Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Arifi (, born 15 July 1970) is a Saudi Arabian author and

Da'i A da'i (, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam. See also * Dawah * Da'i al-Mutlaq, 'the absolute (unrestricted) missionary' * Hujja * List of converts to Islam The following is a list of notabl ...

. He is a graduate of

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

, and member of the

Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ) is an international Islamic non-governmental organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate values. The NGO has been funded by the Saudi gov ...

and the

Association of Muslim Scholars The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq () is a group of religious leaders in Iraq. It was formed on the 14 April 2003, four days after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S.-led invasion demolished the Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction), Ba'athi ...

Social media popularity

As of 2016, Al-Arifi had over 20 million followers on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Muslim Brotherhood affiliation was denied for Al-Arifi and

Adil al-Kalbani Adil al-Kalbani () is a Saudi Arabian Muslim cleric who served as an Imam of the Great Mosque of Mecca. Biography Early years and studies Adil al-Kalbani was born in Riyadh on April 4, 1958 to poor emigrants from Ras Al Khaimah in the United ...

by al-Kalbani, saying that they are affiliated with the Union of Muslim Scholars. He said that Syria jihad is incumbent and did apologia for

al-Nusra Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

, visiting the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in Qatar. Al-Arifi had a discussion with Saudi Deputy crown prince

Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

(MBS)and then tweeted and posted a photo of them smiling together. The discussion was held on the same day as

Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...

began. He asked God to bless MBS and posted his thanks. Al-Arifi met with MBS again and talked with him and posted the photo of them smiling together on Twitter. They talked about the future of the Islamic world and of the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia).

employs Al-Arifi. Al-Arifi's Twitter account was suspended in 2018. In February 2021 it was reported that Al-Arifi was under watch by Saudi government authorities and that his moves and actions were being followed using spy devices and a tracking knee band.

Sanctions

In May 2013, Al-Arifi was banned from entering Switzerland for a period of 5 years, for holding extreme views, Switzerland said. In March 2014, he was banned by the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

from returning to Britain after a series of sermons in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Birmingham and London. A Home Office spokesperson said: "We can confirm “Al-Arefe” has been excluded from the United Kingdom, The Government makes no apologies for refusing people access to the UK if we believe they represent a threat to our society. Coming here is a privilege that we refuse to extend to those who seek to subvert our shared values." Denmark banned him from entering the country for two years in May 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arefe, Mohamad Al- 1970 births Living people 20th-century imams 21st-century imams Saudi Arabian imams Saudi Arabian Salafis Saudi Arabian activists 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam Saudi Arabian writers Critics of Shia Islam Islam and antisemitism Muslim critics of atheism