Mohamad Al-Khaled Samha

Abu Bashar (born Mohamad Al-Khaled Samha in 1958) is a Syrian-born imam of the Islamiske Trossamfunds mosque in Odense, Denmark. He was involved in protests against the Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Muhammad and in the Vollsmose terrorist arrests.[1]

Al-Khaled worked together with Christian priests to put up a display on religions in the municipality building.[2] He also participated in a conference between Christian and Muslim leaders in Denmark[3]

Al-Khaled worked as prison imam at state prison in Nyborg until he was fired in July 2006. According to sources at the prison it was because of his tour in the Middle East.[4] Answering to the story in the Folketing, Justice minister Lene Espersen said he was fired due to cutbacks at the prison.[5]

Al-Khaled was one of the imams who traveled to the Middle East with the Akkari-Laban dossier during the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. He was part of the first delegation of imams which went to Egypt December 3–December 11, 2005.

Al-Khaled knew the Vollsmose terrorists, who lived in his area, though he mentioned in interviews he knew them only as neighbors[6][7] After their arrest, he confirmed for news reporters that the suspects were Muslims.

Al-Khaled was accused by the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet, that Youssef Mohamad El Hajdib, one of the suspects arrested in the 2006 German train bombing, had Al-Khaled's phone number saved on his phone.[8] That information gained in importance, when it emerged, that El Hadib was arrested on his way by train to Odense, the city al-Khaled lives in. Al-Khaled denied knowing El Hajdib, and was never charged or asked about this matter by the Danish or the German police, and it was never confirmed that El Hajdib had his number.

In September 2014 Al-Khaled gave a lecture at an Islamic Society in Denmark-run mosque and said "[Jews are the] offspring of apes and pigs".[9]

References

  1. ↑ Rasmussen, Morten (7 September 2006). "Odense-imam er midtpunkt i terrorsag" [Odense imam is center of terrorism case]. Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  2. ↑ (Danish) We must work together if we want to save the youth in Vollsmose, from Ugeavisen Odense , 17 January 2001
  3. ↑ (Danish) Historisk møde mellem kristne og muslimske ledere på Nyborg Strand
  4. ↑ (Danish) Imam fyret fra Nyborg Statsfængsel
  5. ↑ (Danish) 2006-07 - Svar på § 20-spørgsmål: Om årsagen til fyringen af fængselsimam.
  6. ↑ Two of Seven Terror Suspects Jailed in Denmark
  7. ↑ (Danish) Imam: De bliver løsladt
  8. ↑ 9 arrested by Denmark in reported terror plot, International Herald Tribune, September 5, 2006
  9. ↑ "Danish imam calls Jews 'apes and pigs' in video". The Local. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
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