Tareq Al-Suwaidan

Tareq Al-Suwaidan M.Sc., Ph.D.
Born (1953-11-15) November 15, 1953
Kuwait
Nationality Kuwait
Education Penn State University
University of Tulsa
Religion Islam
Website www.suwaidan.com

Tareq Mohammed Al-Suwaidan (Arabic: طارق محمد السويدان‎; born November 15, 1953) is a Kuwaiti leader of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood. He is well known in the Middle East and in Muslim communities throughout the world for his management/strategic planning training, motivational speaking and television shows and appearances. According to Forbes magazine (Arabic edition: Forbes Arabia), Al-Suwaidan ranks second in annual net income among Islamic speakers in the Muslim world with an estimated net profit of $1 million in 2007.[1] Al-Suwaidan was trained in the classical Islamic sciences in his youth and lived and studied in the United States from the age of 17 and remained for 20 years, graduating from high school, and receiving a B.S. in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University in 1975 and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in 1990 in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.[2][3][4]

Al-Suwaiden has preached to large audiences in the U.K. Canada, and Australia. He has spoken to Western audiences at venues such as Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. He frequently supports Western and American Muslim organizations. While Al-Suwaidan's speeches and remarks in English are often moderate, in Arabic he espouses extremist ideas.[5]

Al-Suwaidan has been banned from the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Belgium for various statements and alleged political activities.

Media and management

Al-Suwaidan is a TV personality who has prepared and presented numerous Islamic television shows on Islamic subjects ranging from broadcasting of the Holy Quran, stories of the Prophet, notable women and Andalusian history. His shows have aired on Kuwait television, First Channel, Space Channel and MBC.[6]

Al-Suwaidan is a TV personality who has prepared and presented numerous Islamic television shows on Islamic subjects ranging from stories of the Prophet, notable women and Andalusian history. His shows have aired on Kuwait television, First Channel, Space Channel and MBC.[3]

Al-Suwaidan was formerly the General Manager of Al-Resalah Satellite TV, the brainchild of Saudi businessman Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. In August 2013, Prince Talal fired Suwaidan for his role as the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait. Prince Talal wrote on his Twitter account that he sacked Tarek Al-Suwaidan "for admitting he belongs to the Brotherhood movement."[7] In a letter to Al-Suwaidan, Prince Al Waleed wrote that there was no place for a Muslim Brotherhood member on the channel. Prince Alaweed bin Talal, criticized him as having "extremist inclinations".[8][9]

Views and ideology

Al-Suwaidan is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait and has been described in US State Department cables as a "moderate Islamist".[10][11] In 2012 he said "If Islamists start to become tyrants in the countries that were hit by the Arab Spring, we will revolt against them just like we did against their predecessors.” and that “Freedom is a holy right and is one of the principles in Islam ... Freedom is to do and say what a person wishes but in a polite manner and without hurting others.” [12] In 2006 he demanded that the European Union, as well as the rest of the world, enact “a law that forbids the insult to religious figures and religious sacred opinions.”[13] He has supported women's rights within Islamic sharia law and advocated for reforming traditional understanding of Islam.[14] Al-Suwaidan is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.[15][16] Al-Suwaidan has condemned the 9/11 terrorists saying "these people are very dangerous to themselves, to the Arab world, to the Islamic world itself, and to Islam itself."

Al-Suwaidan has also been a harsh critic of the US and the West and at conference of the Islamic Circle of North America in 2000, Al-Suwaidan said: "We must tell the West that we are extending a hand of peace now, but it will not be so for long." "Even if a civilization is ready to crumble – like the West, with all the characteristics of deterioration of past fallen empires – it will not fall until we, the Muslims, strive to give it that last push, the last straw that will break the camel's back.[17]

Anti-Semitism

At a meeting of the Islamic Association of Palestine in Chicago in 2000 Al-Suwiadan said "Palestine will not be liberated but through Jihad. Nothing can be achieved without sacrificing blood. The Jews will meet their end at our hands." He was subsequently banned from the US.[18] In May 2007, Al-Suwaidan was listed by U.S. federal prosecutors, along with a group of U.S. Muslim Brotherhood members, as an unindicted co-conspirator in the terrorism financing case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development which was convicted along with its leaders of financing Hamas.[19][20][21] A Federal court subsequently ruled that the list of unindicted co-conspirators should not have been released to the public.[22]

In an April 2012 interview for Al-Quds, a TV station affiliated with Hamas, he claimed that since politicians were controlled by money and the media which are controlled by the Jews, only "armed resistance" and not Western aid or Western popular sympathy could change the situation in Palestine and Jerusalem. He also said in the interview that the most dangerous thing facing Muslims is the Jews calling them "the greatest enemy." [23] Al-Suwaidan subsequently denied charges of antisemitism stating, "We are not against the Jews, let this be very clear." He alleged that the comments were based on a report by MEMRI which he called a "Zionist organization." [24]

In a sermon to Hamas which was later posted on the internet on July 14, 2014, Al-Suwaidan described Israel as "a deviant country...[that] is destined to be eradicated in its entirety," explaining that "We do not demand a ceasefire. Rather, we demand that the rockets continue to be launched until they bow before us." Al-Suwaidan further stated that:

