Ismail al-Mukaddam; Godfather of Salafist Call

godfather of the Salafist movement in Alexandria (second largest city in Egypt). Many Salafist youths even consider him the founding father of their movement, as a whole. Due to his widespread reputation, he is one of few preachers who are universally acknowledged as a Salafist authority, among Haraki (activistic) Salafis, as well as among Jihadist Salafis.

Muhammad Ismail al-Mukaddam, aka Abu Faraj, was born in 1952, in Alexandria, where he grew up to be one of the dedicated followers of Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna al –Muhammadiyya (Assembly of the Helpers of the Muhammadan Traditions), that had centers almost everywhere in Egypt. He studied surgery as a medical student, before enrolling al-Azhar University as a student of Shariaa (Islamic Law). As a medical student, al-Mukaddam compiled scientific treatises and distributed them among his fellow students.

 He even gave tutorials in the mosque of Ebad al-Rahman in Alexandria – the first Salafist stronghold in town- before moving on to give tutorials in one of the mosques in Talbiyya, in the Gizeh governorate.

In the early 1970s, Haraki Islamists movement became very visible in Egyptian universities, when it became known as ‘al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya’. The ranks of that group included activists like Essam al-Eryan, Abdul Moneim Abul Futuh, Hilmi al-Jazzar, Muhamad Abdul Fattah Abu Idriss, Najeh Ibrahim, Karam Zohdi, Abul Ela Madhi and Essam Sultan.

Al-Mukaddam was in charge of running the camps where youths were being initiated as members of ‘al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya’. After the release of several MB (Muslim Brotherhood) leaders from prison, by orders from President Sadat, the Brotherhood tried to dominate Egyptian Islamist youths and did manage to recruit many of them, whereas others joined the ‘al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya’ founded by Karam Zohdi. Around that time, Ismail al-Mukaddam, with the help of Ahmed Farid, Said Abdul Azeem and Muhammad Abdul Fattah Abu Idriss founded what came to be known as ‘al-Dawa al-Salafiyya'(The Salafist Call), in 1977, with a political franchise named Hizb al Nur (Party of The Light), the only party representing Haraki Islam, and having seats in the Egyptian parliament, at present.

Al-Mukaddam was accused of participating in the Grand Mosque seizure, in November 1979, in Mecca, when several people were killed and Juhaiman al-Otaiby declared his brother – in- law Muhammad Abdullah al-Qahtani Mahdi (Savior) and Caliph that all Muslims were ordered to obey.

Great bloodshed inside the holy shrine ensued. But several Ulemas (Muslim scholars), including Saudi Grand Mufti, intervened on behalf of al-Mukaddam, who happened to be present as the incident occurred.

 So, he was released. Yet again, he was mentioned during the investigations of the case of ‘The Military Academy’ in 1974, when Saleh Sorayya was prime suspect.

In his various lectures and writings, al-Mukaddam showed a considerable interest in contemporary issues. In spite of restrictions imposed by security authorities, starting from 1990s and up to the turn of the century, he dealt with political issues in some of his lectures.

In a lecture, titled ‘ An Objective Piece of Advice to Jihadist Movements’ he responded to some of the claims made by terrorist groups and organizations leaning toward violence. He addressed some of the equivocations of the Jihadist discourse.

Among these were ‘The Confusion between the Rules of Jihad and Those related to Disobedience to Rulers’. He also addressed the equivocation related to declaring members of the armed forces and/or police personnel Kafir (infidel) and releted to the declaration of Muslim Countries as Dar al-Harb (House of War). Right after that, Ayman al-Zawhiri –Deputy-Leader of al-Qaeda, at the time – responded to al-Mukaddam in a protracted lecture.

A fiery speech against Hezbollah

 During the 2006 Israeli aggression on Lebanon, al-Mukaddam delivered a fiery speech against Hezbollah, and its leader Hassan Nasrullah. This was responded to by a violent diatribe from Egypt’s MB, who posed as defenders of the Palestinian Cause, and who considered Nasrullah a symbol for the anti-Israeli resistance. That never made al-Mukaddam waver in his adamant stance against the Iranian-Shiite project in the region. He expressed his condemnation of Iranian expansionism in many of his books.

Prior to the Revolution of January 25, 2011, al-Mukaddam had been in opposition of taking to the streets, claiming that this would be useless. After the Revolution, the Salafist movement found a window of opportunity in the political situation created by the abdication of ex-President Hosni Mubarak, in February 11, 2011.

 Al-Mukaddam, along with Sheikh Yasser Borhamy, Said Abdul Azeem, Ali Hatem, Muhammad Abdul Fattah Abu Idriss, Dr. Ahmed Farid and Ahmed Hoteiba , officially, formed the ‘Salafist Call’. Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Fattah Idriss was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Society, with Borhamy and al-Mukaddam as his deputies.

Since the January Revolution, al-Mukaddam, has been in favor of forming a political Salafist party. That was not how he used to think before the revolution. Bui in May 12, 2012, Hizb al-Nur was born, as sole representative of the Salafist movement in Egypt. The party garnered 20% of the votes, giving them 111 seats, in the first parliamentary elections to follow the Revolution.

In the wake of the June 30, 2013 events, leading to the oust of Muhammad Morsi as President of the Republic, al-Mukaddam gave up tutorials and fatwas, announcing that he retired from public life as he saw that the ouster of the president was a fitna, and decided to ‘distance himself from fitna, altogether.’ On its part, the Board of Directors of the Salafist Society announced that al-Mukaddam resigned, for health reasons, and that he would not attend meetings of the Society, anymore.

Since 2013, al-Mukaddam has been spotted only twice. In both occasions he was giving tutorials; once in Ras al-Hikma in Matrouh governorate, and again in Ameriyya, in Alexandria.