Mufti Abu Layth Archive: society/extremism-crime-and-justice

How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Mufti Abu Layth says scholars who long told the public to kill blasphemers, Mufti Tariq Masood once among them, helped build the culture now threatening him, and must teach mercy for everyone.

Answer from 29 September 2024 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Deen of Hope NOT Hate - Mufti Tariq Masood | Mufti Abu Layth (at 9:46)

Watch on YouTube at 9:46 · Open the segment

Is someone who prays but commits major sins better than someone who doesn't pray?

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Is someone who prays but commits major sins better than someone who doesn't pray?

Mufti Abu Layth says it is categorically wrong that someone who prays, however evil, is better than someone who does not, and calls the idea dangerous. Mufti Abu Layth says the claim that a murderer or abuser who prays is still better than a person who does not pray is categorically wrong.

Answer from 16 December 2022 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Not Praying, The Bigger Sin? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/prayer exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Does Islam allow attacking Salman Rushdie?

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Does Islam allow attacking Salman Rushdie?

No: he condemns the attack on Salman Rushdie as cowardly and contrary to Islam, saying ideas must be answered with speech and that the attack only demonised Islam and revived Rushdie's fame. Mufti Abu Layth condemns the attack on Salman Rushdie as cowardly and an abomination, saying Islam does not teach such acts and that those who speak against Islam must be answered with speech.

Answer from 19 August 2022 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Salman Rushdie & The Satanic Verses | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:01)

A more recent answer on society/blasphemy-and-free-speech exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 0:01 · Open the segment

What does the Mufti think of Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia?

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What does the Mufti think of Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia?

His impression is that Malaysians and Indonesians have absorbed Islam naturally into daily life, though he feels extremism has risen there in the last fifteen years. Mufti Abu Layth says his impression is that Malaysia and Indonesia have absorbed the deen in a natural way that does not hinder their day-to-day lives.

Answer from 16 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #202| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:34)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 23:34 · Open the segment

What was Mufti Abu Layth's madrasa in Pakistan like?

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What was Mufti Abu Layth's madrasa in Pakistan like?

Mufti Abu Layth says his madrasa's head was not hot-headed, and that Barelvi radicalism is recent while militancy has long existed in parts of the Deobandi world. Mufti Abu Layth says the Barelvi scene in Pakistan has only recently become extreme.

Answer from 9 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #201| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:05:32)

A more recent answer on society/current-events/pakistan exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 2:05:32 · Open the segment

Why is Pakistan so full of religious extremism?

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why is Pakistan so full of religious extremism?

Mufti Abu Layth says religious militancy in Pakistan was boosted by the CIA-backed Afghan jihad against the Soviets and is still mass-produced by madrasa networks. Mufti Abu Layth says the CIA and the war against the Russians played a facilitating, enabling role in boosting the extremist tradition in Pakistan and the Islamic world, though they are not solely responsible.

Answer from 9 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #201| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:55:56)

A more recent answer on society/current-events/pakistan exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 1:55:56 · Open the segment

What is Birmingham really like for Muslims?

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What is Birmingham really like for Muslims?

Mufti Abu Layth defends Birmingham but calls drugs a cancer in its Muslim community, and says cannabis should be legalised and regulated. Mufti Abu Layth says he thinks several drugs should be legalised, especially things like cannabis.

Answer from 9 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #201| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:29:06)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 1:29:06 · Open the segment

What do you think of a particular online activist?

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What do you think of a particular online activist?

Mufti Abu Layth warns that anyone who says Muslims need to take over the world should set alarm bells ringing. Mufti Abu Layth says that anybody who tells you that we need to take over the world should set alarm bells ringing.

Answer from 12 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #197 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:19:13)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 2:19:51 · Open the segment

How can we stop Salafi ideas from dominating how people see Islam?

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

How can we stop Salafi ideas from dominating how people see Islam?

Denounce every preacher of hatred, Shia or Salafi, and spread a reasoned narrative; he feels the Salafi dawah is already losing ground.

Answer from 5 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #196 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 54:29)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 54:50 · Open the segment

Does traditional orthodoxy lead to extremism?

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does traditional orthodoxy lead to extremism?

The guest says today's orthodoxy promotes reactionary conservatism that can mutate into groups like the Taliban and ISIS, and proposes reviving the philosophers, Mu'tazila and modernists; Mufti Abu Layth agrees some non-violent groups create a springboard for extremism.

Answer from 11 December 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Dr Javad T. Hashmi | Axis of Morality & Archetypal Myths in the Quran | MindTrap 46 |Mufti Abu Layth (at 19:28)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 19:28 · Open the segment

Does Islam justify killing someone for showing cartoons of the Prophet?

