A case of inappropriate conduct, lies, threats, bribes, breached contract, and cover-up.
Hiding reality does not change the reality.
InshaALLAH! more relevant material on Nouman Ali Khan case may be added later to this page.
I am posting these because the silence of majority of public Islamic personalities on this case makes me sick. The delay in exposing these facts and that too by a few handful of personalities, and that too when Nouman Ali Khan broke some contract with them, and not because so many people are listening and sharing his lectures on the very issues he has violated and they know it but the public doesn't know. This silence also endangered other women (Did they ensure that Bayyinah classes stopped taking women students, and did they ensure that no women employees worked in Bayyinah anymore, or did they just stop him from public lectures and from giving lectures in Bayyinah classes? ) . Then the ugly public fight that took place on internet, perhaps because of so few whistle blowers opened up on the issue so late.
I have deliberately not posted his chats and inappropriate selfies circulating on the internet, as those things are not required here, rather those evidences may be required in the court of law.
Below I consolidate the official posts from some high profile personalities.
Below posts are copied from various sites and pasted below for consolidation and backup (important text is converted to bold format by me and some minor formatting changes e.g. use of an Arabic font for Arabic text have been done by me ) :
Post on Nouman Ali Khan by Omer M. Mozaffar
Link to original postBismillah.
Muharram 1, 1439
September 21, 2017
Assalamu Alaykum,
Dear fellow Muslims. I hope you receive this letter with the best of health, Iman, and integrity.
Ours is a deen that focuses on justice. If a teacher falls, the Deen continues, the Rahma of Allah continues. When your heart breaks and you feel your faith is shaking, you turn to Allah to rebuild yourself. If you walk to Allah, Allah comes to you with speed. In this world we will be hit with news that shakes our hearts; in those moments we turn back to Allah again and again, for He is the dispenser of good and guidance. It is the model of our beloved Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that we persist with the determination that help will come, even if we do not know when.
I have been working on a case regarding my friend of twenty years, Nouman Ali Khan. He confessed inappropriate interactions with various women, violating agreed-upon bounds of Islamic law. He also told lies to cover up those relationships, and filed threats of litigation against multiple parties to further hide his misconduct. I am calling on him to focus on repentance and reform. He is jeopardizing his soul and reputation; he is tampering with the Iman of so many of the students of his courses and lectures. Nouman, you are burying yourself.
When rumors spread of possible indiscretions by Nouman, the local community of Dallas scholars investigated the matter to protect possible victims and to work toward justice and community healing. The scholars would not tolerate misconduct by Muslim preachers. Most of the Muslim community across the globe know the rumors; I will not repeat them here.
I was asked to mediate the situation in Dallas between Nouman and the scholars because of my experience in similar previous cases, as well as my longtime relationship with Nouman. My approach is to regard the accusers as speaking the truth while still regarding the accused as innocent. Even if any interactions are between two consenting adults, they are not of even stature: the famous preacher has the upper hand, and almost no Muslim preacher in the globe is as famous as Nouman. Thus, it is vital to make sure the victim is given attention and necessary personal and professional support.
I investigated the extensive evidence. I permitted one of his family members to support and advocate for him. He admitted to some of the accusations, though the evidence was worse.
In a meeting with the above scholars and myself, Nouman agreed to stop public speeches until further notice, to get professional and religious counseling, and to cease all contact with those women. I had the responsibility to determine when he would be ready to speak again. I gave him an exception, allowing him to post previously recorded lectures, so long as they were not about marriage or gender matters. Likewise, it was the responsibility of our team to inform the Muslim community leadership of Dallas and the nation, in order to protect anyone else from becoming a potential victim. Leaders and scholars across the nation were informed immediately, free to spread the news. The evidence was also shared with an organization that specializes in providing services for victims in the Muslim community experiencing abuse and neglect at the hands of religious leaders. We urged those who came to us who claimed that they were wronged by him to seek justice through all legal means available to them and to warn those close to them in order to protect the community from his harm.
I consulted a mutual friend of Nouman and myself to make sure I was not misstepping; the work of community safety and justice requires tremendous deliberation, care, and prayers. As things progressed, Nouman accused me of lying about our efforts and asserted that scholars were on a campaign to ruin him. This was obviously incorrect; there is no campaign and Nouman is not the victim here. The scholars were seeking to protect the community and to protect him from himself. The Prophet, may peace be upon him is reported to have instructed us to help the oppressed and the oppressor. We understand helping the oppressed. We help the oppressor by preventing him from further injustice.
This brings us to where we are today. Nouman has now broken his agreement with us and has been sending threats against each of us through his attorney. Such threats are nothing less than attempts to stop our work of protecting the community; those working with him should be ashamed of themselves. We serve Allah, not our worldly interests.
Thus, this call is essential for the well-being, safety, and education of young men and women around the world who learn from community leaders and scholars. This predatory behavior against these students and conference attendees should be neither tolerated, nor replicated, nor ignored. The failures of one preacher do not mean that the entire Tradition is suspect. But every preacher, scholar, and activist should know that if there is evidence that your behavior is illegal or detrimental to the community or society, you will be outed. If possible, we will work with you toward rehabilitation InshaAllah. I expect the same against me if I lose my way, a’udhubillah.
Faith comes from God. Faith does not come from a charismatic lecturer. Hold tight to the Book of Allah, and to the way of His Messenger, may peace be upon him. Pray for all of us, starting with the victims. To those of you who, as a result of such behaviors by preachers are struggling with faith, we are here to serve you to help you to turn to Allah.
To the Muslim scholars, preachers, and community servants across the globe, we have an enormous responsibility to help the community members cultivate their Deen. We have an enormous responsibility to stand up for justice, even if we have to go against our own selves or our own friends. We must renew our intentions in our own service to Allah, knowing that the accursed devil is a relentless enemy against each of us.
Our scholars are and continue to be the inheritors of the Prophet, may peace be upon him, as well as the custodians of the Traditions. As we know, the Prophet, may peace be upon him, and his family, may Allah be pleased with them, were subject to much worse. And, despite the struggles, Allah’s Tradition continued, and it will continue. All of us will face the Divine on the Day of Judgment, where the only wealth will be our good intentions and Allah’s mercy.
We are at your service. May Allah accept our efforts and our repentance.
May Allah bless you.
Omer M. Mozaffar
Chicago, Illinois
AI2: "Here are the names of the 4 other high profile personalities included in this mediation team which included Omer M. Mozaffar. May ALLAH give them the courage to publicly expose Nouman Ali Khan using all their platforms:
> Omar Suleiman
> Yaser Birjas
> Abdul Nasir Jangda
> Hussain Kamani"
A podcast by Omer M. Mozaffar on Nouman Ali Khan and related issues
8th November 2017Download mp3 , description .
Post on Nouman Ali Khan by Navaid Aziz
21st September 2017Link to original post
While Emotions Are Raw
A lot of you will be hearing about the Nouman Ali Khan case and will be in utter disbelief. It is very important to put things into perspective:
1- The accusations against him have been verified by multiple people, and some of them have even been confessed by him.
2- Details are the right of the victims and should not be speculated but rather when or if they are ready they will be shared. Please do not ask. May Allah hasten their healing process and grant them justice in this life before the next. Ameen. Please remember them in your duas.
3- It is important to understand that our faith does not revolve around personalities and your imaan should not plummet because of such actions. Who ever worships Allah then Allah is ever living and does not die.
