Adel al-Kalbani: No longer I consider Shia Muslims as apostates

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A prominent Saudi cleric has publically backtracked on his view which considered Shia Muslim scholars non-Muslims.

Adel al-Kalbani, former imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, revealed his newly-polished views during an interview with Saudi broadcaster MBC.

The cleric said despite his previous opinion on Shia scholars being 'heretics', he changed his mind after reading a book by a former Shura Council member and a professor of Sharia at Umm al-Qura University, Hatem al-Awni, which discussed the issue of 'heresy'.

Kalbani reportedly intended to publish an article in which he announced his view of Shia scholars but failed to do so after government pressure.

"I no longer declare apostasy on those who believe in one God, eat our [halal] meat and prostrate toward our Qibla [direction of Mecca],” he said.

"This is what I owe God today - no one forced me to say anything and no one spoke to me,” he added.

Despite the efforts to modernise, senior Wahhabi clerics - who strongly influence the royal family often describe Shia Muslims as heretics.

While activists online hailed the cleric for his newfound enlightment, many questioned whether it would be enough to fix the damage already caused by years of anti-Shia narrative that has inspired large-scale attacks against the community worldwide.

Who is Adel al-Kalbani?

Adil al-Kalbani was first African Imam of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. He emigrated from Ras Al Khaimah to Saudi Arabia.

He first worked as an employee of the Saudi Airlines in Saudi Arabia until in 1984 he appointed as the pre-prayer of the "Riyadh Airport Mosque".

He continued his religious work around the year 1986 as the imam of the "Salah al-Din Mosque" in Sulaimaniyah district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After four years, he was appointed as the Imam of the Grand Mosque of King Khalid in Riyadh City, but was dismissed from the post in a statement issued by "Malek Khalid Girls"! The reason for this dismissal is still unknown.

Kalbani was appointed by the King of Saudi Arabia in September 2008 to the Imam of Friday prayer of the Holy Mosque in the holy city of Mecca, which was considered a great growth for him; Because he lacks academic religious education and has only used the informal lesson of some Wahhabi sheikhs. "Ibn Jibreen" was one of his most important teachers, and his influence on Kalbani's lectures and sermons is clear.
"Abdulrahman ibn Abdullah ibn Jibreen" is one of the most fanatical Salafist sheikhs, who are even wanted by the European Judiciary as a result of his violent and misleading fatwa against followers of other Islamic religions, including the Shiites. Ibn Jibreen is the Sheikh who issued the fatwa for the destruction of the shrine of the Imams (PBUH).

Al-Kalbani is also a close friend of Osama bin Laden, and traveled to Afghanistan in the 1980s to accompany Bin Laden, but became a supporter of the Saudi government after being attracted by the Saudi Ministry of Interior.


Al-Kalbani, according to his autobiography, did not have family-based religious upbringing and spent his youth and adolescence far from prayer, Qur'an and religious ceremonies, and has been constantly engaged in foolish and playing; until he come back to religion after accidentally heard recition of "al-Minshawi" from his car radio.

He is also famous for lack of academic knowledge and insufficient knowledge in Saudi Arabia's cultural society.

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