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does Islam justify killing someone for showing cartoons of the Prophet?

No: the killing was barbaric and unacceptable in Islam, and the teacher was within his rights, though being killed does not automatically make him a state hero. Mufti Abu Layth says the killing of the teacher was utterly unacceptable from an Islamic perspective.

Answer from 29 October 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Cartoons of The Prophet & Boycotting France | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:55)

A more recent answer on society/blasphemy-and-free-speech exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 1:55 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of preachers linked to extremism?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of preachers linked to extremism?

Mufti Abu Layth says extremist sympathisers are poison and that he retracted earlier praise of one preacher after learning of his past. Mufti Abu Layth says that his approach is that any extremist sympathisers are poison.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 2:19:29)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 2:19:29 · Open the segment

Will there be a discussion with someone from Hizb ut-Tahrir?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Will there be a discussion with someone from Hizb ut-Tahrir?

Mufti Abu Layth says he does not respect Hizb ut-Tahrir but respects one of its members personally and will reach out for a discussion. Mufti Abu Layth says he does not respect HT at all and thinks they are a cancer in this ummah.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 1:23:35)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 1:23:35 · Open the segment

Should Muslims expose the private lives of religious figures?

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Should Muslims expose the private lives of religious figures?

What consenting adults do privately is their business, but abuse must be reported through proper channels; and do not meet anyone, even a famous reciter, in a car park.

Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 2:17:52)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 2:17:52 · Open the segment

What do you think of the Wayfair trafficking rumours and Epstein?

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What do you think of the Wayfair trafficking rumours and Epstein?

Mufti Abu Layth suspects Epstein was blackmailing powerful figures and was protected by the CIA in return for that leverage; the Wayfair rumours he cannot confirm but hopes are investigated.

Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 23:51)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 24:29 · Open the segment

What does defunding the police mean in practice?

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What does defunding the police mean in practice?

The guest describes police in his area withdrawing after criticism and a country too polarised for real conversation.

Answer from 10 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: quoted view (stated in order to be discussed, not necessarily held)

Recording: Shaykh Omar Baloch | Cynicism, Consumerism & the Catch 22 of Riba | Mindtrap with Mufti #30 (at 38:47)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 38:47 · Open the segment

Closing: how to reach the guest, conferences, peace with Sunnis and Shias, and parliamentary speeches

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Closing: how to reach the guest, conferences, peace with Sunnis and Shias, and parliamentary speeches

The guest invites contact through his website and proposes Zoom sessions and conferences with Sunni and Shia scholars, saying he debates fiercely but bears no animosity and defends anyone's rights; he points viewers to his parliamentary speeches and his refutation of ISIS.

Answer from 26 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 2:45:14)

A more recent answer on dialogue/guest-conversations exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 2:45:14 · Open the segment

Why was Rashad Khalifa assassinated?

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why was Rashad Khalifa assassinated?

The guest says Rashad Khalifa was declared an apostate by a 1989 Madinah gathering under Ibn Baz and killed within a year by a group linked to al-Qaeda, and he lists coincidences of the number 19 around the murder, Y2K and the 9/11 attacks.

Answer from 26 June 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: quoted view (stated in order to be discussed, not necessarily held)

Recording: Prof. Edip Yuksel | Rejecting Hadith, Rashad Khalifa & Realizing '19' | MindTrap with Mufti #27 (at 1:56:52)

A more recent answer on hadith/quran-only-movement exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 1:56:52 · Open the segment

Does watching porn fuel sex trafficking?

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does watching porn fuel sex trafficking?

Mufti Abu Layth says saying pornography is not categorically haram is not condoning abuses in the industry and does not in itself aid the market; the guest says people should be told its harms and follow the majority who forbid it.

Answer from 19 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Kashif Khan | Policing thought, Pornography & Pandora's box | MindTrap with Mufti #15 (at 2:45:11)

A more recent answer on dialogue/guest-conversations exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 2:46:28 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab?

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab?

On balance Mufti Abu Layth places Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the negative: a puritan dogmatist who demolished tombs, killed pilgrims and inspired the Salafi movement, which he feels did more harm than good and is a springboard for extremism. He adds that the movement also revived hadith and challenged blind following and superstition. Mufti Abu Layth says that, forced to choose, he would probably classify Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab as negative, a puritan dogmatist allied with the Saud family who demolished tombs and killed pilgrims, and that the Salafi movement he inspired did more harm than good and is the number one springboard for extremism, though it also revived hadith and challenged blind following and superstition.

