Other names Abu Al Fadl Ethnicity Arab Denomination Salafi Other name Abu Al Fadl | Nationality Moroccan Religion Islam Movement Salafi | |
Full Name Umar ibn Massoud al-Haddouchi | ||
Omar al-Haddouchi (Arabic: عمر الحدوشي) is a Moroccan Islamic scholar who is among the leaders of the Salafi movement in Morocco.
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Education
Al-Haddouchi was born in Al Hoceima Morocco in 1970, and began studying and at a young age with various Morcoccan scholars, most notably Muhammad Abu Khubza with whom he studied with for 8 years before traveling to Saudi Arabia to continue his studies.
History
He has a history of co-operating with the Moroccan government when they make crackdowns on the Salafi movement in the country and could be describe as part of a trend of political quietism in Islam. He said during his trial, "We are preachers, not revolutionaries. It is not our job to judge others, which is a prerogative of the Sultan and his delegates". At the same time, he has also been described as "the most hard-line Salafist" in this trend and is known as a supporter of al-Qaeda.
2011 pardon
Al-Haddouchi was sentenced to thirty years in prison because of his connections to the perpetrators of 2003 Casablanca bombings, but was released from prison in 2011 after the Moroccan King Mohammed VI gave him a pardon in an Arab Spring initiative.
2012
On Apr 15, 2012 he called for all Muslims living in France to leave and return to North Africa.
On October 21, 2012, a leader of Ansar al-Sharia Morocco, Hassan Younsi, was arrested after leaving the home of Omar al-Haddouchi.
2013
In May 2013, he participated in a dialogue with Karama Human Rights Forum, a group affiliated with the Justice and Development Party (Morocco), in partnership with Adala (Right to a Fair Trial Association) and the Al-Wasit Association for Democracy with support from the Cordoba Foundation of Geneva. This dialogue aims to reduce sharp ideological polarizations within Moroccan society regarding the rehabilitation and integration of Salafis detained under the Anti-Terrorism Law.
On 22 December 2013, it was reported he had issued a fatwa discouraging Moroccan youth from going for jihad in the Syrian Civil War. His fatwa was met with disdain by Salafi youth, who declared him an apostate, and did little to stem the flow of fighters to Syria.
2014
In July 2014, the Islamic State released a video denouncing him for supporting the Moroccan government in discouraging Moroccans from fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The video said he preferred to support "his democratic brothers and aid them in their distress" instead of backing "the initiatives of real jihadists." Two other associates of Haddouchi, Abu Hafs and Hassan Kettani, were singled out for criticism.