Dawud 'Abu Talhah' Burbank (1963–2011) was a British Muslim who adhered to the

Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...

Creed 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 ...

. He translated numerous Arabic texts and books into English and also lectured on Islamic subjects. He died in 2011 while in transit to perform the annual

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

when the bus he was riding on became engulfed in flames.

Biography

Dawud 'Abu Talha' Burbank was born on 20 October 1963 in Coalville,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

into a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

family. He converted to Islam at the age of 19 and studied at the University of Madinah in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in the mid to late 1980s where he acquired fluency in the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

language.Burt, J. (2005) Wahhabism in the United Kingdom: Manifestations and Reactions IN Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf p.172

Islamic Activity

Burbank was a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

BBC (from 17.34)
/ref> involved in translating treatises and books of Salafi scholars upon his return to Britain and was involved in the activities of Jamiat Ihyaa Minhaaj al-Sunnah (JIMAS) until the end of 1995 when the organization splintered along pro and anti-Saudi government lines.Gilliat-Ray, S. (2010) Muslims in Britain. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge p.81 Burbank, along with Abu Khadeejah Abdul Wahid led the side that remained quietist towards the government of Saudi Arabia, temporarily creating an organization called ‘Organization of Ahl al Sunnah Islamic Societies’ (OASIS) which quickly became

Salafi Publications The As-Salafi Mosque, also known as the Salafi Mosque and as the Wright Street Mosque, is a Salafist, Salafi Sunni Islam, Sunni mosque, located in the Small Heath, Birmingham, Small Heath area of Birmingham, in the West Midlands (region), West ...

. Burbank "translated many Arabic texts" in this time that reinforced their objective that "correcting religious belief and practice among British Muslims was more important than political reform".

Work

Burbank was considered by his mosque as a "pre-eminent translator of religious texts" and is said to have translated more than 60 books from

into the English language. According to the Salafi Mosque director, Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wahid, Burbank "was well known and probably the best Arabic to English language translators in the entire West." at the Salafi Mosque in Small Heath within the city of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Death

Burbank and his wife, Khalida Begum Dost, died on 1 November 2011 when the coach bus they were travelling on from Jeddah International Airport to the city of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

in Saudi Arabia caught fire. Burbank and his wife were buried in

References

External links

'al-I`tisaam bis-Sunnah' (Clinging to the Sunnah) - written translations of Dawud Burbankittibaa.com - contains audio and written translations of Dawud Burbank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burbank, Dawud 1963 births 2011 deaths British Salafis British former Christians Converts to Sunni Islam from Christianity