Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips was born on Dennis Bradley Philips; July 17,1947 and is a Jamaica-born Canadian Islamic teacher, speaker, author, founder and chancellor of the International Open University, who lives in Qatar.
29 Facts About Bilal Philips
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Bilal Philips has written, translated and commented on over 50 Islamic books and has appeared or presented on numerous national and satellite television channels, including Saudi TV, Sharjah TV, Ajman TV, Islam Channel, Huda TV, and Peace TV.
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Bilal Philips has one brother and one sister, as well as an adopted brother.
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Bilal Philips was raised a Christian, with his mother being an Anglican and his father a Presbyterian.
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Bilal Philips spent the first 11 years of childhood in Jamaica, before migrating to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Bilal Philips attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute for junior high and Northview Heights Collegiate Institute for high school from 1962 to 1965.
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Bilal Philips moved with his family to Sabah, East Malaysia in 1964, as his parents were part of the Colombo Plan.
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Bilal Philips attended Simon Frasier University in Vancouver from 1967 to 1970, where he took biochemistry.
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Bilal Philips had encountered Islam several times in his travels, but the book that won him over was Islam, The Misunderstood Religion by Muhammad Qutb.
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Bilal Philips converted to Islam in February 1972, giving Shahada in the presence of Abdullah Hakim Quick.
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Bilal Philips taught Islamic studies for a decade at Manarat al-Riyadh School in Riyadh and was an Arabic and Islamic studies teacher in the American University of Dubai for 10 years as well.
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Bilal Philips set up an Islamic Studies department of Preston University in Ajman in 2002 and set up the Islamic Studies Academy in Qatar in 2007.
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Bilal Philips founded and taught at the Islamic Information Center in Dubai, under the Dar al Ber Society, and in Qatar he was an Islamic consultant and lecturer for the Islamic Information wing of Sheikh Eid Charity.
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Bilal Philips founded the Islamic Online University in Qatar in the year of 2001.
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Bilal Philips has stated that he is opposed to Al-Qaeda and any type of terrorism in the name of Islam.
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Bilal Philips came under criticism in Britain for his statements on suicide bombers.
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Some civil rights advocates have defended Bilal Philips and criticized his deportation, claiming he is being religiously persecuted.
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Bilal Philips has responded to such criticism by stating he is a moderate who does not endorse terrorism or the use of suicide bombings in Islam.
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In 2010 Bilal Philips was banned from entering the UK by home secretary Theresa May for holding "extremist views".
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In 2012, Bilal Philips was banned from entering Kenya over possible terror links.
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Bilal Philips was named by the US government as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
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Bilal Philips has stated that this allegation was not factual hence he was not arrested.
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In 2014, the publisher of a book authored by Bilal Philips entitled "The Fundamentals of Tawheed" was arrested by armed officers during a raid of Islamic institutions in Prague.
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Law enforcement officials claimed Bilal Philips' book "incites xenophobia and violence" and insisted it was racist.
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The director of the Philippine National Police in Southern Mindanao, said Bilal Philips is being questioned for his possible links with terror groups including the ISIS.
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Bilal Philips was deported from the Philippines back to Canada.
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Bilal Philips denied the charges leveled by Filipino officials and denied links to terrorists groups.
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Some religious leaders and civil rights advocates have defended Bilal Philips and criticized his deportation from the Philippines, arguing that he has not done anything wrong and that he has been a victim of religious persecution.
29.
In May 2017, Bilal Philips was banned from entering Denmark for two years along with other preachers including Salman al-Ouda and Terry Jones.