Interfaith Initiatives of Habib Umar

 

1.     Interfaith is an un-Islāmic Heresy. It has no basis in the Noble Qur’ān, or the Blessed Sunnah. It is not an agreed upon concept in any religion, and it conflicts with reason and common sense.

2.     Interfaith is an attack on the Khatm-un-Nubuwwah, a denial of the authenticity of the entire religion of Islam and is a stab in the heart of the suffering Muslims in Ghazza and elsewhere around the world.

3.     Habib Umar, the controversial Sufi figure from Yemen participates in interfaith dialogue and bridge-building initiatives focused on Muslim-Christian dialogue, and global peace-building frameworks.

4.     Examples of the interfaith activity of Habib Umar:

4.1.          A Common Word Between us and You: In 2007, Habib Umar joined international Muslim scholars as a signatory to A Common Word, a landmark open letter aiming to build theological and social bridges between Muslims and Christians. [https://muwasala.org/2012/06/05/habib-umar-bin-hafiz/]

4.2.          In 2008, Habib Umar attended the ‘Common Word’ conference chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Cambridge University and delivered a speech on the need to facilitate inter-faith dialogue. He was a keynote speaker at this event.

4.3.          Habib Umar signed THE AMMAN MESSAGE (2004), an intra-faith initiative issued by King Abdullah II of Jordan.

4.4.          Habib Umar signed the Marrakesh Declaration (2016)

4.5.          Alongside his associate, Habib Ali al-Jifri, Habib Umar has backed the initiatives of the Muslim-Catholic Forum. [https://www.alhabibali.com/en/news/the-second-muslim-catholic-forum/]

5.     Following his endorsements of global interfaith initiatives, Habib Umar actively participated in a succession of international interfaith conferences like the Yale University Conference (July/August 2008). Here, he joined roughly 60 Muslim scholars who met with an equal number of Christians theologians, and Jewish observers. [https://www.acommonword.com/historic-interfaith-conference-follows-muslimsa%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD-lead/]  

6.     Habib Umar has continually woven the subject matter of the declarations he had signed into his lectures. During his Tranquillity Amidst Turbulence tour across UK and North America, he lectured at secular institutions like the Georgia Institute of Technology. His lectures targeted interfaith co-existence, amongst other topics. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itp3vyoM578]

7.     During the Creed and Grace Symposium in Bosnia, Habib Umar interacted with leaders from the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox denominations.

8.     Habib Umar visited a Church in Karak, Jordan to convey condolences. It is nauseating to note that the same kind of visits are not conducted to suffering Muslims by Habib Umar. Or are his visits to Muslims only designed to sugar coat the status quo and make them accept their suffering? [https://www.facebook.com/61562771640332/videos/islam-values-and-respects-all-human-life-our-teacher-habib-umar-shows-us-that-we/1163244992705530/]

9.     Habib Umar has been recognized and awarded for his interfaith work

9.1.          He has earned the Shaykh Zayed Award for Human Fraternity (2021). He received this award in recognition of his efforts to promote co-existence, human fraternity, and cross-cultural understanding.

9.2.          King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies (2016). The primary focus of this prize is academic contribution, but his broader profile includes vital peaceful diplomacy and building global harmony.

10. May Allah Ta’ala guide all that have wandered away into the interfaith valley of deviation, and may Allah Ta’ala protect the entire Muslim Ummah from all heresy. Ameen