Version Franaise ici : http://drmalo.com/IMG/pdf/bh_radd-partisans-baya-complete_fr.pdf Version Arabe : http://drmalo.com/IMG/pdf/bh_radd-taef-bayea.

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This is a draft of the English Translation.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful1

All praise is due to Allah , His Peace and Blessings Be upon the Prophet Muhammad
,

his Family, his Companions (May God be Pleased with them all) and all those who

follow him until the day of resurrection. On the morning of the fifth of Shawwal in the year 1432 Hijri, I surfed the internet via the Google search engine, in order to read the comments made by various Saudi newspapers following my address to his highness, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah grant him health and peace. This particular speech was delivered at the end of the month of Ramadan on behalf of a delegation of forty African scholars that had come to participate in the 20th annual meeting of the Committee for Preaching in Africa. Having entered my name into this vast network of online information, I began conducting my search until to my surprise; I had come to discover a particular comment posted on a website entitled "As Sahab". As I came to discover, this comment which referred to charges of dangerous and heinous fabrications exceeding all limits, was in fact the irresponsible work of a misguided individual called "Abu Abdul Tawwab, the Senegalese" whose real name is Ahmad Thiongane, who heads a small group of misguided Senegalese youth, their origins date back to eight years ago.

Your Lord Creates what He wants
(Surah Al Qassas Ayah 68)

Prior to refuting the false claims of this individual, and nullifying his manufactured allegations one by one, I would like to begin by this introduction consisting of two parts: summarizing on the one hand

It is recommended to read the comment of one who is called (Abu Abdul Tawwab the Senegalese) on the site Sahab.net via the following link: http://www.sahab.net/home/?p=345

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the reason why I have not engaged in an argument with these youth and on the other hand, tracing the journey of this group and the consequences of their actions: Part 1: The reasons for my refusal to engage in argumentation with these youth: This small group of young people, have for almost ten years, engaged in a game of destabilization and disruption of the work of preaching and appeal to the Sunnah in Senegal. Noticing this, I preferred to remain silent, while trying to give advice to all our brothers among the great preachers and with the young people who follow our advice, telling them not to respond to the provocations that originated from the above mentioned protagonists. I myself had to endure the vilification of these young people, however I preferred not to reciprocate but rather to seek the Pleasure of Allah through endurance. Consequently, I began to analyze the conduct of these youth. This enabled me to apprehend their behaviour from the following five angles: 1. We, the preachers who are engaged in the reform of sound religious views in this country (Senegal) by clinging to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Master of all servants , only represent a small portion amidst this vast ocean of divergent voices and concepts. We face some very significant challenges, as such, it is therefore necessary for us to avoid dispersing the efforts of our little group to wage insignificant battles, discussion and debate without interest, against young , inexperienced and unknowledgeable people. In doing so, we would have been the laughing stock of others, so I preferred to confine myself to silence and patience during these times. 2. Concerning myself, I perceived these towering waves of differences as a cloud that would quickly dissipate and that these young people would reconsider their position and understand the magnitude of their error. Even though this hope was realized in a few of them, there still remains a small group from among them who "persist". 3. It is clear to any observer of the international situation, that what Sunni preaching has been exposed to in recent years is a campaign of denigration and miscommunication to discredit it, is in fact a voluntary effort. Some organizations were affiliated with the Salafiyyah2 through people belonging to the secret services whose sole purpose is to strike the Islamic dawah from within, in particular by forging a false image of its iconic figures from among the prominent scholars, in order to foster an environment in which each would in attack the other. Elsewhere, the international media make use of their media imperialism to describe the Salafiyyah in a way that allows the enemies of Islam to mock the scholars of our religion.
2

The Salafiyyah is a doctrine that advocates a return to the sacred texts of Islam, according to the understanding of the pious predecessors called Salaf

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What Islamic wisdom recommends in this situation is to be attentive to the actions of this group until one can actually measure the associated risks and to know the intentions behind their actions. That is what motivated me not to react to their provocations, despite all the injustice they have directed towards me. 4. Furthermore, because their activities appeared to be confined to their nocturnal meetings and to the telephone conversations they had with Scholars who could hardly comprehend or understand them, given their obvious difficulties and incompetence to express themselves correctly in the Arabic language, they subsequently failed to achieve their goal. Thus we perceived their threat to be negligible as long as they remained within the bounds of that framework; and it was only to this degree that we granted them any real importance. 5. My line of conduct has always been to distance myself from these unnecessary discussions as much as possible, so long as their attacks were only directed towards my humble self. I thank God for granting me the ability to maintain my endurance. However, when the cup was filled to the brim, and it had started to overflow - exceeding the bounds of personal attacks - the danger represented by this small group began to tarnish the image of the pure preaching being done in my country. I have now lifted all forms of restraint towards them and resign myself to answering them under stress, without claim to vengeance Allah is my witness. However, it is now time to forge a firm stance against these people. From this point onwards, I will no longer prevent people from refuting them because their threat is imminent and real.