“ All the mothers of the Islamic nation – not only Palestinian mothers – should suckle their babies on the hatred of the sons of Zion. We hate them. They are our enemies. We should instill this in the souls of our children, until a new generation arises and wipes them off the face of the earth...Each and every one of us, when leaving this hall, should be contemplating a plan how to wipe out Israel.".[25][26] ”

In November 2014, Al-Suwaidan was banned by the Belgium government from attending a Muslim Fair in Brussels on the basis of the comments made in this sermon. On his Twitter account, Al-Suwaidan wrote, "Under pressure from the Zionist Lobby, the Belgium government decided to prevent me from entering the country despite holding a valid visa."[27] He claims that the reason they denied him entry was his "candid position regarding Zionism and the barbaric crimes of the Israeli occupation".[27]

The Belgium government announced that it had decided to prevent Sheikh Al-Suwaidan from visiting Brussels, because of his "anti-Semitic" remarks in the past.[27] The Belgian Prime Minister and Interior Minister said "This preacher has unacceptable anti-Semitic beliefs and his presence here is a threat to public order."[28]

Clashes with gulf states

In November 2012 a UAE police official said that suspects arrested in UAE had met with Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood members who are the ‘mentors of other groups’. He said "They hold courses and teach members how to act and resist, such as Tareq Al-Suwaidan. His anti-regime attitude is very clear." [29]

In October 2013, Al-Suwaidan tweeted that he had been barred from performing the lesser Umrah pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, stating "I have been banned from entering Saudi Arabia solely for my views and my position against the coup in Egypt and I say that my love for Saudi Arabia and its people is unshaken and that ideas can [never] be banned.”[30]

To this day, Al-Suwaidan continues to attend Islamic conferences in Qatar and has spoken on the revival of the Muslim Brotherhood at the Qatar Foundation in Doha.[31][32] He has also been involved as a speaker in the Doha Debates.

Cyber jihad

Al-Suwaidan has authored over 30 books, but his popularity is largely a result of his widespread social media activity– including: YouTube, Vimeo, iTunes, Facebook, Twitter.[5]

Hundreds of Arabic and English speeches by Al Suwaidan can be found on YouTube where there are excerpts from his appearances on Arab TV channels, as well as speeches delivered in the Middle East and in the West. Anti-Israeli sentiment is a common theme in many of these videos.[5]

Al-Suwaidan uses his Twitter account to promote what he calls electronic Jihad. On January 17, 2012, Al Suwaidan tweeted: "I see the need in uniting the efforts of the hackers within the electronic jihad project against the Zionist enemy, and it is an effective and important jihad, and its reward is great – Allah willing." AlSuwaidan: "I Strongly Encourage Young People To Undertake Electronic Jihad... I View This As Better Than 20 Jihad Operations."

In a June 4, 2011 interview on AlQuds TV, AlSuwaidan called for armed resistance and electronic jihad against Israel: "The other day, I was asking myself: Why shouldn't I personally go on jihad? First of all, my body cannot tolerate it. Secondly, is what I am doing any less important than jihad? I would like us all to feel that we are in the same trench. There is such a thing as media jihad, political jihad, and a form of jihad that I strongly encourage young people to undertake – electronic jihad. Some of our youth are extremely clever. I hope that a group of hackers will get together, and will wage resistance over the Internet, targeting Israeli and Zionist sites and destroying them electronically.”[5]

Following Al Suwaidan' support of cyber jihad, other Muslim scholars have supported his statements. A researcher at the Saudi ministry of religious endowments, 'Abd Al'Aziz AlTarifi, ruled that "it is permissible to use the stolen Israeli credit card [numbers], because they were issued by banks that are not Islamic... [located] in countries that have no contracts with the Islamic states. These countries are not peaceful, [so] the money [in their banks] is forfeited, and anyone who makes use of the stolen credit cards is not to be reproached." AlTarifi explained that this does not apply to banks in countries that are allied with Islamic states.[5]

Educational initiatives

Al-Suwaidan was one of the founders of the American Creativity Academy in Kuwait, a private institution that offers an American college-preparatory education within the context of Islamic values.[33]

He is also one of the founders of AGS (Advanced Generations School) in Saudi Arabia, a "Canadian school with an Islamic identity." Students study English under the Canadian curriculum, and take Islamic and Arabic classes as well.

Al-Suwaidan has been responsible for the preparation and submission of several courses and lectures to tens of entities in Kuwait, the Gulf and the Arab world, Malaysia, Europe, America and Australia, and has trained more than 70 thousand trainees in a variety of topics relating to management in an Islamic context.

