Khalid Yasin

For the jazz musician who also used the name Khalid Yasin, see Larry Young (jazz).

Khalid Yasin
Born	1946 (age 77–78) Harlem, New York, United States
Other names	'Abu Muhammad', 'Abu Muhammad Khalid Yasin' 'Abu Muhammad, Khalid Yasin'
Spouse	Nuria Quintilla

Khalid Yasin (also known as 'Abu Muhammad', 'Abu Muhammad Khalid Yasin') and 'Abu Muhammad, Khalid Yasin' (born 1946) is a Muslim American teacher.

Yasin lives and operates a "Da'wah" organization in Manchester, England. He founded, directed and ran the Islamic Broadcasting Corporation and The Purpose of Life Centre on Shirecliffe Lane, Sheffield (closed down around September 2008). The organization was formerly known as the Islamic Teaching Institute (ITI) and the Islamic Information Network Ltd. The organisation has now re-located in Manchester.

Background

Yasin was born in Harlem, New York and raised in Brooklyn as a Christian along with 9 siblings in a very large family. Although not an orphan, he grew up in foster home environments from the age of 3 along with some of his siblings, and until he was 15. He describes each foster home as having a different Christian denomination, so he covered a wide spectrum of Christianity by the age of 15. He was put up for adoption due to the lack of financial support his family could provide such a large family.

In earlier life Yasin related to growing up in "the ghetto" where it was just "Me and my two brothers Sam and Julius, against the world. We had nothing but converting and accepting Islam now we have everything". growing up Yasin saw much grief of afro american people like himself, one in certain Malcolm X. Through who's influence Yasin along with fellow siblings converted. He says he can link the suffering of afro american people with that of fellow Muslims, ever fuelling his hatred of those he feels are against his people.

Yasin began his ministry as the "Ameer" or leader of Jammat Ita'hadul Iqwa on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn N.Y. (often referred to as the McDonalds Mosque, due to its proximity to a McDonalds). He quickly rose to fame in the Brooklyn "Imam Network" of the late 1980s, and was featured in several magazines, one of which "Our Islam" on page 14, "Their View" article (pictures of Khalid in Ihram).

Upon his return from Hajj, he was given money (alongside several prominent Muslim clerics, such as Siraj Wahhaj) by the Saudi Arabian government, through its religious ministries Darul Ifta and Rabitat. This money was for the establishment of a proper mosque and for Dawah.

Along with this funding and that which can be traced back to the UK Yasin made his start as a preacher in USA Georgia.

Views

Friendship with Nonmuslims

On March 2nd, 2010, Yasin gave an interview on a Dutch program and was asked to dispel certain rumors. When asked if he ever said "muslims cannot have nonmuslim friends", he replied:

No, I didn’t say that, no…I have nonmuslims colleagues, coworkers, neighbors, and they are my friends. At the same token, they don’t influence me religiously, they don’t influence my perception of God.”

Yasin gave a speech at Bankstown Town Hall in Sydney, Australia and a televised interview. In these addresses, stated that "There's no such thing as a Muslim having a non-Muslim friend, so a non-Muslim could be your associate but they can't be a friend. They're not your friend because they don't understand your religious principles and they cannot because they don't understand your faith.

The AIDS Virus

When asked if it was true that he claimed AIDS was invented at a US Government lab, he responded:

"If anyone one of us was to just exercise, a bit of research capabilities, whether it be on the internet or otherwise, or go to a public library, you'll find that the conspiracies, or the background on AIDS, is very diversified....we're not going to say it true, just that, when there is forensic evidence, when there are very clear indications that it's something other than a normal virus...okay..so if it's a man-made virus, as most forensic evidence seems to point out, if it's a man-made virus then it had to be incubated and developed somewhere....it is evidence I have to consider and when people ask, we must give them both sides of coin."

Yasin had reportedly previously stated that "An AIDS virus, that is a classic disease that was created in Fort McKinley, United States. Fort McKinley, the AIDS virus,, 63,000 gallons... Missionaries from the World Health Organisation and Christian groups went into Africa and inoculated people for diphtheria, malaria, yellow fever and they put in the medicine the AIDS virus... I don't say [that AIDS was created] by the US Government. I say there were at least five governments that acted in complicity."

Sunday Nights With John Cleary

On September 7, 2003 Yasin appeared on Sunday Nights With John Cleary being interviewed. Cleary stated that:

Right now we’re going to introduce you to someone who, well perhaps is giving a message that many people would be alarmed that is being put about. Sheik Khalid Yasin is visiting Australia at the moment speaking to Muslim groups in mosques around the country. And as this marks the beginning of the week of the anniversary of the dreadful events of September 11 and the destruction of the World Trade Center, this quite frank and some may find disturbing interview with Khalid Yasin is something that I think deserves to be heard. I spoke to Khalid Yasin on Friday. Let me give you an observation from a press release that the group who is sponsoring him brought out. This is what they say:" ‘Last month, a prominent Sydney Islamic Imam accused scholars from abroad of brainwashing young Muslims in Australia. Sheik Yasin’s response to such inferences was that “There is no established religious body in Australia that can cast aspersions on other Muslims. Let anybody come to my talks and they will see that there is absolutely nothing in them that incites others to do wrong.”’ Well on listening to this interview, you may decide otherwise. The controversial Imam spoke at Lakemba Mosque on Thursday evening to a packed audience, and he pointed out that in the past ten years there have been more than 5,000 people convert to Islam through his institute and other bodies, and suggests that an additional 1,476 have converted since the September 11 attacks. That’s in the press release accompanying the visit of Sheik Khalid Yasin, our guest on Sunday Night."

Education

He teaches that young Muslims should not go to universities, because they would lose their direction. "University is a gateway for deviation,you forget your Islamic direction. Now you have become compromised through some kind of intellectuality."

Family life

He teaches that Koran commands that wives who disobeyed their husbands should be beaten. "Now specifically, if you take that word literally, it means literally, beat them lightly, beat them, like I would my child."

Homosexuality

He teaches that homosexuals should be killed. "We don't make any excuses about that, it's not our law, it's the Koran," he said.

See also

• Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno
• Zakir Naik
• Bilal Philips
• Yvonne Ridley

Media Production

• Purpose TV(launched 15 January 2008)

External links

• Shaykh Khalid Yasin's official website
• Official website biography
• Khalid Yasin videos from his official website - including interview
• [1] Form for inviting Shaykh Khalid Yasin to your Islamic Event
• Khalid Yasin audio and video lectures

News articles

• Khalid Yasin: The New Voice of Islam? reported by MSN.com.au
• Feature Interview: Sheikh Khalid Yasin reported by ABC.net.au
• Week captures Islamic spirit reported in dailytargum.com/