)(
Allah loves not the utterance of harsh speech save by one who hath been wronged. Allah is ever Hearer, Knower
(Surah an Nisa Ayah 148)

Part 2: How the temptation of these people started and how far it has gone? The Great Mosque of The University of Dakar, is considered a source among the sources of knowledge and light, for the blessed science, based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet

according to the understanding of the pious predecessors. The congregational

daily prayers, Islamic courses, conferences, seminars, meetings and other events are also organized. All these activities, based on the blessed Sunnah of the Prophet , are in contrast to the other environments, contrary to the Quran and the Sunnah and perpetuated by the followers of divergent paths that occupy this vast area, with whom the Western world had planned to use to change [Type text]

Africa, and to anchor the foundations of secularism and the roots of its civilization, denying the Islamic values. During the year 1432H/2002, a group of students at this university, among the most active of the mosque, who demonstrated a strong will and remarkable commitment in the pursuit of Islamic learning, had decided to abandon their studies to travel to neighbouring Mauritania. Some stayed for a year, others a little over a year, others less than this. They returned with strange ideas that some outsiders, not native to Mauritania, had taught them which led to the emergence of differences and disagreements among followers of the mosque. At this point, they all came home to expose their problem while the situation continued to worsen until they requested that I mediate in their "Dispute". I told them that although I did not separate them, I would nevertheless try to reconcile them and restore their fraternal ties by delivering a public lecture, because the issues in which they had differed had not only spread among a limited number of people, but had in fact reached a large number of people and had developed very rapidly across the country. I also requested that they detailed all their points of disagreement, hence the followers of "the strange vision" made me quote the following: 1. The obligation of pledging allegiance to President Abdoulaye Wade, as the Prophet said one who dies without making the oath of allegiance, died a death similar to who died in a state of Jahiliyya (pre-Islamic period of ignorance); 2. He (the president) should be called Amirul Mouminine (Commander of the Faithful); 3. We had to dissolve all the active student organizations within the University, for their existence was contrary to the teachings of Islam. Indeed, the crux of the disagreement, and the real reason for their divergence was related to the issue that the allegiance was to be directed elsewhere, henceforth this group came to be known to us as the Proponents of bay'a ". On the day of the conference, which was announced on campus, the large University conference hall was packed, people came from everywhere. By the grace of Allah . I did my best to close the ranks and to bring them back to becoming one united group. I delivered a two-hour presentation for them, a lecture that I titled "The Beautification of fraternal relations "after which the following conclusions were drawn: 1. O ye brothers in Islam, you disagree on an issue that goes beyond your level, because questions about "Imaara" (authority in Islam) are either returned to the discretion of decision makers (Ahlul halli wal aqdi) or to the institutions of Islamic sciences, which follows a deliberate collective consultation of senior scholars who have the qualifying experience in such matters, provided that the full circumstances of the issue have been brought forth before them. [Type text]

2. The ruler who does not legislate from the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet deserves no allegiance. However, if it is a leader elected by popular vote and if he is a Muslim, we are to follow and show him obedience. No exceptions to his authority are permitted, unless if he expresses a pure disbelief and we have a means at our disposal to remove him from office without bloodshed or destruction of property. I made them understand that the president himself has not invited anyone to give him allegiance. If any of them appeared before him, saying: "Give us your hand for us to pledge allegiance in the name of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet " that he would be surprised by this attitude, for he works within the framework of a secular constitutional system. Contrary to this approach, what is required from the supporters of the President is to purchase the partys (membership) card in order to support it, or just to vote for him in the general elections, but not make him any such allegiances that hold not significance within the constitutional provisions that he has sworn to serve. Following this, I mentioned the gravity which is inherent in the misapplication of Islamic texts outside their context, that being the source of the extremism that has lead some people to the destruction of public property or similar unlawful attacks and whose cause is simply a misinterpretation of Islamic texts. I have also said that the allegiance taught by Islam is not what they claim. Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddin Al-Albani, having authenticated the hadeeth says the following: know that the sentence quoted in this Hadeeth applies only to those who refuse to give allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims and disobey him. Not like the fantasies of those who think and would like to see every nation or group pledging allegiance to their president! On the contrary, this sows division, and such behaviour is prohibited by the Quran "3. Add to that, when insisting on applying the rules of Sharia in a secular society, the fundamental issues will be lost and we will not appreciate them. For most of the provisions of the Sharia that are related to politics and to the Islamic state are only applicable in a society governed by Islamic laws. The exceptional circumstances prevailing in most Muslim countries are major Nawaazils (developments) that do not allow the application of most of these provisions due to the lack of scope. Also, in pressing for an application of the following hadeeth "He who dies without allegiance, dies a death similar to who died in the Jahiliyya " upon the secular society, we must also apply the other sentence that goes with it:

The collection of authentic Hadiths page 984

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"he who pledged allegiance to its leader, gives him his hand and heart, and if another comes to dispute (the leader), then strike his (the contestant) neck "4. Subsequently, one will then have to find all the members of the opposition that seek to exercise their constitutional right (to seek and contest leadership), in order to expel them all. What follows will result in bloodshed and the loss of countless lives. 3. I informed them of the position of the three great scholars Ibn Baaz, Ibn 'Uthaymeen and alAlbaanee (may Allah have mercy on them) on the legitimacy of the creation of associations and organizations conforming to the principles of Islamic Sharia law and whose sole purpose is to help each other in piety, and for the dissemination of science and Islamic virtues. Far from any fanaticism and sectarianism after the conference, the party that had visited Mauritania abandoned me and they abandoned all those who did not want to share their opinion. They began to create disorder among the young people they had labelled the Hizb "The Sectarians". They began to wave the slogan: "no greetings, no words with the innovators" and they crossed their brothers without greeting them, neither did they return the greeting when it was extended towards them. They created a lot of problems, have created a lot of differences and provocations in mosques and meetings of religious education. In the city of Diourbel (centre of Senegal), they attacked the faithful of the AsSalam mosque that they were previously a part of and have caused a terrible altercation that eventually attracted the Police to the region. After the events of Diourbel, I received a summons from the Interior Ministry of Senegal, to which I responded. Great was my surprise when I realized that these young people have filed false accusations against me and even mounted a collage of sound clips in which they claim that I was the author of Jihadist propaganda. But by the grace of Allah , it is worth mentioning, the officer in charge of the investigation knew of these techniques and how this could be done because he had previously worked as a journalist, so he hastened to tell me that the contents of this tape were fabricated and that we had only been brought here to find out what would drive so many religious people to convene in one place and to demonstrate with such behaviour. My biggest surprise came when my hearing began with the following enquiry : who is Rabi' al Madkhalee? Who is Falih Al Harbi? Who is this? Who is that? They cited Saudi scholars. In fearing that they had invented the false charges of terrorism against these people in order to trap them, I proclaimed that those were respectable scholars in Saudi Arabia whom we do not know as well. The officer said, these young people say they are their followers! I immediately understood that there are names that were unspoken in the case! How could these young people who cannot even articulate