4- This case has been brought to the public sphere because NAK had agreed to several conditions and went on to breach the contract. As a general case people's sins should be concealed except when there is potential harm to others. Trust me no one wanted this story out there and it is only coming out for the sake of protecting our sisters and communities.
5- We should want tawbah for everyone, regardless of how big the mistakes are. There is always a chance to repent as long as people are alive, and our actions will be judged based upon the last of them. May Allah make the best of our deeds the last of them and grant us a sincere repentance before we pass away. Ameen.
6- We need to hold our hearts and our tongues accountable. Do not let this hour, day, weekend, month, be a time in which your heart and tongue lead to further corruption by discussing that which we were not a part of and can do nothing about. Always spend your time wisely as if you know Allah is watching and hearing everything you say and do.
7- We live in a day and age where trust with religious leadership is almost non-existent. We cannot allow such cases to be used by those groups that have agendas to malign all Muslim public figures. Those that have made public errors and mistakes should be held accountable, those that haven't should still be held in high-esteem and learned from. Be just it is the closest to having taqwaa.
May Allah rectify our affairs, heal our communities unify our hearts, and guide us to what is best. Ameen.
Allah knows best.
A Statement Regarding Br. Nouman Ali Khan
A statement from Sr. Aisha Al-Adawiya, Sr. Salma Abugideiri, Sh. Tamara Gray, Dr. Altaf Husain, Imam Mohamed Magid, and Dr. Ingrid Mattson3rd October 2017
Link to original post
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion, and sympathy are like one body. When one of the limbs hurts, the whole body reacts with wakefulness and fever”. (Muslim and Bukhari)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam: Greetings of peace and may the mercy and blessings of God be upon you: as salam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
We come to you as women and men who care deeply for you, our brothers and sisters in faith. We grieve with you at the state of the world today, where so many are suffering from war, oppression, displacement, and deprivation. Prophet Muhammad, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, said that the believers are like one body, if one part hurts, the whole body is afflicted with sleeplessness and fever.
It is for this reason that any violation of trust and ethics which comes within our community of faith is even more painful and distressing. We all share that distress, and we wish that such violations never happened. But reality is not based on our wishes, and much injustice has continued because of denial. Allah the Most High says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلّٰهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقَيرًا فَاللّٰهُ أَوْلَى بِهِمَا فَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ الْهَوَى أَن تَعْدِلُواْ وَإِن تَلْوُواْ أَوْ تُعْرِضُواْ فَإِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
O you who believe, be steadfast in standing up for justice as witnesses for Allah, even against yourselves or your parents or your relatives, whether they are rich or poor, for Allah can best protect both. Do not follow your wishes lest you deviate and if you distort or turn away, truly Allah is aware of whatsoever you do. (Qur’an 4:135)We have therefore come together out of profound concern for the well-being of the women with whom Br. Nouman Ali Khan has engaged in conduct unbecoming of any believer, much less someone who teaches about the Holy Qur’an. We have refrained from making any public statement until now because we refused to act on the basis of ambiguous accusations and second-hand information. As a group we have taken our time to speak, all together or in smaller designated groups, with Brother Nouman, with a number of the women involved, and with numerous respected scholars and imams who have at various times tried to counsel Br. Nouman. It is with heavy hearts that we confirm that Br. Nouman has committed significant violations of trust, spiritual abuse and unethical behavior. We advise our brother to ask forgiveness from those he has hurt, to face the consequences of his actions, and to take a break from public life in order to get counselling and engage in acts of expiation. We advise members of the community to refrain from speculating about and attacking those in the process of seeking justice.
We are profoundly distressed by the anguish and grief that this has caused. We unequivocally recognize and support survivors of abuse who are often silenced in our communities. We want to make clear to the Muslim community that we are available to support all those affected by this and other less visible forms of spiritual abuse. We commit to improve mechanisms of accountability for anyone engaged in public service. We realize that there have been many situations in the past in which Muslim leaders have behaved inappropriately and have engaged in abusive behavior, and we are committed to working with experts in all fields to create ethical standards that protect our community from future harm and ethical misconduct or abuse of power by any Muslim leader.
The following signatories are comprised of scholars, community leaders and mental health professionals:
Sr. Aisha Al-Adawiya
Sr. Salma Abugideiri
Sh. Tamara Gray
Dr. Altaf Husain
Imam Mohamed Magid
Dr. Ingrid Mattson
The below post by Imam Omar Suleiman, a former employee of Nouman Ali Khan doesn't name Nouman Ali Khan but is most probably about him. If we sum up all the evidences including the recent findings in the above posts, it seems to be pointing directly to him, and sister Humera Gul in her post below also thinks it is directed at NAK.
What Do I Do When I Find Out My Favorite Preacher is Corrupt?
The most difficult test of one's faith: the moral corruption of a spiritual teacherby Imam Omar Suleiman
Link to original post
3rd June 2017
The scenario is becoming more prevalent: the person you trusted with your spirituality, inspiration, and maybe even secrets, turns out to be tragically corrupt. The man who gives lectures about how to treat women is a vicious womanizer. The televangelist who inspires millions to be better people can’t find the inspiration in his own personal life to not exploit vulnerable fans or oppress his family.
This is one of the most difficult tests to one’s faith: how could someone who embodied the faith to me be so corrupt despite all of his knowledge? Is something wrong with the religion?
THE POWER OF POWER
No. Something is wrong with people, especially when they have power. And power isn’t always manifest in the form of legal control or authority. The power of influence that can suffocate the stories of your victims is far more dangerous. The power of a platform that glorifies you being so much larger than those that expose you. The power of money that ties people to you, that will stay with you despite your corruption and the mistreatment of your own family, only because they want to feed theirs. The power of having shaykh friends that will legitimize you for their own gain not realizing, or not caring, that they’re enabling your corruption. The power of having organizations still invite you to their programs to fill seats despite knowing about you, but not really caring about you or the people you will help bring to them. The power of knowing that otherwise reasonable people will probably support you any way and forget that the victim could’ve been their own sister or daughter.
The problem isn’t religion; the problem is the perception of power that has so frequently poisoned men who wear the garb of any religion. Every oppressor is intoxicated by the illusion of power. But your Lord isn’t unaware, and is the only true possessor of Power. For their sake and ours, everything eventually comes crashing down before they can further harm themselves or others.
TO VICTIMS OF PREDATORS
If you’re a victim of one of these people, don’t be afraid to seek help. Don’t be shamed into silence. Predators thrive when they can pick on you in private and think that you’d never tell anyone. Your job isn’t to maintain the dignity of the one who disgraced you, or to put your hurt to the side to protect others from having their feelings hurt when they find out. You do have a responsibility to protect other people that could potentially be victimized.
To the girls that get approached by their favorite speaker at a conference who quickly starts looking for a secret marriage, please don’t be led down that route. Marriage is meant to be a public celebration that protects your rights. A private nikah that likely doesn’t even meet the conditions for a valid one won’t protect you at all. You don’t know a person from a stage or a youtube video.
TO BENEFICIARIES OF CORRUPT LEADERS
If you’re a beneficiary of one of these people financially or in some other fashion, don’t forget that sustenance comes from Allah and not from these people. Ibn Taymiyya said, “Whoever enables an oppressor will one day be tested by him.” The nature of that test is only known to Allah, but you’re actually protecting your family by not enabling an oppression that could one day harm them. Sometimes it’s not even enabling the oppressor himself but normalizing the behavior that one day bites you or your family.
