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 ...

Ibrahim Zeid Keilani (1937 – 2 April 2013) was a

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian Muslim cleric and politician. He served as the minister of awqaf and Islamic affairs in 1990 and served as a member of Jordan's

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

between 1993 and 1997. He was a member of the

Islamic Action Front The Islamic Action Front (IAF; ) is an Islamist political party in Jordan. It was the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. Founded in 1992 with 350 members, Ahmed Azaida, Ishaq Al-Farhan and Abdul Latif Arabiyat were the main f ...

, the political wing of Jordan's

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

, and served on the party's Sharia Ulema Committee. He was described as an Islamist.

Early life

Keilani was born in

As-Salt Al-Salt ( ''Al-Salt''), also known as Salt, is an ancient trading city and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa (region), Balqa highland, about 790– ...

in 1937. Keilani studied Islamic Studies at the

University of Baghdad The University of Baghdad (UOB) (, also known as Baghdad University) is a public university, public research university in Baghdad, Iraq. It is the largest university in Iraq and the tenth largest in the Arab world. History The College of Isl ...

and

Damascus University Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...

. He then earned his MA and Ph.D. at

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 ...

, Egypt.

Career and religious views

During the 1970s Keilani hosted a television show, the show was important in creating support for the first

Islamic bank Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ''masrifiyya 'islamia''), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some ...

of the country. The main proposer of the Jordan Islamic Bank, Sami Hamoud, featured on four episodes to discuss Islamic banking. Keilani later served on the Fatwa Committee of the Preparatory Committee of the bank. Keilani was appointed as Minister of

Awqaf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charit ...

and Islamic Affairs either in 1990 or January 1991. During the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, while he was the minister, Keilani supported

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

. He condemned the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the Arab states that fought against Iraq in the war, saying that they were treacherous for fighting against the "army of Iraq, which is the army of Islam". At the same time he also supported the Palestinian cause, saying that

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

belonged to the Palestinians. After his term of minister, Keilani served in the

of 12th Parliament of Jordan, which was in place from 1993 to 1997. In the parliamentary year 1996–1997 he served as chair of the law committee.

Islamic Action Front

In 2000, the Jordanian government tried to introduce Saturday as a second rest-day of the week. Keilani, as leader of the

's Sharia

Ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

Committee opposed this. Keilani said that Saturday was the day off of Jordan's enemy,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and that by implementing the measure the Jordanian government would be acting treacherously. As leader of the committee Keilani defended the practice of

honor killing An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...

s. During the celebration of the Jordanian Independence Day on 25 May 2001 the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the official celebrations for the first time. Instead, they launched protests in which they voiced their support for Palestine and protest against Jordanian ties with Israel. Keilani was one of the main speakers during the protests. In 2004 members and leadership of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood were involved in leading sermons and teaching in mosques while having no authorization to do so by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. Several members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested, while others were summoned to talk to security officials. Keilani was injured after a row with security men and had to go to hospital. Jordan had implemented the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...

in 2007. Keilani criticized the government for doing so, saying that the treaty was "a dangerous agreement that effects the rights of citizens as well as the nation's identity and values". He accused the treaty as an effort to distance people from religion and as an effort to destroy the Muslim family. In 2008, Keilani disagreed with top Saudi Islamic cleric, Saleh al-Lihedan, who issued a fatwa making it permissible to kill owners and employees of television stations which showed immoral content. Although Keilani agreed with al-Lihedan that some of the content was immoral to Islamic standards, he feared that the fatwa would bring unrest to countries. He said that governments were responsible for dealing with the television channels. In 2010 Keilani ordered a ban on the increasing tourism to

, a holy city for Muslims. He said that the religious tourism normalized relations between Arab states and Israel.

Death

Keilani died on 2 April 2013, aged 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keilani, Ibrahim Zeid 1937 births 2013 deaths Al-Azhar University alumni Damascus University alumni Islamic Action Front politicians Islamic affairs ministers of Jordan Jordanian Sunni Muslims Members of the House of Representatives (Jordan) People from As-Salt University of Baghdad alumni