Reported by Muslim, Hadith 1844 in terms of Imara

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in the Arabic language claim to be followers of these scholars? How were they able to find ways of editing audio content in this odious manner? And I was shocked to see how a bad character could cause someone to commit acts so vile! At this time, all the Islamic states were under surveillance, especially preachers, for their fate would be reserved after the events of September 11, which had occurred just over a year before that. Then I discovered clear evidence that behind them was a very dangerous French man who passed them the contact numbers of scholars and provided the means to present these youth as the "Salafis of Senegal". This individual was expelled by the state of Senegal back to his country on more than one occasion, and each time he found his way back, as if supported by people more powerful than the internal security services of Senegal. This man had never met scholars from Senegal during his stays; all he wanted to do was recruit impressionable young people to implement his disruptive plans. The investigating officer informed me that I had been unjustly accused, and asked me what charges I would like to pursue against those accusers who are behind these tapes? I replied that as long as I am not guilty of any offence, nor have I violated any laws, I would not be pursuing anything else, for these young people are inexperienced and have been manipulated by this scheming plotter. However he said that they were required to complete their examination as they relate (the case traces back) to people from abroad. I repeated a second time those they call their scholars are well known in Saudi Arabia and they are known to be promoters of good and of peace, following this I was unable to prevent them from proceeding with their investigative efforts to extract more information from these young people. Their situation today: 1. Their leader in Senegal is a signatory to the comment on the site "As Sahab" he is called "Abu Abdul Tawwab" and his real name is Ahmed Thiongane. Would you imagine, in browsing the comments, its lowly level of understanding of the religion, the audacity, the effrontery, the lack of piety and the many contradictions that characterize the text. They are a small group huddled within themselves, trying to track down the ignorant who have neither scholarship nor jurisprudence, in order to continue spreading their ideology. 2. They have a semblance of a command centre established in France under the supervision of another French man different from the first. They opened a website in French in which they publish their ideas to discredit the people of the Sunnah and their notables, including those in Senegal. 3. They have members who have illegally infiltrated Medina Al Munawarrah, under the protection of the same scholars they have deceived, by mistakenly thinking they are "Salafis" persecuted in their country, Senegal. The only mission of these "refugees" is slander and phone calls to scholars of the city of Medina to discredit the Sunnis of Senegal, and foremost among them, the very author of these words. [Type text]

Now to answer to allegations of the "Mutahawwik "5, in an answer I named: "The excellent manner in response to the group of allegiance", I transcribe his words, word for word with what they contain of linguistic errors, gross spelling, horrid grammar, feeble construction and other mistakes.....6 The "Mutahawwik" said, "for nearly 10 years, we were tired of people who are graduates of the Islamic University of Medina, may God preserve it from evil- they display a false belonging to the Salafiyyah, as they are closer to the new ideas and thoughts headed by Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Lo, the author of a book entitled "The sacredness of men in Sufi thought " which creates confusion in the Manhaj. I say by relying on Allah : It is surprising to note the behaviour of this group; open animosity against the Islamic University of Medina and discomfort vis--vis its graduates. We examined their behaviour in West Africa, and we found that most of those that they oppose and against whom they have displayed increased hostility are graduates of the Islamic University of Medina and those of Arabia in general. Also every time someone is high on the promotion and dissemination of Islamic science, the greater is their share of this hostility. If we look closely at the actual assertion of these people it is that the scholars of Saudi Arabia and its universities, since they were created - despite efforts to raise awareness and education and despite the large expenditures made by the Saudi government - were unable to produce a single Salafi scholar! Meanwhile, in their universities which are the homes of Western civilization; which are the cradle of secularism and cultural aggression; where young men sit next to naked girls; where teachers can afford insult the Islamic religion and make fun of it; within which girls can engage in prostitution and bars where alcohol is served, can such universities be able to produce true Salafis scholars? while the University Islamic Medina which has the joint honour of the location and the excellent training curriculum has failed miserably next to such secular universities? The Universities of Saudi Arabia and particularly that which was built on the holy land of Medina, which was founded in piety and sincerity, grew, flourished and bore fruits ready for harvest, and ripened into a very successful mission. She has been successful in the incommensurable effort to spread Islamic knowledge based on the oneness of God and the authentic tradition of the Prophet . Its graduates are standard-bearers all over the world towards the Islamic call based on belief and by preaching wisdom and moderation. In the Muslim world it is difficult to find an effort to preaching which claims success, except that graduates of the Islamic University of Medina have left a real imprint on it.

A Mutahawwik is an idiot, stupid and mislead person who is in this case identified by the author of the information submitted (on the online forums) 6 See the Arabic version of the comment

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I say this not by accident, but the reality itself serves as a witness to this. This is due to the sincerity of its promoters and solid training curriculum that is taught. All of that combined with the encouragement of university officials as students in the Islamic sciences cultivate good behaviour. A University in which the interior is filled by the light of purity and cleanliness, wherein no obscenity is observed, no perversion, no controversy. How it is it possible? As I have already said before: The roots of the giant tree have settled * via the road to the Orient (West) for fear in the holy land7. I have identified the critics of the university and its graduates and traced it back to some Shia who attack the Companions of the Prophet whom they have labelled perverse unbelievers, all with the exception of a small number of them. The more merit a companion has, the more they become the subject of their insults, as such we find that Abu Hurayrah (RA)received a share of denigration and insults that go beyond all reasonable bounds, whereas companions of the Prophet

such as Abi-Lahm (RA) and Al Abyadh ibn Al-Hammal (RA) who reported few Hadiths are

not subject to the same attacks. We can only expect this sort of reaction from such people who address the graduates of the Islamic University and have shown some hostility, plotting against them because they have learned to respond this way and are the followers of such incongruities.