Answer from 19 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Did the Salafi movement play a part in producing modern extremism?

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Salafi movement play a part in producing modern extremism?

Mufti Abu Layth says Salafis now oppose terrorism but their movement helped produce it, from the 1970s Salafi group to the 1979 Kaaba seizure, and that Qadhi's teachers belonged to that past. Mufti Abu Layth says that, although Salafis today are against terrorism, a huge part of the terrorism seen today came from these Wahhabis.

Answer from 3 November 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Response to Yasir Qadhi on Miracles | Mufti Abu Layth (at 40:39)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 40:39 · Open the segment

Is capital punishment, including for apostasy, justified?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is capital punishment, including for apostasy, justified?

Mufti Abu Layth opposes capital punishment as absurd, killing to stop killing, and calls justifying death for apostasy as treason a stupid argument. He welcomes Mohammed Hijab's apparent move away from the classical ruling to kill apostates. Mufti Abu Layth says he finds it ironic and absurd that, to stop people from killing, the state kills people.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 29:52)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 29:52 · Open the segment

What is Yasir Qadhi's background, and where does the Salafi movement come from?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What is Yasir Qadhi's background, and where does the Salafi movement come from?

Qadhi's arguments stem from a hard-line Salafi formation, and Wahhabism in Mufti Abu Layth's account is a doctrine of literalism hostile to reason founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, whom he calls a deviant for permitting the killing and enslavement of Muslims. He traces the Salafi scholars of the 1970s to the movement behind the 1979 seizure of Mecca. Mufti Abu Layth says Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was a deviant because he held it permissible to kill Muslims he deemed disbelievers, enslave their wives and take their wealth, including pilgrims on Hajj, and that Wahhabism is in essence a doctrine of literalism and dogmatism hostile to reason.

Answer from 20 October 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi - Mufti Abu Layth (at 14:22)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 14:22 · Open the segment

If a mutawatir hadith has to be reinterpreted, what does that say about hadith transmission?

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If a mutawatir hadith has to be reinterpreted, what does that say about hadith transmission?

Mufti Abu Layth says that because its defenders must reinterpret a report they call mutawatir, the transmission system itself is shown to be fallible rather than airtight. Mufti Abu Layth says that when a report claimed to be mutawatir produces a meaning its own defenders must reinterpret as incomplete, this shows that the hadith transmission system is not airtight and cannot be treated as conclusive.

Answer from 20 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: The War-Wager Hadith Paradox (Debunking Dogmatism) -Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:54)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 7:54 · Open the segment

Is the world today dar al-harb, the land of war?

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is the world today dar al-harb, the land of war?

Mufti Abu Layth rejects the teaching that the whole world is dar al-harb, saying it puts people one step from treating their neighbours as enemy combatants. Mufti Abu Layth says that believing the world is the land of war puts people only a step away from declaring the people around them enemy combatants.

Answer from 3 September 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Response to Abdullah al Andalusi (at 9:31)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 9:31 · Open the segment

Can a life be taken on the basis of a doubtful hadith?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can a life be taken on the basis of a doubtful hadith?

There is no verse and no conclusively established hadith for killing apostates, and a life, whose sanctity is conclusive, cannot be taken on isolated reports that carry doubt; defending it while demanding religious freedom in the West is a double standard. Mufti Abu Layth says there is no verse and no conclusively established hadith for killing apostates, and that life, whose sanctity is conclusive, cannot be taken on the basis of isolated reports that carry doubt.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 48:25)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 48:25 · Open the segment

Why is the call to restore the khilafah dangerous for young Muslims?

Sat, 09 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Why is the call to restore the khilafah dangerous for young Muslims?

Mufti Abu Layth says the nostalgic 'Bollywood version' of Islamic history, in which a perfect khilafah existed until 1924, is a fantasy, since the khilafah rashidah never went beyond Ali. Guilt-tripping young Muslims with it and with Dar al-Harb rhetoric breeds the extremist narrative and needs tackling.

Answer from 9 September 2017 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Should Muslims Establish Khilafah - Shaykh Akram Nadwi & Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:11)

A more recent answer on dialogue/guest-conversations exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 5:11 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth plan to do next?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth plan to do next?

Continue teaching and counselling, start some form of voluntary work in prisons for people abandoned by society, and pursue international projects once travel restrictions after his release allow.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 55:04)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 55:04 · Open the segment

Is extremism among Muslims really on the rise?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Is extremism among Muslims really on the rise?