To the religious institutions that provide cover, you have a responsibility to your members to not put them in harm’s way. The first responsibility of a shepherd is to protect his flock from wolves. If we haven’t learned our lesson from other religious institutions that cover up, know that the person and institution will suffer if things are not rectified properly. If we’re going to restore confidence in religious institutions, it’s going to take slowly regaining the trust of the people by showing zero tolerance for exploitation.
To the scholars and teachers that cover for their colleagues, fear Allah for you are betraying not only the people but the tradition. Do not leave the tradition hostage to people to exploit for nefarious aims. You too will be held accountable for legitimizing an oppressor and putting people in harm’s way. If people see your association as a refutation of claims, you are the strongest cover a criminal has.
DON’T BE BYSTANDERS
To the scholars and teachers that are repulsed by this behavior — do the right thing. You too need to be mindful of Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He) for none of us are safe from the plotting of Shaytan and the evil of our desires. The first thing we should do when we see someone fall from glory is to seek refuge in Allah from encountering a similar fate. Every person in religious authority needs to be vigilant with themselves. Protect yourself with a strong spiritual regimen, mentorship that can hold you accountable, and do not put yourself in a situation where you could be lead astray. Always give priority to your family and be extra cautious in your interactions.
To the family and friends of these people that don’t want to feel like they’re letting down someone that they love, do not fall victim to the misguided loyalty of the days of ignorance. The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said support your brother when he’s an oppressor by stopping him from oppressing. If you really loved him, you’d stop him from ruining his hereafter even further for the justice of this world is far lighter than the justice served in the hereafter. If you really loved him, you’d want him to correct himself and get help so that he may come back to Allah and start making amends. Stopping the oppressor is for his own good.
ALLAH KNOWS AND ALLAH’S DEEN IS PURE
Finally, to the onlookers who are damaged when scandals about their favorite teachers start to be known. You are not alone. Some of you may have become Muslim because of this person. Some of you may have spent days, weeks, or even years, on their lectures. Through the internet, they’ve become a part of your family. But here is the thing, what made you love them was that they brought you closer to Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He). You weren’t listening to them sing songs or make movies, you were listening to them teach you about Divine revelation. Let the object of your love remain the religion, and the people simply be the vessels. That way if one vessel breaks, the contents need to be transferred. The religion remains perfect and sound, even when those representing it fail to live up to it. Pray that Allah rectifies those who taught you the religion, support their victims, and let this be a lesson that no one after the Prophets 'alayhi'l-salām (peace be upon him) is infallible. Let your hope and expectations only be in Allah subḥānahu wa ta'āla (glorified and exalted be He).
And by the way, good teachers still remain. As heartbroken as I have been by so many scandals, I still reflect on the beautiful teachers and colleagues I have known that are models of transparency and loyalty. They still exist, but the ugly ones seem to obscure the beauty.
Don’t let the failure of a few cause you to stop seeing the beauty in many.
May Allah protect our hearts, families, and communities. Ameen
Omar Suleiman's post ends above.
below is a small selection from the 1st comment on his post by a person named Omar, which exposes the silence of the celebrity scholar community:
"...If one of us common people is wronged who do we go to Shaykh? Who will even believe us against someone who is known for his religiosity and piety? And even if we do (and I speak by experience here) as you rightly state the equally corrupt leaders of our dawah institutes provide cover for their “Superstar da’ee” so that their image and the name of the organisations is protected. I went to one such leader of an organisation to get help with my case and the response I got from them, and I quote verbatim from his email response “Regardless if you like it or not there are over a million folks he has touched one way or the other, we don’t want to ruin it.” These so called pioneers of the da’wah world that go Hajj and Umrah every year don’t even have the backbone nor the eman to stand by the oppressed and instead cover the crimes of their speakers and just ignore your requests until you just give up asking them and are left with no one but Allah and nothing but the power of du’a...."
Another big blow to Nouman Ali Khan... An open letter against him by his former employees, colleagues, students, family and friends
Link to original post by one of the signatories , also see a related post commenting on the same."Assalamualaykum,
An attempt to silence is a sign of guilt. Recently, Nouman Ali Khan has gone so far as to file lawsuits against and/or legally threaten numerous community leaders, ex-employees, and even family members. These tactics come as no surprise to us, the undersigned, as this display of threats and intimidation is merely an extension of similar behaviors we have witnessed from Nouman Ali Khan over the years.
We, the undersigned, make up a group of Nouman Ali Khan’s former colleagues, employees, students, family members, and lifelong friends. We have either witnessed or been on the receiving end of his demands for blind loyalty, demands for signed papers guaranteeing our silence, verbal intimidation, and the unjust firing of employees who questioned certain suspicious behaviors and interactions that they witnessed. This culture of dirty politics is not one that an innocent man would resort to.
We condemn Nouman Ali Khan’s attempts to use such tactics to silence people and divert attention from his own misdeeds by making baseless claims and exaggerations. Nouman wants this to be seen as a personal vendetta against him or a business conflict. It is not. We stand by the statement of the independent and upstanding scholars that have investigated this matter, and have requested Nouman to step down. We urge the public to continue to put pressure on Nouman to stop his attempts at silencing those around him so that the truth can come to light.
Signed…
Asim Ranginwala (Bayyinah CTO 2014-2016, known Nouman since the 90’s in NY)
Faadhil Abdulhakkim (student of Bayyinah Dream 2012-2013, full-time employee at Bayyinah 2013-2016)
Sumaya Al-Saadoon (Bayyinah Dream student 2013-2014, full-time instructor and curriculum developer at Bayyinah Dream 2014-2017)
Nusayba Al-Saadoon (Bayyinah Dream student 2013-2014, full-time instructor and curriculum developer at Bayyinah Dream 2014-2017)
Arun Saraswat (former VP of Bayyinah 2014-2015, has known Nouman for over 15 years)
Imaan Fathima (moved to Dallas in 2000 and graduated from Bayyinah Dream in 2015, worked at Bayyinah 2016-2017)
Abdurahman Kweider (Dream Student 2012-2013, known Nouman for 5 years)
Maryam Khan (moved to Dallas from England in 2013, graduated fron Bayyinah Dream year-long in 2014, worked at Bayyinah for ~6 months in 2015)
Shakaib Jamal (moved to Dallas 2014, worked at Bayyinah from October 2014-January 2016)
Rashid Smith (Bayyinah Dream student 2012-2013, Bayyinah employee 2015-2016)
Ayesha Sharieff (Bayyinah employee 2014-2015, has known Nouman for over 15 years)
Rehan Ahmed (Bayyinah TV operations manager 2015-2016)
Waqar Khan (Former CEO of Bayyinah Malaysia, Director of Business Development and Expansion at Bayyinah, has known Nouman for over 5 years)
Abdullah Faheem (moved to Dallas for Bayyinah Dream 2014-2015, employee for Bayyinah 2014-2016)"
Joint statement regarding such Crimes by Multiple High Profile Personalities including Nouman Ali Khan
Coming back to Omer M. Mozaffar: In another investigation, Omer M. Mozaffar played a similar role as he is playing in Nouman Ali Khan case. In a statement issued by various scholars, Nouman Ali Khan was also a signatory. See: link 1 , link 2 .
