Abdullah Al-Faisal

Islamic ExtremismIslamic SupremacismIslamistPreacherRadicaliser

Aug 11

**DOB:** 10 September 1963

**Nationality:** Jamaican

**Location:** New York, United States
**Ideology/Affiliation:** Islamism/Jihadism/Islamic Supremacism

**Type of Leader:** Preacher/Propagandist

Also spelt/other names: Trevor William Forrest/Sheikh Faisal/Imam Al-Jamaikee

Current status: Imprisoned in the United States

Biography

Abdullah al-Faisal, whose real name is Trevor William Forrest, was born to Christian parents who served in the Salvation Army. He left Jamaica in 1979 for Saudi Arabia, where he converted to Islam after being taught about the religion in high school. Soon after graduating in 1980, he began using the name Abdullah al-Faisal, which he officially changed in 1983. He attended a six-week Islamic and Arabic studies course funded by the Saudi Arabian government in Trinidad in 1981. During the 1980s, Saudi Arabia exported its Wahhabi version of Islam across the world, opening schools and mosques and promoting a strict and puritanical version of the religion.

He moved from Jamaica to Guyana in 1983 to study Arabic and Islam for a year. Al-Faisal studied for seven further years at the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a Saudi government scholarship beginning in 1984. In 1991, Al-Faisal moved to the UK and took over as imam of the Salafi Brixton Mosque in South London, where he began preaching to audiences of up to 500 people at the mosque and at Brixton Town Hall.

However, in 1993, the administration of Brixton Mosque ejected him because of his radical preaching. After that, he presented a speech titled The Devil’s Deception of the Saudi Salafis, in which he blasted the Brixton Mosque management for allegedly serving Saudi Arabia’s corrupt rulers. He later established an Islamic studies center in East London’s Tower Hamlets.

Al-Faisal used to preach across various mosques across England, Scotland, and Wales, including in cities such as Birmingham, London, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Manchester, Worthing, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Swansea, Coventry, Maidenhead, and other locations. His lectures were recorded and distributed in Islamic bookstores. He also urged Muslim women to prepare their children to be ‘jihadists’ by the age of 15.

Al-Faisal is known for being a friend of Abu Hamza al-Masri, the Egyptian who was kicked out of the Finsbury Park mosque for preaching against non-Muslims and is now imprisoned in the United States for a variety of crimes.

In February 2003, al-Faisal was found guilty of three charges of calling for the murder of Jews, Americans, Hindus, and Christians, as well as two charges of threatening words to cause racial hatred, speaking to his followers on tape.

Al-Faisal was deported to Jamaica after being eligible for parole and was permanently barred from entering the UK on May 25, 2007. Additionally, he was listed on the international watch list. The Islamic Council of Jamaica denied him permission to preach in its mosques upon his arrival.

As a result, he resumed giving lectures, conducted online Q&A sessions, and took up residence in the pulpit of a mosque in Spanish Town, Jamaica. In December 2017, the Department of the Treasury designated al-Faisal as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

In August 2020 due to his hate-filled sermons, he was extradited to the United States. In July 2020, the Jamaican Court of Appeal concluded that Faisal’s extradition to the United States may continue. The case was taken up by the New York City district attorney with five charges of terrorism.

In March 2023, a Manhattan court sentenced him to 18 years in prison, following a nearly three-month trial. He holds the distinction of being the first person to be prosecuted under New York state terror laws enacted after the 9/11 attacks.

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Evidence of Hate Speech/Incitement:

March 2023: Assistant District Attorney Gary Galperin said during opening statements at Faisal’s trial on state terrorism charges that the latter is “one of the most influential English-speaking terrorists of our time.”

June 2016: Al-Faisal had a strong following among converts, including Jason Brown, also known as Abdul Ja’Me. Brown was the leader of AHK, a Chicago gang that specialised in heroin trafficking and compelled members to convert to Islam. Brown was arrested in Clayton County, Georgia, in June 2016 on firearms charges. Police discovered proof that he was a fervent follower of Faisal’s teachings when they checked his phones. Brown’s fixation with al-Faisal remained while he was in jail, and after his release, he began to more aggressively recruit members of his gang to follow Faisal’s beliefs, telling them in early 2019 that he planned to fly abroad to join the Islamic State.

Although this is not considered direct hate speech or incitement to violence, it clearly shows that al-Faisal’s extremist preachings are still strongly influencing and brainwashing young Muslims around the world.

September 2014: In a co-hosted online conference about supporting Daesh, al-Faisal was recorded saying “When you see that the Dawla cut off the heads of Shi’as you will think that’s extreme, these people are crazy…first of all, the classical scholars did not consider Shi’as as Muslims…you don’t know what the Shi’as believe and you don’t know why the Dawla is so harsh against the Shi’as.” He further claimed that “there is no doubt that he [Bagdadhi] is the legitimate caliph and it is incumbent upon you to give your be’ah [allegiance],” later adding, “so take up arms, take up arms, O soldiers of the Islamic State! And fight, fight!”

February 2013: In an article by BBC, it is claimed that Abdullah al-Faisal had urged young Muslim boys to learn how to handle a gun, fly planes, and launch missiles in order to eliminate all infidels. He even told Muslim women to raise their children "with the jihad mentality" by giving them toy guns.

March 2003: In one of his recorded tapes, al-Faisal incited hatred against Jews and Hindus, saying: “People with British passports, if you fly into Israel, it is easy. Fly into Israel and do whatever you can. If you die, you are up in paradise. How do you fight a Jew? You kill a Jew. In the case of Hindus, by bombing their businesses.”

Unknown (prior to 9/11): In a recorded tape, al-Faisal said Jihad had been declared against India - “you are only allowed to use nuclear weapons in that country [referring to India] which is 100% unbelievers.”

Extremist Individuals - Islamist Extremists