1. Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi is a Syrian Islamic scholar.
20 Facts About Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi has opposed former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi comes from a family of Islamic scholars that traces its roots back to Morocco and has taught the Islamic sciences for centuries.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi's father gave him several ijazah, or certificates of authority to teach, narrate and issue legal rulings under Islamic law.
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In 1987, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi completed a degree in Arabic Literature at the University of Damascus within the Faculty of Islamic Law.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi then studied philosophy for two years at the Beirut Arab University.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi delivered his first Friday sermon at the age of 14 at al-Saadaat Mosque, was appointed as Friday Imam and speaker at the age of 17 and was appointed as a teacher of Islamic studies at the age of 20.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi was a public speaker in both Arabic and English.
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In June 2011, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi was forced into exile by the Assad government and moved to Morocco.
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Since the start of the Syrian uprising, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi has campaigned internationally to provide humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi is currently in exile in Morocco, helping to deliver humanitarian aid, and is in regular contact with Syrian fighters who consult him on the moral and spiritual issues raised by their struggle.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi has publicly urged the international community to "implement help immediately" and to "lift the siege" on Syria in an interview with Sky News.
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In September 2014, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi co-signed an open letter to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi saying "misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder" and refuting the ideological foundation of ISIS, banning Muslims from joining it and making it clear that this is non-Islamic, anti-Islam.
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He's going against the message of Islam, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, peace be upon him.
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In 2015, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi refuted Ahmed al-Sharaa following his interview with Al Jazeera Media Network.
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However, after the ouster of al-Assad in 2024, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi congratulated al-Sharaa on becoming the president of Syria in January 2025.
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On 24 January 2010, al-Yaqoubi refuted the comments made by Mufti of Syria Ahmad Bader Hassoun on 19 January 2010 about Muhammad.
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On 21 June 2010, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi declared on Takbeer TV's programme Sunni Talk that the Mujaddid of the Indian subcontinent was Ahmed Raza Khan, and said that a follower of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah can be identified by his love of Khan, and that those outside of that are identified by their attacks on him.
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On 18 August 2011, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi led prayers from a stage in Summerfield Park, Winson Green, Birmingham to some 20,000 people who gathered to remember three men killed while attempting to protect their neighbourhood from rioters and looters during the England riots.
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However, after Al-Bouti's assassination on 21 March 2013, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi claimed that Al-Bouti was a martyr and that he had been privately readying to defect from the Syrian government.