Haitham al-Haddad

Haitham al-Haddad is a British Muslim television presenter, and Islamic scholar of Palestinian origin. Some of his views have been considered controversial, including remarks on Jews, sodomy and female circumcision.

Education Haitham al-Haddad gained a PhD at SOAS, University of London and is a Saudi-trained Imam. In Medina he studied with a student of the influential Salafi scholar ibn al Uthaymeen, while he also obtained a civil engineering degree in Sudan. His PhD thesis from SOAS, submitted in 2010, was on Islamic law and entitled "A critical analysis of selected aspects of Sunni Muslim minority fiqh, with particular reference to contemporary Britain."

Controversial remarks In 2001, Haitham al-Haddad allegedly said "I will tell you the truth about the fight between us and Jews who are the enemies of God and the descendants of apes and pigs". an allegation for which he successfully claimed libel and a retraction from The Times.

In an article called ‘Standing up against Homosexuality’, Haddad wrote of “the scourge of homosexuality”, which he calls a “criminal act”. On women, he declared that “a man should not be questioned why he hit his wife, because this is something between them”. In addition to this he has also claimed that “the most honourable and worthy role for a woman is striving to be a fine wife...this role does not only secure the best for a woman in the hereafter, but also fits perfectly with her natural disposition” He has claimed that there is a "proper" way of performing FGM,

Controversial events 2012 Netherlands visit In February 2012, the Dutch parliament majority tried to prevent Haddad speaking at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The university subsequently cancelled the event. Haddad blamed the opposition to him on a Jewish lobby.

London "mega-mosque" project

Haddad called for a 15,000-people march to put pressure on Newham council to permit building of a large mosque in West Ham, London Borough of Newham, which would have been three times the size of St Paul's Cathedral. Opposition to al-Haddad and the mosque project as a whole was led by a local councillor, Alan Craig, who eventually in 2014 would join UKIP.

University of Westminster In February 2015, the University of Westminster postponed a talk by al-Haddad after it was revealed that Mohammed Emwazi, known as "Jihadi John", became radicalised at that university. Over 3,000 had signed a petition for him to be banned from campus, stating that his presence could endanger LGBT students.

University of Kent In March 2015, the University of Kent postponed a talk by al-Haddad, hosted by the university's Islamic Society as part of "Discover Islam Week". The university's Vice-Chancellor cancelled the talk after controversy spread among some students regarding al-Haddad's messages.

Cases against the media

Libel case against 'The Times' In August 2015 al-Haddad successfully claimed for libel against The Times newspaper. Following the settlement the Sunday Times published a correction (16 Aug, 2015) clarifying amongst a number of false allegations, that al-Haddad had not praised Osama bin Laden, and neither had he been banned from speaking at the London School of Economics nor London Metropolitan University. towards al-Haddad's legal costs, published a statement withdrawing the allegations, and apologised.