In one sense yes, since groups like ISIS did not exist in this form two decades ago, but he says the far greater rise is in Muslims awakening to traditional Islam, with some bad elements awoken alongside it. Mufti Abu Layth says that while militant groups have risen compared with two decades ago, the far greater rise is a worldwide awakening of Muslims to traditional Islam, of which some extremist elements are a side effect.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 35:25)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 35:25 · Open the segment

Should Muslims deny that jihad exists in Islam to counter extremism?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Should Muslims deny that jihad exists in Islam to counter extremism?

No: he says denying jihad or reducing it to self-defence feeds extremists, who use it to call scholars sellouts. The answer is to reclaim traditional Islam and own the concept with its context and conditions. Mufti Abu Layth holds that extremism is tackled by reclaiming traditional Islam and owning the concept of jihad, which exists in the Quran and Sunnah with its context and conditions, rather than by denying it, which feeds groups such as ISIS.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 31:30)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 31:30 · Open the segment

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of ISIS?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

What does Mufti Abu Layth think of ISIS?

ISIS is a ruthless takfiri threat to everyone, Muslims most of all, and he signed the first British fatwa against it. He rejects collective guilt for Muslims and says Western foreign policy and the Iraq prisons helped create it. Mufti Abu Layth says ISIS is a ruthless takfiri ideology that threatens Muslims and non-Muslims alike, that holding Muslims collectively guilty for it is unfair, and that Western foreign policy, including the prisons of the war in Iraq, contributed to its creation.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 27:36)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 27:36 · Open the segment

Did Mufti Abu Layth call a Birmingham school the Trojan Horse school?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Did Mufti Abu Layth call a Birmingham school the Trojan Horse school?

Mufti Abu Layth says the quote was aimed at the police, not the school: he was asking why counter-terrorism officers shared confidential data about him with a school they themselves were calling a Trojan Horse school. He was not validating the allegations but questioning the officers' sincerity.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 21:06)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 21:06 · Open the segment

Is working with the government or Prevent a form of serving false gods?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Is working with the government or Prevent a form of serving false gods?

No: he categorically rejects the view of some political groups that any association with the authorities is serving a false god, calling it unscholarly. He accepts that elements within the programmes, including counter-terrorism officers who he says worked against him, need reviewing. Mufti Abu Layth says the view of politically active groups that any association with the government is serving a false god is not a correct scholarly interpretation, since assisting non-Muslim authorities does not make them gods besides Allah, while accepting that elements within these programmes have worked against Muslims, himself included, and that Prevent needs review.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 17:09)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 17:09 · Open the segment

What did Mufti Abu Layth actually do as a Prevent mentor?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

What did Mufti Abu Layth actually do as a Prevent mentor?

Mufti Abu Layth met, only with their consent, people the council or police had flagged, offered to discuss Islam with them and helped clear up misunderstandings; most were not radicals. There were no covert operations, and he says spying on Muslims would be haram. Mufti Abu Layth says Prevent mentoring as he practised it was voluntary and consensual with no covert element, and that spying on Muslims or landing people in trouble for money or favour would be absolutely haram.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 8:00)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

Watch on YouTube at 8:00 · Open the segment

Should Muslims engage with the Prevent programme?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Should Muslims engage with the Prevent programme?

No, not at this stage: he says Prevent began with good objectives but has become toxic and lost its purpose, as a former Met Chief Superintendent said, so engagement is now counterproductive. Tackling radicalisation itself remains a duty of Muslims. Mufti Abu Layth says Prevent began with good objectives but has become toxic and lost its purpose, so he would no longer advise Muslims to engage with it, while tackling radicalisation remains a duty of Muslims and especially of the learned.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:23)

A more recent answer on society/extremism-crime-and-justice exists (29 September 2024): How scholars' rhetoric fed Pakistan's blasphemy killings, in Mufti Abu Layth's view

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What was Mufti Abu Layth's time in prison like?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

What was Mufti Abu Layth's time in prison like?

Contrary to expectation it went well, and he is grateful for the insight it gave him into people from all walks of life whom he would never otherwise have met.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 2:48)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/personal-stories exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

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Why was Mufti Abu Layth sent to prison?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Why was Mufti Abu Layth sent to prison?

Mufti Abu Layth was charged with aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office after contacting a police officer to arrange mediation for a friend whose children were missing, and served about seven weeks of a six-month sentence. He says he did nothing wrong and was treated unfairly for refusing to testify against the officer.

Answer from 6 April 2015 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Unanswered Questions- An interview with Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:10)

A more recent answer on wellbeing/personal-stories exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 0:10 · Open the segment