Abdulrahman Al Sudais

IslamPreacherSalafismPropagandistWahhabism

Jul 14

**DOB:** 1960

**Nationality:** Saudi

**Location:** Saudi Arabia
**Ideology/Affiliation:** Salafism/Wahhabism

**Type of Leader:** Preacher/Propagandist

Biography

Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz al-Sudais, a well-known Saudi Salafi-Sunni preacher, is the imam of the Grand Mosque Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was appointed head of the “Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques at the rank of minister” by royal decree on May 2012. Besides being a member of the Arabic Language Academy at Mecca, he is a renowned Qari (reciter of the Quran) and his recitations are listened to across the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Al Sudais is originally from the Anazzah clan, the most populated tribe in Arabia. He had memorized the Quran by the age of 12 while studying at the Al Muthanna Bin Harith Elementary School, then he graduated in 1979 from the Riyadh Scientific Institution. In 1983, he obtained a degree in Sharia from Riyadh University, his Master’s in Islamic fundamentals from the sharia College of Imam Muhammad bin saud Islamic University in 1987 and also achieved his PhD in Islamic Sharia from Umm al-Qura University in 1995 while working there as an assistant professor.

In 1984, while he was only 24 year old, he conducted his first sermon at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. With Sheikh Saud al-Shuraim, he also conducted Taraweeh prayers from 1994 to 2006, then in 2014, 2019, 2020 and they were called “Twins of the Haram”.

In 2005, Al Sudais was named “Islamic Personality of the Year” by the Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA) for his devotion to Islam and the Quran. During that event, he said “The message of Islam and Muslims is modesty, fairness, security, stability, sympathy, harmony and kindness.”

Abdul Rahman has preached Islam’s opposition to “explosions and terrorism” and has called for peaceful inter-faith dialogue. But he also has been criticized for his public anti-semite speech in 2002 and has been refused from doing conferences in the USA and from entry to Canada.

729K followers

117K subscribers

Banned

Banned

None

Evidence of Hate Speech/Incitement:

February 2014: In a Friday Sermon comparing the Islamic and the Western civilisations, the cleric denounced what he called the brutality of the Western civilisation despite the shiny slogans such as the protection of human rights and the promotion of democracy. According to al Sudais, the Western civilisation hides behind attractive slogans but world events have exposed the Westerners’ true cruel nature and he described them as bloodsuckers and monsters of intolerance. Al Sudais then heavily criticized world news agencies and accused them of being controlled by Zionist organisations and the global Zionist lobby.

April 2012: In another Friday Sermon entitled “Victory is Coming”, Al Sudais expressed his support, using several verses from the Holy Quran, for the militants fighting the Syrian regime. He called the opposition forces “heroes who are fighting tyrants.” Furthermore, he added “they have great aims guided with the light of faith.”