Let's get some suggestions from Nouman Ali Khan's own joint statement along with multiple high profile figures:
Pasted from link 1 above (The long list of signatories including NAK can be seen here ) :
STATEMENT The Muslim community has come together to support and empower victims and survivors of sexual abuse. We support each victim and survivor to come forward to get help. Those who are connected to the case in Chicago should visit http://www.safetyforsurvivors.com/. If you are unable to find resources in your personal community, please also visit this website. The signatories below represent all parts of the Muslim community, including those of traditional scholarship, academic scholarship, chaplaincy, community leadership, among Sunni and Shi’i communities. The signatories each signed on to this document, though various editions in editing might have slight modifications. If you represent your Muslim community and wish to add your name to this statement, please email samar.kaukab@gmail.com.
If you are a victim or survivor, you have our full support and prayers. If you are a family member of a victim or survivor, we support and pray for you to assist the victims and survivors. This is a new day for our community. A bright day, Insha Allah.
In the name of God, the most Compassionate, eternally Compassionate. Dear Muslim Sisters and Brothers: In light of recent sexual assault allegations in Chicago, we submit the following. As scholars, religious and organizational leaders, we write to address the very grave matter of sexual abuse and criminal, predatory behavior perpetrated by religious leaders within our community.
We must bear witness to the spiritual and legal teachings of our faith. We must denounce this heinous form of oppression and violation. In our traditions, we have higher objectives that require us to protect lives and children. We must turn our hands against the perpetrators. We must hold the criminals to account before God and the American judicial system. We must work for the healing of the survivors, their families, and loved ones. And, we must put in place new checks and balances to protect current and future generations from such appalling, and soul-tearing violation.
It is important to note at the outset that this is not merely a legal issue. It is about the rescue and rehabilitation of souls that have been violated in the worst imaginable way. Their trust has been betrayed. Their bodies and souls have been violated. And, because these crimes have been perpetrated by religious leaders, their relationship with their faith and with God has been poisoned. The scars of sexual violence are life-long. The survivors must bear them for the rest of their lives.
This letter, then, first and foremost, is written in a spirit of loving support and prayerful solidarity with the survivors. Second, it calls for a community-wide revolution in the way we respond to this evil within our communities. In this spirit, then, we humbly offer a few points.
1. As Muslims and people of faith, we must stand for justice. O you believers! Hold up justice, as witnesses to God, even though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, regardless of whether he be rich or poor. God is a better Protector to both (than you). [Surah al-Nisa 4:135] Thus, regardless of what our families or the community might say, regardless of the position or status of the perpetrator, we must stand together as witnesses before God. To do otherwise is to ignore God’s clear teaching as well as betray the victims.
2. Seek immediate help. If you know or are a victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault, seek immediate help. We often think that sexual violence is only rape, but in fact it can take many forms. For further examples, please check here. If you do not know how or where to seek help, begin with a trusted family member or friend or teacher, who can help you access the professional resources that exist for victims within and beyond the community. Qualified and compassionate people are waiting to help, and so we have both a personal and collective obligation to ensure that the victims get help, immediately. Even if the incident(s) you experienced were from long ago, seek help. The effects of such trauma are long lasting.
3. Inform law enforcement. We must never hesitate to inform law enforcement when a crime has been committed, especially one of such a heinous and serious nature. Officers are given special training for the care, interviewing, and protection of victims of sexual violence. They have strict rules for confidentiality. The police have the power to intervene so that the victim will be protected from further abuse. Law enforcement must be part of our community’s collective strategy for combatting this criminal behavior within our mosques, schools, and families. Even if the abuse and violation occurred a long time ago, law enforcement should be informed immediately, as there may still be time for investigation, prosecution, and protection for the survivor(s). We must also protect others who are in danger of being violated by the sexual predator. For the importance of consulting local law on such matters, please check here.
4. Support the victim. As believing women and men, we must stand together for the sanctity and beauty and innocence of the victims. The prominence, fame, or power of the perpetrator should not affect our support for the victim. God says very clearly that His covenant does not include oppressors [Surah al-Baqarah 2:124]. Our compassionate focus must be on the victims of oppression. If you have been affected or have a family member who was affected by sexual violence, we urge you to stand with and for the survivor. We urge you to seek help by way of professional counseling and legal intervention. We urge you to cling to hope; for all things, including healing, are possible with God. The perpetrators should seek their own repentance with Allah, but we must support the victim.
5. Do not blame or shame the victim. Allah does not like the public mention of evil except by one who has been wronged. And ever is Allah Hearing and Knowing. [Surah al-Nisa 4:148] We must support and protect the victims. It is unacceptable to blame, shame, or silence the victims. As mentioned in the above ayah, Allah does allow victims to make public mention of evil. We must protect the victim and pursue justice. It is never the victim’s fault for getting abused. There is nothing s/he could have done to invite such behavior, as sexual violence is a matter of the perpetrator abusing his/her power against another. Victim blaming is one of the main reasons survivors do not come forward and seek justice. Community silence allows abusers to continue their crimes in their homes and communities. Let us not be responsible for silencing those who have been oppressed. Sending sincere prayers of God’s peace, mercy and blessings to one and all:
Signatories included
Nouman Ali Khan, Bayyinah Institute
Omer M. Mozaffar (who also issued open letter post against Nouman Ali Khan, the 1st post above)
Omar Suleiman, Bayyinah Institute/Valley Ranch Islamic Center (who also posted on NAK issue (4th post above) without naming NAK)
(The below 6 signatories also issued a statement regarding Nouman Ali Khan i.e. 3rd post above)
Aisha al-Adawiya, Women in Islam Inc.
Salma Elkadi Abugideiri
Tamara Gray, CEO, Rabata.org
Altaf Husain, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Howard University, and Vice President, ISNA
Mohamed Magid, Past President of ISNA, Imam of ADAMS Center
Ingrid Mattson, London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies, Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario
and many more signatories.
(The designations given above are also taken from same signed post, and was the designation for the above signatories in early 2015 and the designations have changed for some e.g. Omar Suleiman)
(I urge all the remaining signatories who have been informed to avoid double standards, and immediately issue a statement for Nouman Ali Khan case. I know, most of them know already and many have even banned NAK from giving lectures at their places, but why this refusal to issue a joint statement? As Omer M. Mozaffar said in the 1st post above "it was the responsibility of our team to inform the Muslim community leadership of Dallas and the nation, in order to protect anyone else from becoming a potential victim. Leaders and scholars across the nation were informed immediately, free to spread the news. " What's holding the remaining informed signatories back from issuing a statement against NAK while you had no problem issuing a statement related to the case of a 75 year old Imam Muhammad Abdullah Saleem because you had to stand up for justice in that case but you refuse to publicly and openly stand up for justice in Nouman Ali Khan case?)
BLURRED LINES: WOMEN, “CELEBRITY” SHAYKHS, AND SPIRITUAL ABUSE
by Ustadha Zaynab Ansari, 27 May 2015Link to full post written in May 2015, parts of which seem to be pointing towards Nouman Ali Khan.
