# What is the background to the feud between Daniel Haqiqatjou and Jonathan Brown?

*Background to the feud: Yaqeen Institute, a dismissal and a replacement*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vgoaxxehphk/s/2/
- Date: 2020-09-02 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Jonathan Brown, Daniel Haqiqatjou & the mushkil of mushkil | Mufti Abu Layth (2:37–5:11)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGoAxXEHpHk&t=157s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vgoaxxehphk/

**Topics:** Views on contemporary scholars

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The feud goes back to Haqiqatjou's dismissal from Yaqeen Institute and his replacement by Jonathan Brown; Mufti Abu Layth says Haqiqatjou has since accused Yaqeen of selling out, and he calls his views extreme.

## Longer summary

The clip ends with Haqiqatjou calling it ironic that Qadhi would appeal to this reasoning, since his doctoral work at Yale was on Ibn Taymiyya. Mufti Abu Layth recaps the point, saying he has not heard the Qadhi clip himself, and gives what he calls the backstory: Haqiqatjou used to be head of research at Yaqeen Institute, was dismissed, and was replaced by Jonathan Brown. He describes Haqiqatjou's views in strongly dismissive terms, likening him intellectually to Mullah Omar of the Taliban. He reports that in a long lecture with another figure, whom he also calls an extremist, Haqiqatjou called Yaqeen sellouts who take government counter-extremism money and promote an LGBTQ agenda, citing Linda Sarsour and Dalia Mogahed as people they promote, and that the mushkil point came up in the middle of that rant.

## Sources and names cited

- Daniel Haqiqatjou
- Jonathan Brown
- Yasir Qadhi
- Ibn Taymiyya
- Yaqeen Institute
- Mullah Omar
- Taliban
- Linda Sarsour
- Dalia Mogahed
- mushkil

## Transcript (machine tier, 2:37–5:11)

[2:27] what uh science proves according to akl no and it's very ironic that someone like elso cody would uh appeal to this type of reasoning because his dissertation and his main focus at yale was the work of ibn taymiyah in a specific work right so that danny boy saying look uh you know mushkil yasir khadi was saying that i haven't heard that clip by the way by yasir khali but he's problematizing some verses of the quran saying that they are problematic in this

[3:05] day and age or something so i think later on as danny boy has said that he said that they were mushkil so he says well mushkil mushkil means ambiguous mushkil so this triggered a whole debate because then uh and he's really gunning for your queen now the backdrop backstory is that um danny boy used to be a the head of research at jaclyn institute that was his job but then he got sacked

[3:40] then he got sacked because uh those of you that don't know daddy boy's views are [Laughter] are basically intellectually he is a twin of mulla umar of the taliban because his views are horrific when it comes to uh his views are like absolutely like not from this dimension so he's got sacked and who's replaced him johnny bye jonathan brown john johnny

[4:21] so he's replaced him so now the beef is going back forth back forth so he says well you know this your clean people are sellouts and in this interview of his this is a very long lecture he did with um the other extremist dilly right so two extremists panders right that's what they should call it but anyway the um so he he speaks about yakina or a sellout and they liaise with they take government money and they the cve and what they do is they promote an

[4:59] lgbtq agenda and he quotes linda sarsour and dalia mujahid and these kind of people in saying that this is who they're promoting and they now are associated with uh jacquin and it's a proper he has a proper rant about japan and then amidst that this mushkil thing comes up so now that was round one now round two and in that corner we have john johny jonathan jonathan brown he comes back at him

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment vGoAxXEHpHk/s/2. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vgoaxxehphk/s/2/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.