Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Ali al-Qaradaghi (, born in Qaradagh,

Sulaymaniyah Sulaymaniyah or Slemani (; ), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It is surrounded by the Azmar (Ezmer), Goizha (Goyje) and Qaiwan (Qeywan) Mountains in the northeast, Bara ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

) is an influential a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

scholar of

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 ...

, an expert on

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

and

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

combined with

Islamic economics Islamic economics () refers to the knowledge of economics or economic activities and processes in terms of Islamic principles and teachings. Islam has a set of specific moral norms and values about individual and social economic behavior. There ...

. He is a professor of Jurisprudence at the Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies of the

Qatar University Qatar University (; transliterated: Jami'at Qatar) is a public research university located on the northern outskirts of Doha, Qatar. It is the only public university in the country. The university hosts twelve colleges – Arts and Sciences, Bu ...

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

and he has a Qatari citizenship.

Life

Al-Qaradaghi is the Secretary General of the

International Union of Muslim Scholars The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS; ; ') is an independent international body of Islamic theologians, currently headed by Ali al-Qaradaghi since 2022. Founded in 2004, with its headquarters split between Qatar and Dublin, the larg ...

(IUMS, current headquarters in Doha, the capital of

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, headed by Sheikh

Yusuf al-Qaradawi Yusuf al-Qaradawi (; or ''Yusuf al-Qardawi''; 9 September 1926 – 26 September 2022) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar based in Doha, Qatar, and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. His influences included Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn ...

). He is Vice President of the Association of Muslim Schools of

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and a member of many other Islamic organizations, including the

International Islamic Fiqh Academy International Islamic Fiqh Academy () is an international Islamic institution for the advanced study of Islamic jurisprudence and law based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was founded following a resolution by the Third Islamic Summit Conference of t ...

, the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...

and the

European Council for Fatwa and Research The European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) is a Dublin-based private foundation, founded in London on 29–30 March 1997 on the initiative of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe. The council is a largely self-selected body, ...

. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Kurdish League, founded in 1988, and President of the Board of Trustees of the University of Human Development in the city of

Sulaimaniyah Sulaymaniyah or Slemani (; ), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It is surrounded by the Azmar (Ezmer), Goizha (Goyje) and Qaiwan (Qeywan) Mountains in the northeast, Barana ...

. He is the chairman of the Sharia supervisory board of the Qatar First Bank (QFB) and a member of the Sharia supervisory boards of several Islamic institutions and banks, including

Qatar National Bank Qatar National Bank (QNB Group) () is a Qatari multinational commercial bank headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It was founded in 1964 and currently has subsidiaries and associates in 31 countries on three continents. The bank's ownership is evenly d ...

Dubai Islamic Bank The Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is an Islamic bank in Dubai, established in 1975 by Saeed Bin Ahmed Lootah. It is the first Islamic bank in the world to have incorporated the principles of Islam in all its practices and is the largest Islamic bank ...

, Doha Bank Islamic Branch, Qatar Insurance, Gulf Investment House and

Ahli United Bank Ahli United Bank () is a regional bank based in Bahrain. Its head office is situated at Manama and is the largest bank in Bahrain. It is present in 8 countries in the Middle East and United Kingdom. Ahli United bank's ordinary shares are listed on ...

. He started a study of Sharia at the University of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and graduated with a doctorate at the

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He is the author of numerous works on the Islamic economy and Comparative Jurisprudence. He has been granted numerous awards and honors and is a member of numerous councils, committees and associations. Ali al-Qaradaghi took part in the International Theological Conference "Islamic Doctrine against Radicalism" in Moscow on 25–26 May 2012.

Media reviews

According to Chechen historian and political analyst

Mairbek Vatchagaev Mairbek Vatchagaev (born 1965) is a historian and political analyst on the North Caucasus. Mairbek Vatchagaev was a senior ranking official in the Chechen government of Aslan Maskhadov. Career Vatchagaev was born in Russian SSR of USSR. He stud ...

(the article published by the American Jamestown Foundation), Ali al-Qaradaghi and the International Union of Muslim scholars for Moscow play an important role in internal Russian Islamic stability: Russian authorities do not simply want Sheikh Ali al-Qaradaghi to declare the jihad in the North Caucasus to be illegal. Moscow regards this international Islamic organization as a potential means to control part of Russia's own Muslim population, which could issue fatwas on important questions of Islam and be recognized. Moscow, however, fails to see that only those Muslims who already recognize the official Muslim clergy will listen to al-Qaradaghi. That portion of the Muslim community in Russia which deems cooperation between the authorities and the Muslim clergy unacceptable will not be influenced by al-Qaradaghi. He is an active supporter of Yusuf al-Qaradawi and his project "Muhammad: A Mercy for All" 6 and called upon all Muslims to support this project financially to IslamOnline.net (IOL) (with donations to the Qatar Islamic Bank in Doha, Qatar) and to give moral support: We have decided to launch a big Web site about Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): A Mercy for All under the supervision of IslamOnline.net, the greatest global Islamic Web site on the Internet. ..We call upon our brothers and sisters in Islam to support this project financially, especially that the eminent scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who supervises the implementation of the project, has given a fatwa to the effect that it is permissible to pay zakah, sadaqah and doubtful money to IslamOnline.net as a donation. Sheikh Al-Qaradawi, moreover, has described this project as 'jihad of the modern age.' We also call upon Muslims to give moral support to the project by inviting the friends of IslamOnline.net to participate voluntarily in its activities and services. We are going to prepare special programs to show how they can share in this respect.“ On his reaction to the murder of Muslim students in Chapel Hill shortly after the Paris attacks, Spiegel (the Mirror) reported: The Secretary General of the International Union of Islamic Leaders in Qatar, Ali al-Karadaghi, criticized the silence of the" international media on this "terrorist attack". "Are the leaders of the whole world going to honour the victims?" he wrote on Twitter alluding to the huge mourning ceremony for the victims of the Islamic attacks in Paris in January.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qaradaghi, Ali Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Muslim theologians Academic staff of Qatar University Islam in Europe Scholars of Islamic banking Sunni Islam 21st-century Qatari politicians Iraqi politicians International Union of Muslim Scholars members Al-Azhar University alumni Iraqi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam