Mohyeldeen Mohammad
Encyclopedia
Mohyeldeen Mohammad is an Iraqi Norwegian
Islamist
, student
and political activist. He became a controversial figure in Norway after stating that the country is at war with Muslim
s and warning the Norwegian people
with an 11 September happening on Norwegian
soil. Since then, his media profile has risen following a series of statements regarding Norway, homosexuality
and Islamism
. He was formerly a Sharia
student at the Islamic University of Madinah
in Saudi Arabia
, until he was deported from the country in 2011.
in Oslo, against the newspaper Dagbladet
after it had printed a cartoon depicting Muhammad
as a pig writing the Quran. Dagbladet printed the cartoon on 3 February 2010 to illustrate a link on the Norwegian Police Security Service's Facebook
page.
In his speech Mohammad proclaimed: "When will the Norwegian government and their media understand the serious matter of this? Perhaps not before it's too late. Perhaps not before we get an 11 September on Norwegian soil. This is not a threat, but a warning." His speech was condemned by the Islamic Council Norway
, and reportedly by "a wide aspect" of the Norwegian Muslim community
. A couple of days later, however, a mere nine Muslims turned up for a demonstration against Mohammad's statements.
on 16 February 2009 about the stoning
of a person in Somalia
with: "As far as I know the person was homosexual, that was the punishment he deserved."
On 5 November 2009, Mohammad stated on Facebook that infidel
s should be decapitated
, and he also honored Osama Bin Laden
and other notable Islamists. After the death of four Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan
, Mohyeldeen posted a message on his Facebook saying: "Allahu Akbar! Norwegian terrorists killed in Afghanistan! Alhamdulillah, praised be Allah, this will be celebrated!".
When Mullah Krekar
allegedly threatened two Kurds who had burnt a Koran with death in April 2010, Mohammad referred to it as "our uncle's Fatwā
."
On 10 September 2011, Klassekampen reported that Mohammad had published a video on YouTube
, in which he fires an air rifle
and shouts "Allahu Akbar!". The video was titled "Jihad Norge" (Jihad Norway).
in Saudi-Arabia in September 2009. In March 2010, he was expelled from the university for being considered "politically active." Mohammad however appealed the verdict, and was allowed to continue studying at the university.
Upon Mohammad's arrival in Medina
on 8 September 2011, he was arrested by Saudi authorities. According to Saudi police, his arrest came as a result of "information" from Norwegian authorities, although it was not clear what his charges were. He returned to Norway
on 12 September 2011.
, Mohammad was born in Manchester
, England
in 1986. His family migrated to Norway in 1989, and Mohammad lived in Larvik
in 2010. Mohammad has not been registered with an occupation in Norway since mid-2009.
Iraqis in Norway
The population of Iraqis in Norway has shown a large increase over the last years due to the Iraq war. Iraqis have become the fourth largest immigrant group in Norway after Polish, Pakistanis and Swedes...
Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
, student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
and political activist. He became a controversial figure in Norway after stating that the country is at war with 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...
s and warning the Norwegian people
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
with an 11 September happening on Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
soil. Since then, his media profile has risen following a series of statements regarding Norway, homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
. He was formerly a 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...
student at the Islamic University of Madinah
Islamic University of Madinah
The Islamic University of al-Madinah al-Munawarah was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in the year 1961 AD in the Islamic holy city of Medina.-History:...
in 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...
, until he was deported from the country in 2011.
Muhammad cartoon demonstration
Mohammad became noted in the Norwegian public after holding a speech in front of 3,000 Muslims during a demonstrationDemonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
in Oslo, against the newspaper Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
after it had printed a cartoon depicting 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...
as a pig writing the Quran. Dagbladet printed the cartoon on 3 February 2010 to illustrate a link on the Norwegian Police Security Service's Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page.
In his speech Mohammad proclaimed: "When will the Norwegian government and their media understand the serious matter of this? Perhaps not before it's too late. Perhaps not before we get an 11 September on Norwegian soil. This is not a threat, but a warning." His speech was condemned by the Islamic Council Norway
Islamic Council Norway
The Islamic Council Norway is an umbrella organisation for Muslim congregations and organisations in Norway. Currently, it represents 41 congregations totalling about 60.000 members. The offices are located in Oslo. It is a member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research .-Organization:The...
, and reportedly by "a wide aspect" of the Norwegian Muslim community
Islam in Norway
Islam is the largest minority religion in Norway, which consist between 2.0% and 3.4% of the population. In 2007, government statistics registered 79,068 members of Islamic congregations in Norway, about 10% more than in 2006. 56% lived in the counties of Oslo and Akershus...
. A couple of days later, however, a mere nine Muslims turned up for a demonstration against Mohammad's statements.
Controversies
Mohammad responded to a question from the newspaper KlassekampenKlassekampen
Klassekampen is a Norwegian daily newspaper, which styles itself as "the daily left-wing newspaper".Klassekampen was founded in 1969 with a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist platform. Until recently, it was owned by The Workers' Communist Party...
on 16 February 2009 about the stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
of a person in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
with: "As far as I know the person was homosexual, that was the punishment he deserved."
On 5 November 2009, Mohammad stated on Facebook that infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
s should be decapitated
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
, and he also honored Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and other notable Islamists. After the death of four Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Mohyeldeen posted a message on his Facebook saying: "Allahu Akbar! Norwegian terrorists killed in Afghanistan! Alhamdulillah, praised be Allah, this will be celebrated!".
When Mullah Krekar
Mullah Krekar
Mullah Krekar , is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist terrorist who came to Norway as a refugee from northern Iraq in 1991. His wife and four children have Norwegian citizenship, but not Krekar himself. He speaks Kurdish, Arabic, Norwegian and English...
allegedly threatened two Kurds who had burnt a Koran with death in April 2010, Mohammad referred to it as "our uncle's Fatwā
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
."
On 10 September 2011, Klassekampen reported that Mohammad had published a video on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, in which he fires an air rifle
Air gun
An air gun is a rifle , pistol , or shotgun that fires projectiles by means of compressed air or other gas, in contrast to a firearm, which burns a propellant. Most air guns use metallic projectiles as ammunition. Air guns that only use plastic projectiles are classified as airsoft...
and shouts "Allahu Akbar!". The video was titled "Jihad Norge" (Jihad Norway).
Studies in Saudi-Arabia and deportation
Mohammad started studying Islamic Sharia law at the Islamic University of MadinahIslamic University of Madinah
The Islamic University of al-Madinah al-Munawarah was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in the year 1961 AD in the Islamic holy city of Medina.-History:...
in Saudi-Arabia in September 2009. In March 2010, he was expelled from the university for being considered "politically active." Mohammad however appealed the verdict, and was allowed to continue studying at the university.
Upon Mohammad's arrival in Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
on 8 September 2011, he was arrested by Saudi authorities. According to Saudi police, his arrest came as a result of "information" from Norwegian authorities, although it was not clear what his charges were. He returned to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
on 12 September 2011.
Personal life
With a family background from IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Mohammad was born in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, 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...
in 1986. His family migrated to Norway in 1989, and Mohammad lived in Larvik
Larvik
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Larvik kommune - has about 41 364 inhabitants and covers 530 km2....
in 2010. Mohammad has not been registered with an occupation in Norway since mid-2009.