As for the good land, its vegetation cometh forth by permission of its Lord; while as for that which is bad, only the evil cometh forth (from it). Thus do we recount the tokens for people who give thanks. "
(Surah Al Araf Ayah 58)

Except for the students who currently deal with the maintenance of the mosque, who in turn, receive a good religious education that certainly has good consequences on the behaviour of university graduates who now hold important positions by which they serve their religion and their homeland. What is more strange in the behaviour of this small group (and all their behaviours are strange) is that we have known someone whom they also know well. Someone who has publicly announced his belonging to a group of bin Laden and observed the firm position that the Islamic university graduates and others have maintained against him. However, none of the youth who claim to belong to the pure

A collection of poems written by the author of this book, "the groans of an immigrant in his new home" praising the University of Medina, which earned him his registration at the Islamic University of Medina for the beauty of this text.

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Salafiyyah has deigned to direct a word of reproach against that person. This is because their tongues are only loosened against the people of the Sunnah and their preachers. There is not a shadow of doubt that if he were a graduate of the Islamic University, they would have rejoiced and would have had a nice opportunity to appeal to the masses, thereby expressing their clear animosity towards this institute. The "Mutahawwik" said: About a month ago, our Salafi Sheikh Falah Ismail Mundicar bore good testimony of him, because in reality he does not know this man, who while visiting our sheikh was also with the organization of Islamic heritage. Even last week, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Lo received Ali Al-Halabi in his mosque, which is another proof of the chameleon like attitude of a man who deceives our Salafi sheikhs Allah protects them. Firstly, it is impressive to note that when he claims that Sheikh Falah bin Ismail is his master, he makes monstrous allegations against him, who is such a person to talk on a subject that they have not mastered or to even recommend someone whose name is so recognisable. God knows that SheikhFalih (may Allah preserve him) himself knows me better than this deviant because he lived with me in the Islamic University of Medina for many years, and he knows me very well, and the same holds true visa versa. He knows better than anyone - by the grace of Allah , that I have preserved the Covenant that I made to myself and I will comply with my Lord, the One who holds my cheek, in standing firm on the path set by the Qur'an and the Sunnah of His Messenger
,

and according to the understanding of the pious predecessors, while constantly imploring my Lord while traversing this path, until death. I ask Allah to bestow upon Sheikh Falah Ismail and myself good health, well-being, a constancy in the truth and that He completes our lives with good works. His praise is very natural to me and it is only through the internet that I have come to realise this. If it serves to testify to one single thing, it would be to show that the purity of his heart and his love for his brothers serves in beautifying the fraternal bonds between them. Secondly, his evidence for my chameleon-like behaviour is that he accuses me of having simultaneously visited Sheikh Falih and the organization for the renaissance of Islamic heritage, and also for our welcoming Sheikh Ali Al-Halabi into our mosque. He also cited in other paragraphs, our alleged links with the heads of sectarian groups and repeated several times name of Sheikh Ali AlHalabi and Sheikh Abdul Rahman Abdul Khaliq. In response to these fabrications, I would say that the person signing these false allegations has no knowledge of my personality! If he had the least knowledge, he would have judged me to be anything but chameleon-like or as someone who would cheat or deceive anyone. I thank Allah [Type text]

 , and it is in full recognition of his bounties and not for show that I say: there is no person on earth of whom the desire for property or the fear of his evil will ever move me to altering the truth or cheating him. I have no ulterior motive nor will I part with my principles, regardless of who the person may be and for that, I give thanks to Allah . As for my behaviour with the scholars of Islam, I conform to a clear conduct that neither consists of ambiguity nor of any concealment. If my behaviour is correct, I give thanks to Allah - if it is wrong, I will correct myself by the advice of good counsellors because only the Quran, the Sunnah and the consensus of the ummah are infallible. Yes! I recognize the love I have for all preachers of Islam who have taken the path of the Quran and the Sunnah. I consider them at their worth. I defend them to the best of my ability. I direct my children and my brothers from among the students to do the same without opportunism or ostentation, being straightforward without u-turns. As for Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Abdul Khaliq, it is a pure fabrication to claim that there are any relations between us, except that of religion which binds all Muslims to their brethren. If the question of Who is Mohamed Ahmed Lo? was posed to him, he would say in all truth I do not know. There were never any interactions between us, there were no exclusive meetings between us, and we never corresponded either face to face nor from behind curtains. The only time we saw one another was at a conference on "The early predecessors and their place in Islam, organized by the Foundation Family and Companions of the Prophet in Kuwait, where his response to the interuption of a Shiite among the participants had a strong resonance, which earned the encouragement of the entire audience and relieved the heart of every believer, then he was quickly gone. As for the Organization for the Revival of Islamic Cultural Heritage in Kuwait, I had come to know through the people of Sheikh Tariq Sami Al'Issa the Chairman of the Board of directors and assistants, and through the person of Sheikh Al Diassim Aynaati, President of the Africa department of the organization and its employees that it is an Islamic organization that is Sunni and Salafi. I have noticed in their leaders a real enthusiasm to publish and distribute Salafi books (old and contemporary), the large scale collection and redistribution of tapes by seasoned scholars the likes of Sheikh Abd al Aziz ibn Baaz, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih Al Uthaymeen, Sheikh Salih Alfawzaan and others (may Allah have mercy on them all) who are firmly grounded in knowledge and preaching. Next to the importance they attach to the publication of books denouncing terrorism and calling for respect for authority, to rally behind the person to lend a hand, and God knows that we only know of what has come to be mentioned here, knowing that they have no need of our recommendations because the recommendations they hold the from the great scholars of Dawah are sufficient. [Type text]

