Omar Shahin
Encyclopedia
Sheikh Omar Shahin is a Jordan
ian native, living in the United States. He came to the United States in 1995, and became a U.S. citizen in 2003. He was Imam
at the Islamic Center of Tucson in Arizona
from 2000 until 2003, when he joined the board of directors and executive committee of the North American Imams Federation. He is currently president of the executive committee of this organization. In addition to being an Imam, Shahin is also licensed to practice jurisprudence law as an Islamic Attorney in the courts of Amman
, Jordan
. He is a lecturer
at the American Open University. He is also a professor in Islamic law at the Graduate Theological Foundation, where he has been teaching since 2004.
, and Sudan
. He studied at Almedina Almonwara, Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s He is licensed to practice jurisprudence law as an Islamic Attorney in the courts of Amman
, Jordan
. Imam Shahin holds both the Master of Theology and the Doctor of Philosophy from the Graduate Theological Foundation.
, in which he was personally involved; he and five other imams (Didmar Faja, Marwan Sadeddin, Mohamed Said Mitwaly Ibrahim, Ahmad Shqeirat and Mahmoud Sulaiman) were taken off a US Airways flight before it left Minneapolis for Phoenix, Arizona. Shahin and his companions were returning to Arizona from a meeting of the North American Imams Federation in Minnesota. Critics have questioned whether the event was manufactured to create publicity around planned congressional legislation against profiling in public transportation and law enforcement introduced by Rep. John Conyers
of Detroit who is likely to chair the House Judiciary Committee in the 110th Congress coordinated with groups such as the Muslim American Society
Freedom Foundation and CAIR
.
The day following the incident Shahin spoke to the press who had gathered when he returned to a US Airways ticket counter to buy new tickets for the group. He told media that the incident was, "humiliating, the worst moment of my life," and asked if, "To practice your faith and pray is a crime in America?" When US Airways would not issue him and the other Imams new tickets he called for a boycott
of the airline and said, "I'm not going to stay silent...I came to this country to enjoy justice and freedom." He has said it is incorrect that any of the men had one way tickets, because he purchased all of the tickets himself and can prove this, and that he had alerted the FBI to the conference in order to prevent this kind of incident from occurring.
The six imams filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court of Minnesota in March 2007. The lawsuit named US Airways and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission as defendants. The lawsuit gained national media attention as it also named as-yet-unnamed "John Doe" passengers who "may have made false reports against plaintiffs solely with the intent to discriminate against them on the basis of their race, religion, ethnicity and national origin."
Legal protection for citizens reporting suspicious activity in good faith was included in the "Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007," passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on August 3, 2007. The "John Doe" defendants were dismissed from the lawsuit on August 22.
He has also written that a Muslim should submit to Western law instead of Sharia laws, should the two conflict. Writes Shahin: "A Muslim must try his best to abide by the rulings of Sharia whenever possible as much as he can. He should not allow himself to be liable to those western laws that contradict the clear-cut Islamic rulings."
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian native, living in the United States. He came to the United States in 1995, and became a U.S. citizen in 2003. He was Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
at the Islamic Center of Tucson in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
from 2000 until 2003, when he joined the board of directors and executive committee of the North American Imams Federation. He is currently president of the executive committee of this organization. In addition to being an Imam, Shahin is also licensed to practice jurisprudence law as an Islamic Attorney in the courts of Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. He is a lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
at the American Open University. He is also a professor in Islamic law at the Graduate Theological Foundation, where he has been teaching since 2004.
Academic
Omar Shahin is Professor of Islamic Law and Director of Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana. He holds the High Diploma from Jordan University. He also holds degrees in Islamic Studies from Islamic University in Almedina Almonwara, Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. He studied at Almedina Almonwara, Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s He is licensed to practice jurisprudence law as an Islamic Attorney in the courts of Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. Imam Shahin holds both the Master of Theology and the Doctor of Philosophy from the Graduate Theological Foundation.
Involvement in Flying Imams controversy
In November 2006, he became a spokesperson in the Flying Imams controversyFlying Imams controversy
On November 20, 2006, 6:30pm, six Muslim imams were removed from US Airways Flight 300 to Phoenix, Arizona, at Minneapolis airport, because several passengers and crew members became alarmed by what they felt was suspicious behavior. The airport police and Federal Air Marshal agreed the...
, in which he was personally involved; he and five other imams (Didmar Faja, Marwan Sadeddin, Mohamed Said Mitwaly Ibrahim, Ahmad Shqeirat and Mahmoud Sulaiman) were taken off a US Airways flight before it left Minneapolis for Phoenix, Arizona. Shahin and his companions were returning to Arizona from a meeting of the North American Imams Federation in Minnesota. Critics have questioned whether the event was manufactured to create publicity around planned congressional legislation against profiling in public transportation and law enforcement introduced by Rep. John Conyers
John Conyers
John Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
of Detroit who is likely to chair the House Judiciary Committee in the 110th Congress coordinated with groups such as the Muslim American Society
Muslim American Society
The Muslim American Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 that describes itself as an Islamic revival and reform movement....
Freedom Foundation and CAIR
CAIR
- Fictional :* Cair Andros, a fictional island in Tolkien's fiction* Cair Paravel, a castle from C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia- Acronyms :* Council on American-Islamic Relations, American Muslim civil rights advocacy organization...
.
The day following the incident Shahin spoke to the press who had gathered when he returned to a US Airways ticket counter to buy new tickets for the group. He told media that the incident was, "humiliating, the worst moment of my life," and asked if, "To practice your faith and pray is a crime in America?" When US Airways would not issue him and the other Imams new tickets he called for a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of the airline and said, "I'm not going to stay silent...I came to this country to enjoy justice and freedom." He has said it is incorrect that any of the men had one way tickets, because he purchased all of the tickets himself and can prove this, and that he had alerted the FBI to the conference in order to prevent this kind of incident from occurring.
The six imams filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court of Minnesota in March 2007. The lawsuit named US Airways and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission as defendants. The lawsuit gained national media attention as it also named as-yet-unnamed "John Doe" passengers who "may have made false reports against plaintiffs solely with the intent to discriminate against them on the basis of their race, religion, ethnicity and national origin."
Legal protection for citizens reporting suspicious activity in good faith was included in the "Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007," passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on August 3, 2007. The "John Doe" defendants were dismissed from the lawsuit on August 22.
Views
He has expressed doubt that any sincere Muslims had responsibility for the 9-11 hijackings, since, according to him, over 3000 Innocent died in the World Trade Center attack, the implication being that true Muslims would not kill innocent people if they were also Muslims; moreover, as several of the hijackers attended a strip club, their actions were not in accordance with Islamic morality.He has also written that a Muslim should submit to Western law instead of Sharia laws, should the two conflict. Writes Shahin: "A Muslim must try his best to abide by the rulings of Sharia whenever possible as much as he can. He should not allow himself to be liable to those western laws that contradict the clear-cut Islamic rulings."
Books
- The Muslim Family in Western Society A Study in Islamic Law ISBN 978-1-929569-30-4 (English) ISBN 978-1-929569-29-8 (Arabic)