Biography

Kutty was born in the Indian state of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 in 1946. He arrived in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in the 1970s as a student and has since obtained Canadian citizenship.

Kutty graduated in the traditional Islamic sciences and received the Ijazah (title) of al-Faqih fi al-ddeen (first rank) from Islamiya College Santapuram, a leading Islamic institution in south India. He then obtained his Licentiate in Usul al-Ddeen (first rank) from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Saudi 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...

. In 1973 he earned an M.A. in Islamic studies from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. From 1975 to 1980 he pursued his Doctoral studies in Shari’ah thought at McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

.

Kutty has served on the Fiqh Council of North America, the pre-eminent Islamic law body on the continent. He has served as Imam and resident scholar at various institutions in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 and Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, including Toronto's Jami Mosque and the [Islamic Foundation of Toronto]. He is currently resident scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto

Islamic Institute of Toronto

The Islamic Institute of Toronto is a non-profit, federally registered, educational institute. The IIT Institute was established in 1996 to strengthen access to Islamic universities and colleges, promote scholarly research, facilitate community outreach and interaction with other religious...

.

Kutty is a prolific writer and has written a number of articles, books and journal articles. He is a regular scholar answering Islamic law

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...

 questions on IslamOnline

IslamOnline

Islamonline is a global Islamic website on the Internet providing services to Muslims and non-Muslims in several languages. Its motto is "credibility and distinction." Sunni Muslim scholar....

.

In addition to his participation in lectures, seminars and inter-faith dialogues in North America, Kutty is invited as a guest speaker in functions all over the world.

Ahmad Kutty considered one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World.

Recent events

Kutty made international headlines when he and 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...

 Abdul Hamid

Abdul Hamid

Abdul Hamid is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words Abd, al- and Ḥamid. The name means "servant of the All-laudable", al-Ḥamīd being one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the Muslim theophoric names.The letter a of the al- is...

were detained and held in a Fort Lauderdale jail after disembarking from their flight on September 11, 2003. The two were travelling to Florida to speak at an Islamic conference. He is a well-known scholar, preacher and speaker on Islam and Muslims. Ironically, among the topics to be discussed at the conference was the danger of Islamic fanaticism. After returning to Canada, Kutty asked:
Kutty was one of the 120 imams across Canada who signed a statement condemning acts of terrorism

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

. The statement coordinated by the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations

Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations

The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations is a national Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization in Canada. CAIR-CAN is an Ottawa-based, nonprofit organization with a grassroots membership...

read:

External links

• AskTheScholar.com - Ask The Scholar is Ahmad Kutty's Personal Website
• Islamic Institute of Toronto
• Islamic Foundation of Toronto
• Islam Online