Productions

Al-Suwaidan is the author of 54 best-selling books, his most popular being: Iidad Alkada (Preparing Leaders), and spoken word audio tape albums. His album, Qasas al Anbiyaa (Stories of the Prophets) is the highest-selling Islamic album in the world with well over 2 million copies sold. Additionally, over 3.4 million listeners have downloaded his lectures on the popular Islamic broadcast website "Islamway".[34]

Management books

  • Leadership in the twenty-century [sic?]
  • How to write a strategic plan ) stand alone(
  • Test your strategic information
  • Machine Creativity (Creativity step by step)
  • Flexible muscles of your brain
  • Principles of creativity
  • Pentagonal loyalty
  • Time management
  • Order your life
  • Market leadership
  • Learning Organization
  • Systematic change in organizations
  • Industry leader
  • The art of wonderful diction
  • Recent trends in management
  • How to change yourself
  • Success in life
  • Training and creative teaching.
  • The culture industry - 1. Industry Culture
  • The culture industry - 2. How do I Read?
  • The culture industry - 3. What to Read?
  • The culture industry - 4. Child Reader
  • Industry Intelligence

Islamic books

  1. Summary of the Islamic belief
  2. Secrets of Fasting
  3. Secrets of Hajj and Umrah
  4. Fasting
  5. The Jews: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (2009)[lower-alpha 1]

Notes

  1. ↑ The aim of this online book is to "attest to, through evidence and accounts, that the falsified religion of the Jews, itself, encourages them to practice treason and treachery, and feeds them to make them a special group among humans, and confers upon them the right to exploit others on the most hideous paths of duplicity."[35]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/02/28/46255.html
  2. ↑ http://en.zl50.com/20130409369374908.html
  3. 1 2 http://www.thedohadebates.com/output/Page29.asp
  4. ↑ "Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood Leader And Director Of Saudi Al-Risala TV Tareq Al-Suwaidan Tours West, Promoting Restoration Of Caliphate And New Era Of Cyber Jihad". MEMRI - The Middle East Media Research Institute.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 http://www.memri.org/report/en/print6453.htm
  6. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20051127101957/http://www.thedohadebates.com/output/Page29.asp
  7. ↑ AP (18 August 2013). "TV director fired for ties to Muslim Brotherhood". USA TODAY.
  8. ↑ "Kuwaiti preacher barred from Makkah pilgrimage". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  9. ↑ "Saudi Arabia, Kuwait tighten controls on clerics". Reuters. 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  10. ↑ "Help cure West's ills, Muslims told", Catherine Porter, Toronto Star, Monday, January 6, 2003, Ontario edition, Section: News, p. A08
  11. ↑ "Cable: 05KUWAIT3384_a". wikileaks.org.
  12. ↑ http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/25/203152.html
  13. ↑ Mohammed Cartoons - Tareq Al-Suweidan. YouTube. 7 February 2009.
  14. ↑ "This House believes that Arab women should have full equality with men". thedohadebates.com.
  15. ↑ "A Common Word Between Us and You". acommonword.com.
  16. ↑ "Qatar Opens Debate on Thorny Muslim, Arab Issues". NPR.org. 3 June 2005.
  17. ↑ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/mixed-messages-from-touring-muslim-lecturer/story-e6frgcjx-1226386791743
  18. ↑ "Hardline cleric banned in the US will preach to British universities" Patrick Sawer; Philip Sherwell The Sunday Telegraph (London) January 24, 2010 Section: News; Pg. 8
  19. ↑ "Holy Land Foundation defendants guilty on all counts - News for Dallas, Texas - Dallas Morning News - Latest News". dallasnews.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008.
  20. ↑ http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/423.pdf
  21. ↑ "Islamic Groups Named in Hamas Funding Case". nysun.com.
  22. ↑ "Judge ruled prosecutors should not have publicly released Holy Land unindicted co-conspirators list". dallasnews.com.
  23. ↑ "http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/mixed-messages-from-touring-muslim-lecturer/story-e6frgcjx-1226386791743
  24. ↑ "Tareq Al Suwaidan defends charges of anti-semitism". MuslimVillage.com.
  25. ↑ Kuwaiti Cleric Tareq Al-Suwaidan to Hamas: Do Not Agree to Ceasefire until They Bow Before Us. We Must Contemplate a Plan to Erase Israel, MEMRI, Clip No. 4361 (transcript), July 14, 2014. (video clip available here)
  26. ↑ Hamas Peace Plan Is to Wipe Out Israel by Rich Lowry, Newsmax Media, July 25, 2014.
  27. 1 2 3 "Kuwaiti Muslim scholar denied entry to Belgium". Middle East Monitor - The Latest from the Middle East. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  28. ↑ "Belgium bars Kuwaiti preacher for alleged anti-Semitism". GlobalPost.
  29. ↑ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". archive.org.
  30. ↑ Gulf News Report. "Kuwaiti preacher barred from Makkah pilgrimage". gulfnews.com.
  31. ↑ "The Qatari speaking tour in which a Saudi cleric urged knife attacks against Israelis". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  32. ↑ Qatar Foundation - Interview with Tariq Al Suwaidi for Qatar Career Fair 2013 (Video) (in Arabic). 2013-04-04.
  33. ↑ Ahmed.A. "American Creativity Academy - ACA Review". americancreativityacademy-acareview.blogspot.de.
  34. ↑ "طارق بن محمد السويدان - الدروس - طريق الإسلام". islamway.net.
  35. ↑ Seniguer, Haoues (2015-03-17). "The World's Schizophrenic Attitude Towards Charlie Hebdo". Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 January 2016.

External links

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