Abu Laban is persona non grata in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt because of his Islamist views.[2] He is a well-known character in the Danish media for his often radical statements about Islam and the integration of immigrants into the Danish society.
Sri Lankan researcher Rohan Gunaratna, author of the book Inside Al Qaeda, has characterised Ahmed Abu Laban as an Islamic extremist. Rohan Gunaratna also accused Abu Laban of giving political and economic support to al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an Egyptian radical group that is part of Osama bin Laden's network.
At his Friday prayer April 5, 2002 Abu Laban called on his congregation to offer their lives in a jihad for the Palestinian cause. [3]
[edit] Muhammad cartoons controversy
Ahmed Abu Laban became involved in the media crisis which erupted in Denmark after the issue of the Muhammad cartoons in the conservative newspaper Jyllands-Posten. In November 2005 he was one of the leaders of a delegation that toured the Middle East to ask for diplomatic support, one of the factors that sparked the widespread anger in the region in early 2006. Along with Akhmad Akkari, he authored the Akkari-Laban Dossier which was used on that tour.
Three additional images- allegedly sent to Abu Laban but never published - were added to the list of cartoons actually published in the dossier handed out during this tour. Akhmad Akkari has explained that the three drawings had been added to "give an insight in how hateful the atmosphere in Denmark is towards Muslims."
[edit] Other controversial attitude and citations
- In his Friday sermon immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA, he preached that "[he mourned the victims] with dry tears". [4]
- Responding to Theo van Gogh’s murder, his response was publicly to criticise it, and privately in the Muslim community to applaud his death. Not long after, he criticized the European free speech for the issue of the controversial Submission movie of the murdered dutch film-maker.[citation needed]
- When Amina Lawal from Nigeria was condemned to stoning, he refused to condemn the sentencing, considering he is not a judge.
- After a gang killing in Copenhagen, Abu Laban proposed to deter any vengeance killing by the payment of a sum of "blood money" amounting to DKR. 200,000 – or the equivalent of 100 camels, according to his calculation, in today’s currency. [5]
- Interviewed on Danish television he was asked if he respected Osama bin Laden, Abu Laban replied: "[Osama bin Laden] is a businessman and "freedom fighter" ", . [6]
- "I call these people rats in holes" was his characterisation of the Danish liberal politician Naser Khader. [7]
[edit] References
- ^ (Danish) Abu Laban at the Islamic Society in Denmark webpage
- ^ (Danish) Abu Laban taler med to tunger
- ^ The Stephen Roth Institute for the study of contemporary Antisemitism and racism, 2002-3
- ^ Abu Laban's dry tears after 9/11
- ^ (Danish) Imam proposal for blood-money appals
- ^ (Danish) Imam Abu Laban on Osama bin Laden
- ^ (Danish) Abu Laban in his Friday sermon, February 11 2006