Below are brief selections from the above post
"It has recently come to my attention that there are well-known individuals who are using their platforms for more than the dissemination of Islamic teachings. There is evidence demonstrating that these individuals are using their positions in circles of sacred learning to groom, recruit, and entice female followers with promises of marriage, access to Shaykhs, study abroad opportunities, and entrée to exclusive socio-spiritual networks. Under the guise of mentoring, these individuals are engaging in private, unsupervised conversations with marriageable members of the opposite sex. These conversations, carried out in the relative anonymity of cyberspace, appear to run the gamut from fairly innocuous exchanges of biographical information (à la pen pals in the pre-computer era) to material that is merely suggestive to thoughts and sentiments that are wildly inappropriate..."
"I would also point out that when said teacher is engaging in conversations with multiple women at the same time, we also have a math problem. Islamic law only allows a man to marry four wives, so if the already-married teacher is “courting” multiple women at once, only a certain percentage can expect the relationship to become licit. What then of the remaining percentage? Again, a math problem..."
"TALAQ BY TEXT MESSAGE
Since the purpose of this essay is to draw attention to the plight of the “other woman,” I will not belabor the point about the first wife, except to say that when her husband’s dalliances and marriages are revealed, the trust between them is irreparably broken. If she is legally married (per the laws of the United States, for example), she may have some means of redress. However, the other woman has no such means. As the clandestine second (or third or fourth) wife of the Shaykh, she has no legal avenues through which to pursue her rights. Her Islamic nikah (marriage contract) is not enforceable, placing her in an extremely vulnerable position. It is a position no one’s daughter or sister should find herself in, but it is happening to good women from good families. As the secret second wife of the Shaykh, the poor woman receives no public recognition or respect. She cannot appear with him in gatherings. She cannot announce herself to the community. And she dare not contact his first wife and speak out lest she be accused of causing fitna. To add insult to injury, the Shaykh, who will not even deign to acknowledge the woman publicly, still retains conjugal access, enjoying all the pleasures of marriage without the responsibility, for, in many cases, he has not provided a marital home nor financial support to the secret second wife. To cap it all off, when he is done with the second wife, the marriage is ended without much ceremony, unless one deems talaq by text message ceremonious. Predictably, when the woman reacts badly, as anyone would under the circumstances, the Shaykh and his followers write her off as “unstable.”"
NAKastrophe by Rabia Chaudry
Link to full postBelow are a few selections:
"Now, the basic allegations against NAK are this, as verified to me by multiple parties: as a legally married man (and yes he is still legally married – according to public records, he originally filed for divorce in 2015, then filed a nonsuit in January of 2017 stopping the divorce, then refiled for divorce in March 2017 but it is a long way from being final) to a long-time wife with which he has seven children, he married a second wife secretly (over the phone, officiated by a female student, as his wife was expecting baby number 7) a couple of years ago, then allegedly abandoned that second wife, and was shopping around for other wives by proposing to numerous women in different parts of the world without telling them about his wives. There are many more unsavory details to it all having to do with threats, bribes, intimidation, withholding employee wages, calls from lawyers, but I’ll spare everyone those."
"If you think there aren’t veils of protective silence around every badly behaving religious leader, you’re wrong. There are designated drivers in our communities, the men who step in to help talk the victimized women down, continuing to give cover to the serial abusers. There are all levels of enablers, including imams and organizations that keep handing their platforms and mics over to those they know have acted in morally reprehensible ways.
It takes a village folks. It takes a village.
So the only real solutions I can think of are these:
> Teach community members on how to protect themselves, and give them the space and encouragement to report misconduct. Reporting is key. We must stop misusing the injunction of covering sins. Sins cease to become only personal issues when they damage others, when they are perpetuated in a pattern, when they rise to abuse. And our communities need to understand what spiritual abuse is, what it looks like, and how the deen tells us to respond to it. I know some of our religious leaders will be writing more in depth on this issue, so I look forward to that. I certainly hope this will be an issue that merits a panel at future RIS, ISNA, ICNA, MSA, etc conferences.
> Establish a group/organization/committee that does intake, investigation, verification, and tracking of reports of misconduct and provides resources to victims. Intaking and tracking claims is done in virtually every other kind of abuse and it doesn’t mean every allegation is made public or every accused is prosecuted. Whether it’s hate crimes or sex offenses or child abuse or spiritual abuse, intake and tracking of allegations is an important tool in figuring out how to mitigate the issue, as well as developing a record for it’s own sake, and perhaps acting as a deterrent.
> Hold organizations and other leaders accountable for giving cover to those they know have proven, problematic track records. We love boycotts right? As someone on the receiving end of numerous community boycotts (it’s ok, I still love you), we do have the power to refuse to give platforms to those who are not deserving of them, until and unless they make their amends with those they have hurt, and with the communities they lied to. Even Jimmy Swaggart gave a teary eyed apology, but I fear the narcissism that fuels the abusive behavior we are seeing among male Muslim leadership will prevent any Swaggart-like displays of public apology."
Rabia Chaudry's post selections end above
The Invalid 2nd Marriage of Nouman Ali Khan:
Omar Suleiman said in his post (4th post above)To the girls that get approached by their favorite speaker at a conference who quickly starts looking for a secret marriage, please don’t be led down that route. Marriage is meant to be a public celebration that protects your rights. A private nikah that likely doesn’t even meet the conditions for a valid one won’t protect you at all. You don’t know a person from a stage or a youtube video.
Rabia Chaudry said in her above post
"Now, the basic allegations against NAK are this, as verified to me by multiple parties: as a legally married man (and yes he is still legally married – according to public records, he originally filed for divorce in 2015, then filed a nonsuit in January of 2017 stopping the divorce, then refiled for divorce in March 2017 but it is a long way from being final) to a long-time wife with which he has seven children, he married a second wife secretly (over the phone, officiated by a female student, as his wife was expecting baby number 7) a couple of years ago, then allegedly abandoned that second wife, and was shopping around for other wives by proposing to numerous women in different parts of the world without telling them about his wives. There are many more unsavory details to it all having to do with threats, bribes, intimidation, withholding employee wages, calls from lawyers, but I’ll spare everyone those."
Why NAK's 2nd Marriage was Invalid?
1. Secret Marriages are forbidden in Islam.
2. Marrying (over the phone, officiated by a female student) is also forbidden in Islam, even if we ignore the fact that the marriage was also secret.
3. Also read : On Secret Marriages by Mohammad Akram Nadwi .
Apparently, the official post by some of the victims themselves
link to cached original post (a cached post, may go down any time just as the images are no longer openable. This post gave the context and the original post for the screenshots circulating on the internet. )assalaamualaikum,
we are the victims of the womanising and lying of Nouman Ali Khan. we have come together to tell our story. he has many followers but that does not mean he is innocent. we are sharing only some of the evidence of his bad actions. he was in a haram relationship with his employee during his first marriage and his wife was pregnant! he had many bad relationships with women including us during his relationship with his employee. he has threatened us and paid money to hush up.
he lied to everyone. he lied to his wife friends family employees imams. EVERYONE about his actions when he was asked!
we hope you will see all this and see the true colours of this terrible man!
(Note this was followed by 3 sets of screenshots for 3 different communications
1. Female Employee.
2. Woman volunteer for Islamic conference
3. Female lecture attendee
This was followed by a screenshot where Nouman Ali Khan had transferred money as bribe to one of the victims to keep her silent, as evidence of his usage of bribes to silence victims.)
A comment by Nouman Ali Khan's Mother in Law
Original screenshot here, below embedded image has been enlarged & optimized by me. This comment was on a facebook post.
