Shaykh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi
Encyclopedia
Hazrat Allama Pir Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi (born 1967) is a British
Muslim
scholar, principal of the Hijaz College
, National Convenor of the Muslim Action Committee
(MAC), Secretary General of the International Muslims Organisation, Grand Blessed Guide of the Naqshbandi
Hijazi Sufi
Order and a barrister
at law.
Faiz is the eldest son of the late Hazrat Mujadid Abdul Wahab Siddiqi
and the grandson of Maulana Muhammad Umar Icharvi. He studied under his father and many other great Shayukh of the time. Later he studied at Al-Azhar University
in Egypt
, England
, where he resides on campus.
which urges Muslims to remain united despite sectarian differences.
and Shia Islamic scholars and Islamic political groups such as the Islamic Human Rights Commission
and Hizb ut-Tahrir
to organise a demonstration against the repeated publications of the Danish cartoons
of the Islamic prophet
, Muhammad
. The demonstration was the largest in Western Europe
and the largest within the UK since the Salman Rushdie incident. The organisation works to combat attacks on Islamic religious symbols.
under English and Welsh law
, and as such is a member of the Lincoln's Inn
. He practises commercial
and conflict law, limiting this to three days per month as his main focus is on social engineering programmes to rejuvenate Muslim communities and enhance their spiritual prosperity.
Shaykh Faiz was also involved in a debate in London
in February 2008 entitled KINGDOM OF GOD: the Archbishop, the Sharia and the Law of the Land in response to a speech by Archbishop
Rowan Williams
, in which Shaykh Faiz defended and advocated the use of Islamic Family Law in the UK and showed hope that in the future a more educated and spiritual Muslim community in Britain would be able to live under all aspects of Sharia
Law
.
Shaykh Faiz launched the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal to deal with the issue of forced marriages within the Muslim community.
Shaykh Faiz delivered a lecture within the walls of Temple Church
entitled "Family Law, Minorities and legal Pluralism: Should English Law give more Recognition to Islamic Law?" in November 2008 which sparked media controversy over its endorsement of polygamy
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
scholar, principal of the Hijaz College
Hijaz College
Hijaz College is a British Muslim school located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Hijaz College combines traditional Islamic education with the British National Curriculum. The philosophy of Hijaz was formulated by its patron and founder Hazrat Mujadid Abdul Wahab Siddiqi R.A. in 1994.Its...
, National Convenor of the Muslim Action Committee
Muslim Action Committee
The Muslim Action Committee is a United Kingdom based umbrella organisation specifically set up in February 2006 to respond to the Muhammad cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten....
(MAC), Secretary General of the International Muslims Organisation, Grand Blessed Guide of the Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
Hijazi Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
Order and a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
at law.
Family of Religious Scholars
ShaykhSheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Faiz is the eldest son of the late Hazrat Mujadid Abdul Wahab Siddiqi
Hazrat Mujadid Abdul Wahab Siddiqi
Hazrat Allama Pir Muhammad Abdul Wahab Siddiqi was a Sunni Muslim religious scholar and Sufi Master. He was born in 1942, the third son of Hazrat Allama Pir Muhammad Umar Icharvi, one of Pakistan's leading religious scholars of the time, who held the honorary title of Munazare-Azam because of...
and the grandson of Maulana Muhammad Umar Icharvi. He studied under his father and many other great Shayukh of the time. Later he studied at Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
Principle of Hijaz College
He is the principal and founding trustee of Hijaz College in NuneatonNuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he resides on campus.
Champion of Muslim Unity
The Shaykh is a signatory to Charter 3:103 based on the verse of the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
which urges Muslims to remain united despite sectarian differences.
Convenor of the Muslim Action Committee
The Shaykh convened the Muslim Action Committee, an umbrella organisation of SunniSunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
and Shia Islamic scholars and Islamic political groups such as the Islamic Human Rights Commission
Islamic Human Rights Commission
The Islamic Human Rights Commission is a non-profit organization. Its stated mission is to, "... work with different organizations from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds, to campaign for justice for all peoples regardless of their racial, confessional or political background.". The group is...
and Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Sunni. pan-Islamic political organisation but keeps it open for all including shias,some of its beliefs are against sunni school of thought, whose goal is for all Muslim countries to unify as an Islamic state or caliphate ruled by Islamic law and with a caliph...
to organise a demonstration against the repeated publications of the Danish cartoons
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
of the Islamic prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
, Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. The demonstration was the largest in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and the largest within the UK since the Salman Rushdie incident. The organisation works to combat attacks on Islamic religious symbols.
Founder of Hijaz Community
Shaykh Faiz is the founder of the Hijaz Community which operates in various parts in the country to build social cohesion and spirituality in society.Profession as Barrister
He is a barristerBarristers in England and Wales
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. -Origin of the profession:The work of senior legal professionals in England and Wales...
under English and Welsh law
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
, and as such is a member of the Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
. He practises commercial
Commercial law
Commercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions...
and conflict law, limiting this to three days per month as his main focus is on social engineering programmes to rejuvenate Muslim communities and enhance their spiritual prosperity.
Controversy over Sharia courts in the UK
Shaykh Faiz was amongst the guests on the Law in Action programme aired on the 28 November 2006 which discussed the issue of Sharia courts in the UK, which was covered by many newspapers and other media. Shaykh Faiz made the following observation about the issues:
"Because we follow the same process as any case of arbitration, our decisions are binding in English law. Unless our decisions are unreasonable, they are recognised by the High CourtHigh Court of JusticeThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
."
Shaykh Faiz was also involved in a debate in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in February 2008 entitled KINGDOM OF GOD: the Archbishop, the Sharia and the Law of the Land in response to a speech by Archbishop
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, in which Shaykh Faiz defended and advocated the use of Islamic Family Law in the UK and showed hope that in the future a more educated and spiritual Muslim community in Britain would be able to live under all aspects of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
Law
Religious law
In some religions, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by a God defining and governing all human affairs. Law, in the religious sense, also includes codes of ethics and morality which are upheld and required by the God...
.
Shaykh Faiz launched the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal to deal with the issue of forced marriages within the Muslim community.
Shaykh Faiz delivered a lecture within the walls of Temple Church
Temple Church
The Temple Church is a late-12th-century church in London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built for and by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. In modern times, two Inns of Court both use the church. It is famous for its effigy tombs and for being a round church...
entitled "Family Law, Minorities and legal Pluralism: Should English Law give more Recognition to Islamic Law?" in November 2008 which sparked media controversy over its endorsement of polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.