| Abdul Wahid Pedersen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Reino Arild Pedersen 1954 (age 57–58) |
| Residence | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Ethnicity | Danish |
| Occupation | Imam |
| Religion | Islam |
Abdul Wahid Pedersen (born Reino Arild Pedersen in 1954) is a Danish Imam.
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Pedersen embraced Islam in 1982 after a long search through different world religions. He was brought up as a Christian, became a free-thinker at the age of 16 and was a follower of Hinduism for four years before eventually deciding on Islam.
Pedersen is Vice President of Muslims in Dialogue, a Danish Muslim multi-ethnic organization promoting Islam into the Danish society.
He is co-founder and principal of three private schools for children of Muslim parents in Denmark. He is also co-founder and long-time vice chairman of Islamic Christian Study Center in Copenhagen. He spearheaded relief projects in numerous countries worldwide. E.g. the establishing of a school in the Kunar province of Afghanistan during the Taliban regime which accepted girls as well.
Pedersen is co-founder of Danish Muslim Aid and presently Secretary General of same organization. DM-Aid has, among other things, rebuilt more than 500 homes for earthquake stricken people in the Kashmir area of Pakistan during the winter 2005 - 2006. He is one of the European representatives of the Global Network of Religions for Children and is a board member of the Swedish Islamic Academy.
He has translated a number of books on Islam into Danish. In 1997 he was the first imam to start holding Friday sermons in Danish.
He is married to a Moroccan and the two have four children.
Pedersen founded the Independent Scandinavian Relief Agency (ISRA) in 1988 and served as its Secretary General). ISRA was closed down in late 2004 due to allegations of supporting terrorism and connections to the Islamic African Relief Agency[1]
In May 2007 he caused controversy when he said that polygamy is acceptable if the first wife agrees and if there is good reason for it, such as lack of children.[2]
In December 1983 Pedersen was sentenced to one year and four months in prison for buying and selling 5 kg of hashish.[3]