And among his inelegant fantasies, he thinks that Sheikh Falah bin Ismail did not know that when I made a visit to him, that I came to attend the conference on "Moderation in Religion" to which the Organization for the Revival of Islamic Heritage had invited me. Does this misguided individual think that my participation in conferences of this organization is a secret puppet show that he can claim to have exposed? This derailed individual does not know that the communications that were made in connection with these conferences are published in the official websites of the organization. This is all we know of the organization, while thanking them all for their countless efforts in spreading the Sunnah. Therefore he has nothing to expose. Regarding Sheikh Ali bin Abdul Hamid al-Athari, he had come to attend the Conference of scholars of the Islamic Ummah, organized under the auspices of the President of the Republic, accompanied by a large number from the scholarly community known for their tireless efforts in preaching the correct way. This conference was an opportunity for us to invite the great scholars, including Sheikh Ali to visit the advanced African school of Islamic studies8 and to host a conference for the location of students. It is also usual for us to enjoy the presence of visiting scholars of the Ummah any time they make a visit and to invite everyone we know to be interested in seeking knowledge to communicate directly with the high-level scholars because they constitute a rare commodity these days. By the grace of Allah , we were able to enjoy the visit of a number of them, headed by the figure of His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Ibn Abdul Muhsin At-Turki, Secretary General of the Muslim World League. While we invite such scholars to visit our school, it is not for us to seek to find infallible people in order to present them to our students. All that interests us is to enjoy everything of good they possess and that which is commendable, collecting all the good fruits from the tree while avoiding the thorns, if any. Ibn Al-Qayyim said: "... Each group has the good and evil, one should agree with them on what they have positive and return what they have wrong. One who reaches this level of understanding of God has received an opening to all the doors of knowledge and it will facilitate access "9. Sheikh Ali, - May Allah reward him fully - hosted a conference worthy of a scholar, which was later broadcast on the internet. In it anyone can judge whether it is the speech of a Salafi scholar or that of a retarded sectarian. Then the "Mutahawwik" said, "Send us the number of our Sheikh Falah Ismail Mandikar (Allah have mercy on him) that we can inform him about the real situation of Dr.
8
9

The African Graduate School of Islamic Studies (ESAEI) is an institution of higher education whose rector is the author of this book The path of the two emigrations page 321

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Ahmad Muhammad Lo with the evidence at our disposal, to withdraw the praise he has because the sectarian spirit of his entourage are to disseminate what is lost and not really known to him concerning this doctor, who on his return to Medina began to sell Safar Al Hawali cassettes, Abdul Hamid Kishk, Muhammad Mukhtar Shanqiti and books by Abdur Rahman Abdul Khaliq! He praised Osama bin Laden! He believes that suicide bombings are neither allowed nor prohibited". Firstly: these words show you, dear reader, how they are deeply rooted in misguidance, and carries a clear message aimed at destroying by slander and lies, the good links between the notables of Islamic preaching even if the distance between them is great. Do they have such a negative perception of the scholars, that they think they are going to question knowledge that was built on certainty simply because of the rantings of a stranger whose motives are unknown? Who is unknown? Whose teachers are not known? Whose education and training are not known? Secondly, with regard to the sale of cassettes referred to in its text, they are only untruths. I had tapes explaining the book "Al-Aqeedah al Tahawiyya" by Safar Al Hawali that I had received as a gift after my participation in an activity of the Faculty of Hadeeth and Religious Studies in 1407AH (1987), before the start of the Gulf War. I kept the tapes as I have done for others before they deteriorated. Similarly, I also have books in my library that are authored by innovators that have been recognized by all. I question, what is the point of this quest for knowledge and of the jargon employed by these people? If the search of knowledge and specialization in a given area does not allow a person to differentiate between the good seed and the weeds, then let us bid farewell to knowledge! Thirdly: I do not know what I have said concerning, and I know even less about Bin Laden? I remember I was interviewed after the events of September 11, when our country was filled with people who supported what had happened. I said that we should first of all arm ourselves with patience until we can come to know the full reality of those who perpetrated these attacks, if they are indeed Muslims or not? If they were Muslims, then they have made a grave mistake and they do not deserve such dramatic reactions. As to the one who posed the question of "is it enough to say they made a big mistake?" To him I replied "shall we say they are disbelievers because of sin, knowing that the most severe reproach we could have given them was that they were in fact Khawarij". And there is evidence that the "Khawarij" are not the disbelievers stated by some of the most learned Muslims. This is what I say today and that is what is in our records. As for the slanderers and falsifiers, they may have other things. On suicide, I said at the outset that it is forbidden, but Muslim countries are divided into two groups: [Type text]

