Eyad Qunaibi

IslamPreacherRadicaliserIdeological LeaderSalafism

Aug 1

**DOB:** 22 October 1975

**Nationality:** Jordanian

**Location:** Amman, Jordan

**Ideology/Affiliation:** Salafism/Pan-Islamism/Jihadism

**Type of Leader:** Preacher, propagandist

Biography

Eyad Qunaibi graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Jordan University of Science and Technology and received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Houston, Texas. Qunaibi began his career as a researcher in the Research and Development Department at the Jordan Pharmaceutical Production Company and then ended up as Associate Professor at the Jerash University of Jordan, lecturing in clinical pharmacology and toxicology.

Eyad Qunaibi began his preaching activities in 1997 while he was a student at university. Qunaibi and his friends launched the Weekly Tape project by distributing Islamic tapes in several mosques after Friday prayers. This project continued until 2010.

Qunaibi’s ideology is close to Salafism Jihadism. He, however, refuses to describe himself as a theorist of the Salafi-jihadi movement and stated that he views jihad as a means of repelling external aggression against the Islamic Ummah.

Quneibi possesses a vast knowledge of topics that interest young people and has thus proven adept at gaining a significant following on social media. He currently engages with various Islamist political currents in Jordan, such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

3.2M followers

1.6M subscribers

546K followers

Banned

92K followers

eyadqunaibi.net

Evidence of Hate Speech/Incitement:

October 2019: Quneibi criticized the discussion of the book "The Magic of Reality" by Richard Dawkins in the House of Wisdom at the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation. Quneibi stated that people who discuss this book are calling for atheism. Quneibi mobilized his followers to mount an attack on social media, which prompted the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation to halt the discussion. In another video, Tayem Muhammad - founder of the House of Wisdom - responded to Quneibi and called for respecting the concept of pluralism in Jordanian society and added that the purpose of discussing any book is to debate, think and analyse.

June 2015: In veiled support towards other extremist groups in Syria, Qunaibi posted a Twitter article that criticised the Daesh attack on areas controlled by the armed Islamic opposition in the countryside of Aleppo, at the height of the country’s armed conflict. He stated that Daesh "saved the Nusayri (Syrian) regime from imminent danger". [Nusayri being a derogatory term for Shias] He added: "when Muslim factions in Syria and Afghanistan fight an infidel enemy whose unbelief is not disputed, the organisation [Daesh] comes to stab them in the back and helps the infidels against the Muslims.” In this tweet, Quneibi refers to Al-Qaeda backed groups in Syria and the Taliban in Afghanistan as “Muslims that are fighting infidels”.

2013: Quneibi was arrested and charged by the State Security Court with carrying out illegal acts that would “disturb Jordan’s relations with foreign countries”. Amongst those charges included illegal donations to the Afghan Taliban movement, of which he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.