18 April 2006
Mr Afroz Ali
Al-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences & Human Development
PO Box L-14
MT LEWIS NSW 2200
Via e-mail
Dear Afroz,
Assalamu alaykum.
I refer to the telephone discussion we had during Ramadhan last year, which resulted in the posting on one of my Madhab Al-Irfy blog (URL: http://madhabirfy.blogspot.com/2005/11/qualified-and-unqualified-lunar-tics.html) dated 5 November 2005.
During our telephone conversation, you advised me that you would be prepared to show me all the credentials, qualifications and degrees you claimed to have after Ramadhan.
It is now late April 2006. Over 6 months have elapsed since that conversation and you have not made any arrangements to provide me with an opportunity to view your qualifications.
I have been raising this issue with you since, at the latest, April 2005. In that time, you have continually insisted that you have certain qualifications and credentials. However, you have not made any pro-active attempt to show them.
Further, when I have raised the issue with you on various forums, you claim that I would have no ability to understand or appreciate documents evidencing your credentials due to linguistic and other factors.
Indeed, at least 3 other persons have raised the matter with you and have sought details of your qualifications and/or requested an opportunity to inspect them. You have also avoided or refused their requests.
Indeed, you have also made personal attacks on myself and others seeking clarification of these issues, and you have accused us of having sinister motives.
You have become a public person, appearing in media and soon to be appearing on TV in New Zealand (or so I am advised by at least one Muslim from across the Tasman). Your refusal to provide evidence of your alleged qualifications does not reflect well on Muslims as a whole, and in the event that your claims are even partially exaggerated or bogus then any resulting embarrassment will be felt not only by your students but also by Muslims on both sides of the Tasman.
I have therefore decided to write to you publicly and advise that I will be referring this matter to the NSW and Victorian Boards of Imams and have them investigate your alleged credentials. Since you are not convinced of my abilities to verify your alleged qualifications, perhaps you will feel more confident putting the matter to those who are qualified.
I can only presume the Imams’ boards will request copies of your degrees and ijaza certificates from you. If you show the Imams the same reluctance, I believe they might take the step of contacting all the various persons or institutions with whom you claim to have studied and seek their confirmation. That means, as a bare minimum, contacting the Zaytuna Institute in the United States and the Islamic University of Madeena in Saudi Arabia.
Why am I doing this? You have suggested I am somehow jealous of the achievements of your Centre. Why should I be jealous, Afroz? Allah has blessed me with 3 university degrees, a practising certificate (which I am prepared to show anyone) and sufficient material means. May Allah enable us both to maintain our means.
Further, as I have advised you in the past, I believe your refusal to provide evidence of your alleged qualifications undermines the enormous good that does and will insh’Allah continue to come from your Centre.
In fact, I am taking these steps because I wish to avoid yet another Khalid Yasin-type episode. I don’t want your face to appear on national TV in Australia and/or New Zealand as someone who has charged money for holding courses whilst being not completely truthful about the extent of his qualifications.
Copies of this letter are being sent to the NSW and Victorian Boards of Imams. As this is a public letter, I will also be posting it on various websites, forums, yahoogroups and on my blog.
Ma salameh,
Irfan Yusuf
cc NSW Board of Imams (c/- Islamic Council of NSW)
Victorian Board of Imams (c/- Islamic Council of Victoria)
MuslimMediaWatch yahoogroup
Sydney Muslims yahoogroup
Mevlana Lawyers yahoogroup
Youth Emerged forums (Adelaide)
Aussie Muslims forums
Brisbane Muslims forums
11 comments:
Can we get an update on whether Mr Afroz Ali was able to produce his qualifications?
Any updates?
By the way, are you aware that Mr Afroz Ali was or is employed by disgraced politician and apologists for gang rapists, the Hon. Peter Breen?
Any news on the qualifications of Mr Sidi Ali?
Any news on the qualifications of Mr Sidi Ali?
Leave Afroz alone!
How friggen dare anyone out there make fun of Afroz, after all he's been through! He lost his way, he went through a divorce. His Madinah degree turned out to be a fake, a scam, and now his other ijazas are in doubt.
All you people care about is... ijazas and qualifications.
HE'S AN IMAM!
What you don't realise is that Afroz is making all this money at workshops, and all you do is write a bunch of crap about him. He hasn't made sense in years. He affiliates himself with Zaytuna so all you people can call him SIDI SIDI SIDI.
LEAVE HIM ALONE!
You're lucky he even lectures to you BASTARDS!
LEAVE AFROZ ALONE!
Please.
Irfan Yusuf talked about professionalism, and said if Afroz was a professional he would produce his qualifications no matter what.
Speaking of professionalism, when is it professional to publicly bash an Imam who is going through a hard time?
LEAVE AFROZ ALONE!
Please.
Leave Afroz Ali alone RIGHT NOW!
I mean it!
Anyone who has a problem with him, you deal with me!
Because he is not well right now.
Leave him alone...
Any news on Mr. Afroz Ali's qualifications. I'm so interested toknow. Please tell me.
Any person charging money to teach Islamic Knowledge must be heavily scrutinized. It becomes an enourmous conflict of interest when one strives for the cause of Allah (swt) but has a nice, easy and enjoyable earthly reward for it at the same time. How can one entrust their akhira (learning what is right and wrong to gain God's pleasure) to a person who is lying about qualifications. He may very well have them by now as only a dope would allege to be qualified, delay displaying qualification whilst not bothering to attain them as soon as possible. It our right to demand our alleged shaykhs to display their qualifications and it is more important than demanding a surgeon to produce their qualifications prior to surgery as the latter involves a finite matter in this world and the previous deals with ones eternal soul in the next world!
Abdallah, you're quite funny!
This man, his wife and their whole organizational pool have done more damage to the mindsets of Muslims than good.
A very well known and respected sheikh was once asked about his ijaza's whilst visiting here and he opened his bag and pulled them out and displayed them for all in an instant without hesitation.
Make no mistake, their is no wish washing this issue. The man simply doesn't have them..... PERIOD!
I would personally prefer we kept his wife out of this.
Salaam aleikum brothers,
I have listened to Shaykh Afroz Ali via his teaching tranmissions here in SA. I knew nothing of all this controversy. Is it possible that he is reluctant to display his credentials because he is a sufi, and is practising humilty, even one that costs him dear. Ibn Arabi himself did similar things, wanting people to know by the fruit of his life and teachings, just how qualified he was.
Or perhaps as a revert, I do not understand the issues involved.
Abdulhadi.
Any update on the issue?
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