Aaidh Al Qarni

IslamPreacherPropagandistSalafismWahhabism

Feb 2

Aidh Al Qarni.png — **Other Names:** Aidh Al Qarni / Aid Al Qarni / Aidh Al Qarnee / Aid Qurani

EMAN website-03.jpg — **DOB:** 1 January 1959

**Nationality:** Saudi Arabian

**Ideology/Affiliation:** Salafism/Wahhabism

**Type of Leader:** Preacher/Propagandist/Influencer

Biography

Aid Al Qarni is a prominent Saudi salafi scholar that gained a significant follower base through his multiple social media accounts, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Although previously known for his extreme views, including calling for Jihad in Syria in an interview on live television, and his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly his condemnation, alongside other pro-Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Saudi clerics at the time, of the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi in 2012. Although the condemnation of a political event in another country is not evidence of faith-based incitement, the support for the MB is indicative of Al Qarni’s views on Islamism.

In 2019, Al Qarni publicly apologised for previously espousing an extremist interpretation of Islam, and is now supportive of the moderate interpretation that is currently being encouraged by the Saudi leadership. He apologised “in the name of the Sahwa to the Saudi society for the mistakes that were not related to Islam and for the extreme fatwas he previously made”. The Sahwa movement was a faction of the Saudi MB, and pushed for a bigger role for religious clerics in government and a more conservative society as a means to defend against western influences.

Inactive

476K subscribers

20.6M followers

3.9M followers

25.7K followers

No website

Evidence of Hate Speech/Incitement:

January 2013: In a sermon delivered at an unknown Mosque, Al Qarni salutes the insurgency in Sunni provinces of Iraq against the government of Nouri Al Maliki. The sermon was delivered through a very sectarian lens, referring to the Shia government of Maliki as corrupt, and the Shia sect as ‘ignorant’, and treacherous towards the ‘rightful’ sect (referring to Sunnism).

February 2012: In an interview with Al Arabiya TV, Al Qarni called for holy war against the Syrian government of Bashar Al Assad, stating that “it is a duty of Muslim jurispudents to assist the Syrian people against this treacherous regime”, further adding that at the present time, killing Bashar is a greater duty than killing Israelis.