1 - Countries that do not suffer from foreign occupation and this is the case with most of our Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Kuwait, etc . All who will venture to commit such acts of suicide have no permissible interpretation in Islamic law. 2 - Countries under foreign occupation, as the case of our Palestinian brothers. For these countries, it is left in the hands of the fatwa of their scholars who are more familiar with the situation in which they are in. If they refer to a group of scholars who have the recognized ability to issue fatwas then it is better. That's what I said. But this deviated individual has cut my words short, as you can see. Then he said, "he praised a poor Sufi who died in 1429AH (2008) whose followers say about him he is a god. Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Lo made his praise in the national language through a private Senegalese radio station Before answering this allegation, one that will not be accepted by any well-intentioned person who knows me. There is one thing I would like to clarify. That is that since these young people are far from the ranks of the Ahlul Sunnah of Senegal , they only listen to the words of these scholars in order to detect errors that they will then present to their counterparts in the Islamic East. As these statements are considered as evidence of the errors they accuse us of and that of a farness from the true guidance so that they can in turn seek direction and advice from these scholars asking them to be wary of us. They make these statements widely available in order to tarnish our honour, for their slogan is the following "we will only survive on the grave of others ". Thus the aim of their efforts is to try to belittle the leaders of Sunni Dawah in all corners of the world and they hope for a place in the sun but they did not succeed until the day when Serigne Saliou Mbacke left this world. The day that Sufi ascetic died, I was surprised by a telephone call broadcast live by the CEO of the "Walfadjri group. He had held a live broadcast to invite testimonies from the people in regard to the deceased caliph. So he said, "Dr Muhammad Ahmad Lo, you are in Touba, you are a cleric and you have known this man since childhood, what testimony do you have of him? I replied by saying, "I know of shining pages from the life of this man that I can summarize four points: 1 - During his reign (Caliphate), a follower of another fraternity had denigrated his father in an audio cassette. Another of the same brotherhood had done the same in a book and it failed to create bitterness between the two large brotherhoods. His attitude was only to tell his followers to return home, which they accepted. Thus, the worst was avoided. 2 - The Interior Ministry had wanted at the time of President Abdou Diouf, to eradicate a Sunni organization operating in the country. When he heard echoes of that, he said, "they are my sons leave them alone. His recommendation was immediately taken on board.

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3 - In his time, the Senegalese government officials had built 48 classes and started to enrol students in the town of Touba, where it was forbidden to establish any French schools. When he heard the news, he gave orders to stop the project and reimburse the state's investment, and then turned the classes that were already built into Daaras for the memorization of the Quran. 4 - He has created other Daaras in addition to these classes, the total number of residents was approximately 15,000 students, he fed them and cleansed them and their Quran teachers. Here are the testimonies I related. This is what pleased them, causing them to cry out their twisted interpretation and translations of my words and falsely saying that such words were in praise of innovators. They sent this translation to the scholars of Arabia until one of them opened up to me. All this in order for one of the scholars to then denigrate me or that they may retract their support and good opinions of me, enabling them to record these scholars and then to spread their words far and wide. However they did not attain success in their efforts. This is because they do not know that my testimony about this man was based on Islamic rules and principles that are known to all the scholars of this religion: As Muslims, we enjoin justice and fairness onto everyone. The Lord says

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O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is informed of what ye do."
(Surah Al Ma'ida Ayah 8)

In addition there is the rule of law that says "if Sharia enjoys a positive thing, it remains positive whoever the author. There is a difference between the purification of the people, their ways or the religion and that of the good works done by someone. One can not know this if he does not understand the word of Allah concerning the People of the Book

Among the People of the Scripture there is he who, if thou trust him with a weight of treasure, will return it to thee
(Surah Al Imraan Ayah 75)

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The fact that such people from the people of the book are qualified as trustworthy is a good thing, even if they are not Muslims. Similarly the Prophet Muhammad talking with his companions about King Negus said to them: Go to Ethiopia, and you will find there a fair King, under whom no one is harmed by his neighbour, go to him until Allah gives us glad tidings10. He called him just although he was not yet a Muslim at that time. On the other hand, Muslim brought out in his collection a hadeeth in which Al Moustawrid Al Quraish, who was with 'Amr ibn' Ass RA, says "I heard the Messenger say that at the end of time the Romans will be more populous in the land. 'Amr said, is that which you have said the truth? The latter replied why would I not say what the Messenger said? 'Amr retorted: If this is indeed the case it is because the Romans have four qualities: they are the most lenient in difficulty, after a defeat, they pull themselves together and recover hastily, their counter attack following a defeat is effective and they are the best towards the poor, the orphans and the weak11. If Sharia enjoins fairness and justice for everyone, and recognizes the benefit and good deeds of non-Muslims, what then will it relate of the good deeds of a Muslim? Rectitude necessitates the good mention of others, far from purifying religion or methodologies. This is justice and fairness as opposed to the belief of the ignorant ones who always babble and believe in insulting people who are at odds with them, while believing that a man can not simultaneously have good and bad qualities. Furthermore, the one whom they call an evil Sufi was the only known leader of that brotherhood who did not have a problem with the Sunni Dawah. Instead he has repeatedly defended them (the Sunnis). This testimony is therefore recognition of the good deeds from him, and will encourage his followers to do the same, in the same manner in which he expressed an interest in the Quran and its memorisation. This is an invitation for the calm and security of the country, to avoid bloodshed and to protect workers of Islam even if you do not agree on every point. This misguided thus continues, "he has not praised nor does he mention any of the living Salafi scholars such as Sheikh Rabi ', Sheikh Zaid, Sheikh' Abid Salih Al Sheikh and even Souhami who led his work of Masters and PhD. I take Allah to witness that he returned to Senegal and remained six years without us having heard him mentioning these scholars even once, though they have made great efforts in the way of Allah . Until we had a gift by the grace of Allah in the form of tapes by these Sheikhs speaking of matters relating to Salafis and their methods such as listening to and following those in power with respect to that which is good and of taking the oath of allegiance and others matters. As well as directing others to break the tapes of such innovators and their leaders and in labelling
10
11

Reported by historians as Oummou Salama and authenticated by al-Albani in his collection of authentic Hadith No. 3190 Collection of Muslim, Hadith 2898

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bin Laden "Kharijite" as he is revered in our country and especially by a loyal following of Dr Lo. We contacted the Sheikh 'Abid in 1424AH (2003), explaining the actions of Dr Lo that are inconsistent with the rules and bases of Salafism, he told us to avoid him!" I respond by saying that my first surprise is the constant increasing dementia, lies and falsehood of these people. Who told them that I have not kept in touch with the Sheikhs I've known for a long time? I think Sheikh Salih bin Sa'ad Al Souhami, whom I only have good memories of, will never believe their word. But how can we live with people who if we are seen to invite visiting scholars, they say "He is a deceiver, a chameleon," and if we fail to do so, they demand that we mention the names of these scholars? Knowing that the mere mention of names makes no sense. Names whose evocation provide benefits are those of Allah :