SO WE JUST GONNA PRETEND LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED? by Aman Ali
Link to original post20 November 2017
Nouman Ali Khan is STILL preaching. He's back to doing classes, giving Friday khutbah sermons and will probably be hitting the road giving speeches soon... as if he didn't violate the entire Muslim community's trust a few weeks ago when it was publicly revealed he manipulated, abused and intimidated several women he tried to pursue relationships with (while married), dished out money to hush people up and retaliated against several others trying to stop him.
SO WE JUST GONNA PRETEND LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED?
I am calling on Nouman Ali Khan to step down. Take a break and get your life together. Take some time off, see a therapist (as someone who sees one regularly, I can't recommend how awesome it is enough!), and just get your stuff in order. You have hurt many people in your life - work on taking the steps to make things right with them.
I'm telling you, you need to take a break and take the time to understand how you have hurt people. I've spoken to some of these people directly. I think it would be beneficial to you, the community, and the people you've hurt most importantly if you focused right now on healing and listening.
Your public presence right now is straight up problematic. It sends a signal to our community that we look the other way on very serious allegations of abuse. It sends a terrible message to victims dealing with their own unrelated cases of abuse that there is no safe space for them to get help or talk about these problems in our community.
I do not wish harm or malice to you. I will also cut myself short of trashing you. I think you are a tremendously gifted speaker and millions of people have benefited from your talks and teachings and I think you have the potential to continue being a valuable asset to our community (that is AFTER you are willing to be). You have an opportunity here to understand how you have hurt people and begin the path of making things right with them (it will be a long but rewarding one worth traveling down). And THEN you can return to the public spotlight and have an opportunity to be an advocate on how these behaviors need to change in our community.
I can't begin to tell you how much we need that right now. What we don't need though is you going back to business as usual.
I am very conscious with my choice of words. A public figure with millions of followers pressuring staffers, volunteers and other women to engage in sexual relationships masqueraded as temporary marriages is abuse. And unethical, problematic and morally wrong to say the least. Given the very tilted power dynamics here, there is little to no opportunity to hide behind the argument of consent (and even if it was consensual, HOW IS THIS STILL OKAY).
There have been multiple female and male leaders with no personal agendas that have come forward to confirm these allegations. Matter of fact, Nouman Ali Khan has threatened litigation towards many of these people including our beloved scholar Shaykh Omar Suleiman. (Update on that lawsuit by the way, Omar Suleiman's legal team has filed a motion in court to say that every allegation Nouman Ali Khan has filed against Omar Suleiman in court has been fabricated. Omar Suleiman has said in court the entire lawsuit is retaliation to the ongoing public accusations. A judge will rule on Dec. 8 to toss the entire lawsuit out).
Many of his supporters have been just as nasty. I've seen death threats and profanity-laced tirades thrown at public leaders calling Nouman Ali Khan out for his behavior. I've seen even more of his supporters trying to attack these leaders with character assassinations and textbook "Lemme Google something out-of-context quote this person said/did a few years ago to make them seem even more awful" moves.
Imagine if we took all the negative energy that's been spent on attacking these victims and channeled it into helping them. What good comes out of trashing someone? Compare that to how much good comes out of listening to someone. Loving someone. Praying for someone.
Why is softening our hearts to those who are hurting so hard for us to do?
I am writing this Facebook post because we as a community cannot pretend like this isn't a problem. I REFUSE to sweep this under the rug. We have a wonderful opportunity here to stand up for what's right and change this victim-shaming culture. We will become a stronger community as a result. By creating safe and inclusive spaces for our beloved sisters and brothers from all walks of life, we will live up to the morally upright standards our beloved Creator holds us to.
But only until we examine what's holding us back in our hearts from doing that.
Payoffs, Threats and Secret Marriages
by Hannah Allam21 December 2017
Link to full post
Below are a few selections:
...Privately, though, she had concerns that only deepened when he started sending her sexually suggestive texts and shirtless selfies, shocking behavior for a preacher who’s discouraged unmarried men and women from even shaking hands.
By that time, N.M. said, she and her relatives no longer felt flattered by the celebrity’s attention. Instead, they were suspicious, and began to make calls to the United States to figure out: Who, really, is Nouman Ali Khan?
Their digging would help turn a quiet investigation into the biggest scandal to hit the national US Muslim leadership in years: a tale of secret marriages, hush money, and threats. Months before N.M. met Khan, four Muslim clerics already had begun looking into reports about his conduct with women and had discovered that Khan’s private life didn’t match the moralizing he does on the lecture circuit.
A written summary of the clerics’ findings, which was obtained by BuzzFeed News and hasn’t been previously disclosed, depicts a man who used his prestige to groom female fans for “secret sham marriages,” essentially sexual relationships that have no US legal standing and only dubious religious cover. The panel, which included some of Khan’s longtime friends and colleagues, found that Khan “lies and manipulates” women as he courts them for such undercover unions. Some culminated in sex; others, like the one he pursued with N.M., did not. Khan is still legally married to the mother of his seven children, two associates of his wife said, though the couple is in divorce proceedings.
“He has urged them to lie to one another when he is found out. When he tires of them, he divorces them,” the clerics’ summary states. “At any step along the way, if they call him out on his manipulation, he apologizes and attempts to buy their silence or threatens them.” Included in the clerics’ report was a screenshot of a nearly $7,000 bank transfer from Khan to N.M., which she described as hush money. N.M. spoke on condition that only her initials be used, to protect her family’s privacy.
...
“I don’t want anyone slipping into the same trap as me,” N.M. said. “The rock-star Islamic speakers have access to so many women and if they’re corrupt, that’s a major danger for a lot of women.”
...
The clerics’ fact-finding document mentions at least four other women who’ve reported inappropriate conduct by Khan, including one who was in a secret marriage with him for two years.
...
That was because the panel of four clerics had found that Khan repeatedly had abused his influence by approaching his admirers about marriage, lying to them about his marital status, and “manipulating” them into keeping the relationships quiet.
...
For a while it seemed as if the secret would be contained, but then the clerics learned that Khan had resumed giving speeches and approaching women. When they confronted him, Khan had his attorney send letters to the mediators threatening lawsuits.
...
Khan’s reneging, coupled with the new claims brought up by N.M., led to the saga going public with a bombshell Facebook post Sept. 24 by Omer Mozaffar, one of the clerics who received the letter and who’s mediated in other high-profile Muslim scandals.
...
For a guy who was keenly aware of all he had to lose, Khan appeared to have acted recklessly at times, openly bragging in text messages about giving hush money to a jilted woman and revealing plans to dump a secret wife just as soon as he’d scrubbed incriminating information from her cell phone, according to screenshots included as supporting material in the clerics’ report.
The story that emerges from the report is this: A couple years ago, the legally married Khan “married” his secretary in secret, promising her a public ceremony when his divorce was final. When the secretary learned of other women in his life and confronted him, Khan agreed to announce their union to a wider circle in Dallas. Two days after fulfilling his secretary’s dream of going public, he dumped her. N.M. said Khan boasted of leaving the woman “on the floor howling like a child.”
At the time, according to the clerics report, Khan was courting at least two other women with similar promises of marriage, among them N.M., who said he lied to her and her family about his marital status. They only discovered the existence of a secret wife — the secretary — through a chance mutual connection.
Another former Khan fan told BuzzFeed News that Khan brought up marriage in a phone call with her around the same time.
