Pierre Vogel (born July 20, 1978), also known as Abu Hamza () is a German

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

and a former professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Early life and boxing career

Vogel was born in

Frechen Frechen (; Ripuarian: ''Frechem'') is a town in the Rhein-Erft District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Frechen was first mentioned in 877. It is situated at the western Cologne city border. It is the site of the 1257 Battle of Frechen betwee ...

. He turned professional at the age of 22, fighting briefly (for two years) as a cruiserweight for the

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of the States of Germany, German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. ...

club and was undefeated in seven bouts.

Religion

Vogel converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in 2001 and shortly thereafter began courses in

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

in Germany, and then studied in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

. He is considered to be one of the most influential Muslims in Germany.

Private life

Vogel is married to a Muslim Moroccan woman and father of three children.

Media perception

He has been described in one German report as a "radical Muslim", while Matthias Matussek, author and commentator for ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', described him as representative of the "dark Nazi variant" of Islam in Germany. When he appeared at a Muslim meeting in

Dillingen, Saarland Dillingen (; officially Dillingen/Saar; ) is a town in the Saarlouis (district), district of Saarlouis, in Saarland. It has about 20,000 inhabitants and is divided into the three districts Dillingen-city center, Pachten and Diefflen. The city is l ...

, 25 April 2010, he said that

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

is legitimate due to the fact that there are more women than men in Germany. In January 2016, Vogel shared a video giving out the personal details of a woman who claimed to have been raped by men of Middle Eastern appearance in Cologne during New Year's, claiming that she had falsified her story in order to slander Islam. The video's creator deleted it after a legal challenge from the victim.

References

External links

* (Pierre Vogels current website)
einladungzumparadies.de
(Pierre Vogel's former website) * diewahrereligion.de

(Pierre Vogel's former website) *
Eine Reportage über dem Ex-Profi Boxer Pierre Vogel, der zum Islam konvertiert ist
aus dem 2. kroatischen Staatsfernsehen (mit kroatischen Untertiteln) HRT 2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Pierre Converts to Sunni Islam from Protestantism 1978 births Living people People from Frechen Sportspeople from Cologne (region) German male boxers German Islamists German Salafis Cruiserweight boxers