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Hamid bin Abdallah al-Ali (born 1960) has been described as "an influential
Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
cleric" based in
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...
, whom the
U.S. Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
has described as "an
Al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
facilitator and fundraiser." However, following the release of Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif's anti-terrorist manifesto Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World, he is reported to have "declared on a Web site that he welcomed the rejection of violence as a means of fostering change in the Arab world".


Background

Born in 1960, al-Ali is married with five children. He was a primary education teacher in Kuwait, where he taught Islamic studies. He studied
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and th ...
at the
Islamic University of Madinah The Islamic University of Madinah ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة) was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in 1961 in the Islamic holy city of Medina. Many have associated the univer ...
from 1979 until 1988, receiving a master's degree in
Tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, i ...
and Quranic studies. After returning to Kuwait, al-Ali served as a professor of Islamic studies at Kuwait University for several years. He rose to the position of general secretary of al-Harakat al-Salafiyya fil-Kuwait (The Salafi Movement of Kuwait) by 1991, a position he maintained until 1999. He was arrested and received a suspended sentence after published fatwas declaring Kuwait and other governments
kuffar Kafir ( ar, كافر '; plural ', ' or '; feminine '; feminine plural ' or ') is an Arabic and Islamic term which, in the Islamic tradition, refers to a person who disbelieves in God as per Islam, or denies his authority, or rejects ...
(unbelievers) and thus lawful targets for the
mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term t ...
— for supporting non-Islamic countries' aggression against the Muslim world. Months before the 9/11 attack, al-Ali issued a
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
authorizing the flying of aircraft into targets during suicide operations, leading some to characterize his fatwas as linked to Al Qaeda actions. On Iraq, al-Ali drew a distinction between all Iraqi Shia and those who actively support and assist Iran, with dialogue between Salafis and the former being acceptable, but not with the latter.


Alleged ties to terrorism

The Telegraph reported that al-Ali posted content on his website describing how to make chemical and biological weapons, as well as fatwas endorsing suicide bombing, detailing “the permissiveness, and sometimes necessity, of suicide operations on the condition of crushing the enemy…in modern times, this can be accomplished by bringing down an aeroplane on an important site that causes the enemy great casualties.” al-Ali has also publicly revered the
Al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...
as “heroes” on social media, and, according to YouTube footage seen by The Sunday Telegraph, praised the group’s “great jihad” in Syria during a sermon he delivered on March 2, 2012, at state-controlled Qatar Grand Mosque in Doha. He was invited to deliver this speech by the Qatari Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs. It is these types of invitations that have led to Qatar being labeled as a “permissive” environment for terrorist groups such as
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Br ...
, al Qaeda, al Nusra, and
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
and led to widespread condemnation for Qatar’s state-sponsorship of terrorism. On January 16, 2008, the United Nations listed al-Ali as an individual associated with Al Qaeda on their website. According to the U.S. Treasury department, al-Al is also a self-reported “Al Qaeda commando”. He has facilitated the transfer of funds, weapons, supplies and fighters to and from Syria for the Al-Nusra Front, sometimes using Kuwaiti students as couriers for the materials.


U.S. Department of Treasury designation

On December 7, 2006, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added al-Ali to its list of
Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order ...
s, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as a terrorist facilitator for providing financial support to Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Specifically, al-Ali was a religious leader of a Kuwait-based terrorist cell and a recruiter of jihadists on behalf of Al Qaeda in both Iraq and Kuwait. He was also involved in the plotting of a foiled attack on U.S. and Kuwaiti targets in 2005. As outlined by the U.S. Treasury department, “this designation freezes any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions by any U.S. person with the designees. In addition, in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1624, the U.S. Government condemns those who incite others to acts of terrorism and violence”.


See also

* Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Hamid Bin Abdallah 1960 births Living people 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam Islamic University of Madinah alumni Academic staff of Kuwait University Kuwaiti Salafis