She answered questions via email on condition that her name be withheld to protect her family’s privacy. The woman said Khan gave her just a week to respond to his proposal and in that period “began to pester me with annoying messages,” including suggestive texts that she felt crossed a line. The messages might sound benign in non-Muslim circles, but requests to spend unchaperoned time together are out of bounds in their conservative, observant milieu.
“He was just a regular perv kind of flirt,” she recalled. She declined his marriage proposal before the week was up and later shared her story with clerics looking into Khan’s conduct. Two people with direct knowledge of the inquiry confirmed the woman’s account.
Through all of this drama runs the pain of Khan’s legal wife of more than 15 years, who was lied to repeatedly when she asked whether Khan was courting other women, according to the clerics’ report. Khan’s wife could not be reached for comment. Khan’s mother-in-law has posted (and removed) scathing Facebook rants about her daughter’s suffering at the hands of the man she’s called “Nouman Ugly Khan.” The report describes how Khan convinced his wife to stop divorce proceedings and “once she signed, he began moving assets around without her knowledge.”
Those assets, according to the report, included a million-dollar Bayyinah building. He transferred ownership of it to a nonprofit “that would protect it from the results of the divorce proceedings.” Former Bayyinah employees told the panel they noticed a flurry of asset transfers in that period “that made them uneasy.” Two weeks later, Khan divorced his wife in accordance with Islamic, if not Texas, law.
The report also describes how Khan would try to keep his accusers silent. For example, N.M., the woman in England, received £5,000 (nearly $7,000) in what she called “hush money,” even though she never agreed to keep quiet.
...
Nouman Ali Khan Scandal and my Dismay by Humera Gul
(Note: this one has some spelling errors but I kept the original post without any modification except bolding some areas. Another thing to note is that she writes Omar Suleiman as student of NAK, while Omar Suleiman was an employee for NAK, but not his student)Link to original post
1st October 2017
It was 2010 Icna convention, that was the first time I met with Muslim Scholar Nouman Ali Khan and his family. I saw his wife and had a small conversation with her. I realized one thing about her, she was a very simple house wife. Two years ago, I heard the shocking news that Nouman Ali Khan divorced his wife. Almost every other person blamed his wife, that she couldn’t handle fame of Nouman Ali Khan. She was jealous, and can’t see Nouman Ali’s women fans that’s why she got divorced. Meanwhile, every person you want to talk about Nouman Ali Khan had a different story.
I remember in 2016 Icna Convention I wanted to attend Nouman Ali Khan’s session and I couldn’t get inside the room. There were so many people who were waiting to get their foot in, but they were failed. In April 2017, the Icna convention’s made history. This was the first time when Nouman Ali Khan didn’t attend the convention and didn’t give any speech. Many people hearts were broken on that moment. Almost every other person I talked after two three sentences I heard the same question, “hey, do you know Nouman Ali Khan didn’t come this year to Icna Convention. What happened?” I didn’t know on that time, but I think know we all know what exactly happened.
In early June 2017, Imam Omar Suleiman the Founder & President Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research wrote an article. The article title was, “WHAT DO I DO WHEN I FIND OUT MY FAVORITE PREACHER IS CORRUPT?” In his article, he pointed out the main issue and led us to the facts about the current situation. “To the girls that get approached by their favorite speaker at a conference who quickly starts looking for a secret marriage, please don’t be led down that route. Marriage is meant to be a public celebration that protects your rights. A private nikah that likely doesn’t even meet the conditions for a valid one won’t protect you at all. You don’t know a person from a stage or a YouTube video, Imam Omar Suleiman said.” Unfortunately, the sad part is that, Imam Omar Suleiman was a student of Nouman Ali Khan.
On the other hand, Shekh Yasir Qadhi wrote in his Facebook post, “What would happen if my ‘fans’ and ‘admirers’ really discovered my true nature? For sure, they would lose respect in me, and they have every right to do that. Many would feel betrayed and angry, hurt and confused… Yet, in this whirlwind of emotions, ask yourself: does my evil change the Quran and Sunnah? Does my status alter the basics of theology – basics that I might have preached and taught these people? Do my own sins in any way diminish the glory or tarnish the mesmerizing beauty of the life and Sīrah of the greatest human who ever lived (SAW)?
May Allah conceal and forgive my faults, dear brothers and sisters, but if you ever discover my sins, feel free to cut me back down to my true level, as you should have done from day one. I give you full license to be angry at me, disgusted with me, boycott me if I so deserve.” He explained the problem with some very deep thoughts.
Yes, I understand that the both speakers didn’t mention any name. of course, they should not do that. Not because they don’t have any prof; it because they don’t want to mess up the situation any more. Tragically, people follow people. They forgot that the person they are following with their hearts, at first, his a human and every human make mistakes. Although, that person who was exposed badly has no guts to admit it, he shouldn’t deny the facts.
Two years ago, I also heard the news that Nouman Ali Khan got married to his Al-bainnah secretary two weeks after his divorce. Personally, I didn’t believe that news because I didn’t have proofs. I also heard that all Imam comity tried to stop Nouman Ali Khan. They offered him, that they won’t leak any news about him, but he is not able to do speeches anymore. He agrees, that he won’t give any speech again. Then he broke his agreement and he gave some speeches. After his speeches, this temporary married issue about him become viral.
Off course Nouman Ali Khan denies everything. That’s what he could do. However, in his Facebook post he admits that he was not allowed to give any other speech and he broke his agreement. “As for the ‘agreement’ that these individuals speak of that I’m no longer abiding by, perhaps I can offer some context. I tried to convince this group to allow for senior scholars and leaders from across the country to hear both sides and assist in civil fashion. They knew the presence of neutral parties would compromise their agenda so they threatened to not meet at all if anyone from the outside was allowed, he said,” ……. “Deeply concerned that my whole life work will come to ruin, I was abiding by their demand to not speak in public or teach, I discovered that they continued to disparage me in the vilest of ways. While I was in Mecca for Umrah, they held public gatherings attempting to rip my character to shreds allowing me no opportunity to even defend myself,” Nouman Ali said.
Another shocking news I heard yesterday is, “when Nouman Ali Khan getting married to someone that lady also getting the divorce paper from after two weeks. There were many young girls who were victimize by him.” I got so hurt after this, because I know that Nouman Ali Khan has six daughters also. Yes, he is a father of seven children; six daughters and one son. If a daughter’s father, an Islamic preacher, cannot remember his family, faith, dignity, respect, what else we can expect to others?
If we talk about Muta’h so, according to google definition, Mutah is the “The temporary marriage, or nikah mut’ah, is an ancient Islamic practice that unites man and woman as husband and wife for a limited time. Historically it was used so that a man could have a wife for a short while when travelling long distances.” Moreover, misyar marriage also counts in that category. The problem is today’s many scholars don’t allow Muta’h and Misyar anymore. Between Muta’h and Misyar, Muta’h is the one that is the worst. It’s a private nikah ceremony with a pre-decided date for the end of marriage. According to Shekh Yasir Qadhi, “As Mutah (temporary marriage) is something which is in the news currently let’s hear an expert on the subject. Here we learn temporary marriage is not allowed in Islam. It was something which was allowed in the early days but was later prohibited (forbidden). The Sharia prohibits this type of marriage, said Sheikh Dr Yasir Qadhi.”