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O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance
(Surah Al Ahzaab - Ayah V41)

In another verse He says,

Allahs are the fairest names. Invoke Him by them"
(Surah Al Araf - Ayah 180)

Then in order to further deceive the people, this individual speaks as if he was my student claiming to have remained under me for 6 years, when this is clearly not the case. We were separated in 1422AH (2001) when he was not able to follow my courses delivered in Arabic and he had no knowledge. Whilst he followed my monthly courses taught in the local language like all the others, how is it possible for him to refute me by claiming that I did not make mention of such and such a name, when he was not able to comprehend (the Arabic)? In addition, all the sheikhs of whom he speaks, are beloved by me and enjoy my respect. But since when has it been a condition of Salafiyyah that one must be restricted to knowing sheikhs, let alone to have to mention their names? Allah knows that I do not know of this Zayd of whom he is talking of and that he (Zayd) certainly does not know me. As for 'Abid Al Jabiri, I can not remember having met him, though I know him [Type text]

through one of his tapes that I listened to, through which, I have heard the words of one scholar who draws the original text and provides clear explanations. It is part of God's grace to men that He does not ask them the names of people in their graves, but they will be asked about their Lord, the Prophet and religion. The most important question is this one, has this derailed individual ever heard me utter a single bad word against a Sunni scholar? I think the answer is no, because our education by divine grace keeps us from speaking ill of a Sunni scholar that we do not know let alone someone with whom we have lived and for whom we have great respect. If you are surprised, you should also be surprised with his words when he says he has had contact with Sheikh 'Abid who told him to be wary of me. How can you tell a man to be wary of someone you do not even know yourself? What makes more sense is to live with someone, knowing that he did this or that error before telling others to be wary of him. This has never been the case! Otherwise it will resemble one blowing ashes, or blindly striking without hitting the target! May Allah preserve us! Consider these words, dear reader Until we had a gift by the grace of Allah in the form of tapes by these Sheikhs speaking of matters relating to Salafis and their methods such as listening to and following those in power with respect to that which is good and of taking the oath of allegiance and others matters. As well as directing others to break the tapes of such innovators and their leaders". Apart from the evident lack of scholarship and of its poor style12, the danger is that people learn through these tapes - which they receive as gifts - religious sciences giving them a grade, allowing them to have knowledge, piety and righteousness so much so that they totally forsake their brethren who spent decades learning the religion from the hands of great scholars. When he speaks of innovators and their leaders, he means the proponents of the Dawah Salafiyyah in Senegal. If not for their lack of understanding and intellectual blindness, they could make difference and recognize the innovators and their leaders. But this does not interest them. Dozens of seminars and symposia were held in Senegal to fight the advance of Shiaism. Books and pamphlets explaining the error of the Sufis were written, however no one has heard them making statements to that effect. What interests them is to repeat and parrot what they hear in their tapes as if they were not living in the country, or as if they were talking to strangers. In addition he said "my fans are followers of bin Laden". I say that I do not have followers, but that I have brothers, colleagues and students who take my classes and I work for the dissemination of knowledge and the Islamic call to the path of Allah by the wisdom and the word. Also, I would challenge them to name one of my students who after having taken regular courses with me and who has taken my advice then goes on to glorify bin Laden. They will not be able to, even if
12

References to the Arabic version of the comment are full of errors of all kinds.

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they assisted one another! But this is a tactic to mystify the issue. This man spoke of Listening to and following those in power regarding the good and the taking of the oath of allegiance . The latter of part of that statement is the question on which they are separated from their Muslim brothers in the country, whilst they have not observed this point as they should, after having brought it to light. So you see them contradicting themselves on many points, because they have not understood this. Let's quickly assess their respect for the rulers: 1 - First he (the author of the comment) blames us for inviting Sheikh Ali Al-Halibi for a conference at the Faculty when he came to the country at the invitation of the President of the Republic. Shouldnt he who is shouting from every rooftop that we must make the oath of allegiance to the president, respect the guest of his amir? Is this not part of obedience to the leader? Even if the guest was not of the number of scholars, they had to respect him for he is a world renowned scholar, being one of the students of Sheikh Albany for almost 20 years. 2 - The Sheikh whom this misguided individual called "a bad Sufi whose followers deify him" is the Sheikh of their amir (The President) who had made an oath to his fraternity! If the amir is part of the followers of that which is deified, why do they call their brothers to swear allegiance to those who deify a person. Is there a big difference between making an oath of allegiance to the practitioner or his guide? Who is more deserving to be followed? No doubt one who deserves the most following is the one to whom is sworn the allegiance and not the one who follows him. 3 - Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al Shanqiti is a member of the committee of great scholars of Saudi Arabia and I can safely say that this committee is a resource for Muslims throughout the world. The one who appointed him (Al-Shanqiti) to this position is the amir of Saudi Arabia whose position as the amir is religiously legitimate; allegiance is sworn to him according to the Quran and the Sunnah. Not to give due consideration to Sheikh Al-Shanqiti would be disrespectful to the man who appointed him. Therefore where is the respect for the amir? He who is at odds with the amir who happens to rule according to the Qur'an and Sunnah and then disrespects the one who the ruler appoints to answer the questions of Muslims, can not be expected to comply to the command of any other leader who does not even rule by the Quran. Unless he has a defect in understanding and a lack of religiosity. 4 The members of this small group came to Medina after having lived abroad. Some lived in Spain but left the country via Egypt, following the terrorist attacks in Madrid. While some of the others were living in Sudan. They are currently residing in Medina without legitimate documentation and in defiance to Saudi governmental regulations, whilst they are fully aware that such failure to comply with regulations such as these is in direct opposition to the principle of obedience to the amir. Where [Type text]