So, what is this? Is this a game of power? Game of fame? Or is this a game of Shaytan? No, it doesn’t matter who we are and what we do. At first, we are all human; we are children of Adam and we have nafs. After all these facts, I know that many people won’t believe it, and they shouldn’t. I understand that everyone has their own circumstances and opinion. But I know one thing clearly, if your daughter was victimizing by any big religious preacher or another man like this, then you wouldn’t deny all of this. So please, destroy your idealist preacher’s models because at first, they are human like us. They have “nafs”, they have evil thoughts, they make sins. If you don’t want to judge Nouman Ali Khan; don’t judge him, but don’t say that he is clear like pure water. Just wait, Allah knows everything. It doesn’t matter how hard we trying to convince people against him or in favor of him; at the end, one day the truth will come out. But please don’t say, that nothing happened because something is still there that we are not able to see.
( Note: this post referred to temporary marriage. Temporary / secret marriages of all types are forbidden in Islam. Also see The Qur'an, Surah 4 Ayah 25 and study it in detail )
Further Developments:
Rabia Chaudry tweeted on 9 Oct 2017 : "If any reporters would like to connect with first hand sources to report on the unfolding #noumanalikhan scandal, ping me"Nouman Ali Khan said in one of those circulating screenshots of his chats (this is taken from his chat with a lecture attendee) :
"She is going to slander and defame. Threatening that i better not teach Quran.
Starting immediately.
I'm going to file a law suit against her today for the worth of bayyinah and offer her a legal settlement to keep her mouth shut indefinitely otherwise for some monetary settlement.
No other option left I think. If she's not stupid she'll take it.
I will not be damaged but she'll be buried in legal fees."
This seems to be verifying the authenticity of the circulating chats further as Nouman has also chosen this route against Omar Suleiman (4th post above) and sued an amount from $200000 to $1000000.
Below is a small quote from the Nouman Ali Khan lawsuit against Omar Suleiman official PDF , cached HTML version , backup PDF :
"I. CLAIM FOR RELIEF
1. Bayyinah affirmatively pleads that it seeks monetary relief aggregating $100,000.00 or more, including damages of any kind, penalties, costs, expenses, prejudgment interest, and attorney’s fees, and non-monetary relief, so that this action is not subject to the expedited actions process of Civil Procedure Rule 169 and discovery should therefore be conducted under Level 3 of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 190.4.
2. Plaintiff seeks monetary relief over $200,000 but not more than $1,000,000 and nonmonetary relief and permanent injunctions. Tex. R. Civ. P. 47. Pursuant to Rule 47, Bayyinah states that the damages sought are within the jurisdictional limits of this Court, but the maximum amount of damages sought is unknown at this time."
This also can give you readers a hint of Nouman's game-plan for shutting up victims or filing lawsuit against an ex-employee scholar etc. In both cases, he uses a similar 3 step plan:
1. File a heavy lawsuit.
2. Hope that the victim or target will be scared of the heavy amount of money and go for monetary settlement.
3. If the victim or target is not smart enough (as per NAK's estimation), he or she will be buried in legal fees.
You may be wondering Omar Suleiman case is different. But see the timing, why did NAK choose this time in 2017 to file a lawsuit while Omar Suleiman had already left his company nearly 2 years before the lawsuit filing date i.e. 5th October 2017.
This article posted further updates on the lawsuit and an open letter. Below are few selections taken from various portions of the same:
Omar Suleiman was no hero by any means, but rather a part of this denial of justice for the victims, as he allowed the frivolous lawsuit against him to be dismissed by Nouman Ali Khan on 30th November 2017 and he didn't even demand the court to charge Nouman Ali Khan for the expenses & time this frivolous lawsuit had cost him. Moreover, no counter case was set up by Omar Suleiman against Nouman Ali Khan for NAK's secret marriage issues and NAK's victimizing of women.
About the Compiler:
All the above evidences have been gathered together by me, Asim Iqbal 2nd and backup of this page is with me. Don't even think about threatening me or offering bribe as I don't bend nor do I sell out (I bend and prostrate only to ALLAH and have sold my life to HIM in return for Paradise inshaALLAH!) . Also I am not affected by any trash talk against me by blind followers of Nouman Ali Khan.Final Words:
In the end, I say scholars and popular personalities must break their silence and put weight behind the victims. This is not only for helping these victims get justice in this world also inshaALLAH! before the next, but can set a precedent and a severe warning for any other famous personality to even think about misusing his fame, power or money to victimize women and then have the audacity to try to get away with that with legal battles instead of seeking forgiveness, making repairs, and taking due punishment for the offences. This is also a good opportunity to try their best to end the forbidden practices of secret and temporary marriages of all kinds. As Mohammad Akram Nadwi said here: "I have been informed that it is increasingly common for Muslim preachers in Europe and America and for those visiting the West to marry women in secret and for a short period, after which they, presumably, end the marriage, before going on to contract another marriage of the same sort somewhere else. This is a violation of the laws and good purposes of marriage, and a vicious exploitation of women whose circumstances oblige them to enter into such contracts." I (AI2) say all the perpetrators of this heinous crime should be identified and named by the celebrity scholar community, otherwise the entire celebrity scholar community's reputation is at stake. Maybe this is one of the reasons, the majority of the celebrity scholar community is silent on NAK as other names may also come out, other victims may also become bold enough to take up their own cases bravely, and some other scholars may also get punished once NAK is punished successfully inshaALLAH! .The Continuing Negligence of The Celebrity Scholar Community, Specifically the Members Aware of These Facts and The Members who Weren't even Concerned to Find The Truth about the Issue
By not naming and punishing the scholars who have done this crime of secret or temporary marriages, and by not making and implementing proper checks and balances to ensure that no scholar ever does this crime and even if he does, he is quickly punished, the celebrity scholar community is committing a serious negligence and directly:
1. Endangering many other potential victims.
2. Giving space to these scholars to continue victimizing others, as a weak check is worse than no check, making these scholars more careful in trying to hide their misconduct.
3. Confusing others to consider such heinous acts permissible, by not even speaking against their fellow scholar, leave alone punishing that scholar.
4. Confusing public and thus causing public fights, by remaining silent, despite acting as leaders with followers, and leaving the public on their own to investigate and decide.
5. Endangering the few whistle blowers, who had the courage to speak out, by leaving them alone to stand up for truth while themselves conveniently taking the silence path despite acting as leaders with followers.
6. Passively allowing the spread of the forbidden secret and temporary marriages due to their silence, by not publicly speaking against the crime and by not naming and punishing members from their group who have committed this crime.
7. Playing with the faith and emotions of so many Muslims by showing them that the celebrity scholar community is deliberately hiding the names of the scholars who have committed these crimes from the public. What message does the public get?, that some celebrity scholars are doing forbidden & haram stuff and most of the remaining are covering-up for their forbidden and haram stuff. Playing a perverted game with the Muslims by letting them keep listening, sharing the material, and following these scholars, despite celebrity scholars themselves knowing the truth much earlier and knowing the fact that the truth will come out one day. What will the public feel about it? , that the celebrity scholar community knew it and yet hid this from public for so long. Don't damage the reputation of celebrity scholar community further.
Celebrity scholars continue to refuse many issues, that need their due time and attention, like the Alleged Variant Readings of The Qur'an and genuine issues found in some Sahih Hadiths.
Decisive Sahih Hadith Content Check Project - Sample for Part 1 - The Sahih Hadith Bluff