are those words with which they like to call others, dubbing them partisans, Khawarij and rejecters of the Amirs orders? I know that the scholars who are protecting them are not aware of the danger they pose. However I do not wish to be compelled to reveal their affairs. Finally, in his leaflet, which is considered to be of ill-thought, he says " We are now tired of this man". Certainly they are tired, but what is the cause of their fatigue? Are you tired of a man who remained nine years without responding to your accusations and false claims, allowing you to retrace your steps and repent? The cause of their fatigue is that they have knocked on all the doors, shouted from all the rooftops in order to harm me and my colleagues and to stop the work we are carrying forth, yet they were not able to succeed with this. So they turned to the scholars of Saudi Arabia in vain, seeking to receive fatwas so that they can tell everyone to be wary of us. If there are some of them in Medina, trying to create mistrust between us and the Sheikhs, then if this is truly the case, this in itself is one of the signs of the end of time, that people will accept the words of a liar. According to 'Awf bin Maalik in the Musnad that the Prophet said, "before the end of time, there would be years of corruption, times in which the liar will be considered truthful and the truthful will be considered a liar, the trustworthy one will be considered corrupt and the corrupt person will be considered trustworthy. One who is worthless will speak on behalf of the people13. I will conclude this treatise with the following: 1. I fear that there may be someone inspiring these people to attempt an uprising, such as has been witnessed in other countries because their actions show they are not seeking the truth. As evidence of this, we have the tape in which they spoke to Sheikh Rabi' bin Hadi in which they said: Dr Lo said we should not give the oath of allegiance to the leader of our country. The latter asked what the leader was ruling with? Human laws? Yes, replied the questionned and the Sheikh to said to him, do not give him allegiance. What is expected of them at this time is to retrace their steps, to recognize their error if they truly consider this Sheikh as a guide. They should come and ask forgiveness from their brothers and stop sowing discord between the Sunni groups. But on the contrary, they have tried to hide the tape and they continue to make their new recruits believe that the Sheikh said we must pledge allegiance to those who rule with secularism. 2. They forbade their followers from listening to tapes of my lectures at the university because they knew that it only made reference to verses from the Noble Quran, the Hadeeth of the noble

13

Authentic hadiths Albani, Hadith No. 2253

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Prophet and the sayings of eminent scholars. They realised that anyone from among their group may listen to this and recognize their mistake in pledging allegiance to a secular ruler. 3. Everyone who looks at the reality will know that there is no difference, because their oaths of allegiance are limited to mere words. There is none from among them who gives an oath of allegiance hand to hand. So what is the problem? If they say we must follow a President who promotes that which is good and forbids that which is wrong, then there are others who say the same thing. If they say we should not bear arms against the president in order to remove him from his seat of power, then that is what we say as well. But they insist on seeing a difference and seek to find scholars who will issue them with fatwas in this regard. 4. I urge Muslim scholars to verify the information given to them from such and such an unknown person. Let them remember the mark of a scholar and word of Allah ;

O ye who believe! If an evil-liver brings you tidings, verify it
(Surah Al Hujuraat Ayah 6)

Sheikh Rabi' Al Madkhali exemplified a good way of dealing with such people. One of them appeared before him calling me names. The latter sent me a kind letter giving me recommendations in relation to the words of his visitor. I replied to this letter clearly explaining the ins and outs of this situation and the fact that they say that he (Sheikh Rabi ') told them to pledge allegiance to a secularist. The Sheikh sent me a second letter in which he refuted their statements, a letter which I have carefully guarded. 5. I say to the scholars on the other side of the bank who are receiving questions about politics and judgments concerning the religion, that they should not be limited to issuing generic answers as if the situation everywhere is the same as it is in Saudi Arabia, where the Sharia reigns. This is because it pushes young people who have not understood anything into believing that things are the same everywhere. This is what creates problems in their home lands and divides the Sunni groups everywhere. If they are not able to avoid answering them, then let them explain to them the differences between states that are ruled according to Sharia and those that are ruled by secular law. What pleases us and that which we want to mention in this passage, is this testimony which comes to us from a former group member who has made repentance. One of them had gone to Sheikh Salih Ali one day telling him "We are the Salafis of Senegal, we would like to ask you a question"14. He
14

In humility, the author of the book would not disclose the name of this "such and such"

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asked them is such and such a person not amongst you? They replied in the affirmative, the Sheikh told them Then talk to him thereby cutting the bridge between himself and them. 1 - It is the duty of the major Islamic organizations in the world, great scholars and even the students of knowledge that they should do everything to reconcile the differences among the scholars of the world, thereby destroying the consequences of the bad actions of these young people who slander the scholars. We must do everything in our power to ensure that peace and the unity is re-established. 2 - The online sites have a great responsibility before Allah . By spreading those words they do wrong towards the scholars without evidence or confirmation. Perhaps they can not do anything to stop what is posted once they open a dialog box in order to discuss issues that will enable peace to triumph and for the truth to eradicate falsehood. But the fact some of these sites take a neutral position regarding certain scholars and enable others to blame them of evil matters is in itself not a good thing. This has fuelled the fire of hatred and discord. What is strange is that one of these sites had published certain postings and when someone responded positively (in defence of the scholars) they deleted the response and left the inflammatory comments! This seems to be a clear effort to provoke. Lord if you know that our young Senegalese brothers want good, are in search for the truth and want the success of the Dawah, then give them the guidance that they may retrace their steps and find themselves in the same rank as their brothers and work hand in hand with them. However, if they harbour bad intentions and wish to create discord in the Dawah and to divide scholars and supporters of this work through external groups, then protect us against their evil acts and intentions and strike them with a painful punishment. We thank you Lord. Written by Muhammad Ahmad Lo, rector of the African University for Islamic Studies in Senegal, Chairman of the Association of African Scholars for the provision of fatwas and guidance.
Shawwal 1432 Hijri

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