Abdullah al-Qasemi
| Abdullah al-Qasemi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1907 Buraydah, Saudi Arabia |
| Died | January 9, 1996 (aged 88–89) Cairo, Egypt |
| Nationality | Saudi |
| Alma mater | Al-Azhar University |
| Genre | Skepticism |
| Notable works | They Lie to See God Beautiful |
Abdullah al-Qasemi (1907 – 9 January 1996) (Arabic: عبدالله القصيمي) was a Saudi Arabian 20th-century writer and intellectual. He is one of the most controversial intellectuals in the Arab world because of his radical change from defending Salafism to defending free ideology thinking, and for his sceptical and secular writings. He questioned the existence of God and criticised Religions, which resulted in the allegations of him becoming an atheist, therefore his books were banned all over the Arab world.
After surviving assassination attempts in Egypt and Lebanon, he died of cancer in Ain-Shams Hospital in Cairo, Egypt on 9 January 1996.
Al-Qasimi was born in Buraydah in Saudi Arabia. Al-Qasimi first joined the Sheikh Ali Mahmoud school, his father died in 1922, and al-Qasimi was then freed from the constraints imposed on him by his father, he then continued his studies. The merchant AbdulAziz Al-Rashed Al-Humaid was impressed by al-Qasimi, so he took him in Iraq, India and Syria, finally, Al-Qasimi resumed his studies at the Sheikh Amin Shanqeeti school in Zubair in Iraq after then he traveled to India where he spent two years learning in school, he learned Arabic, hadiths, and the foundations of the Islamic Sharia, he then returned to Iraq where he joined al-Kazimiyah school, he returned to Damascus, finally, he decided to live in Cairo.
Al qasimi has studied at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo in 1927, but he was soon expelled because of his book "البروق النجدية في اكتساح الظلمات الدجوية" which he had written in response to an article by Al-Azhar scholar Yusuf al-Degwy يوسف الدجوي, entitled "The litigiousness and ignorance of Wahhabists" published in the Journal "Nour al-Islam" in 1931. Subsequently Abdullah al-Qasimi wrote several books attacking the scholars of Al-Azhar.
After this, al-Qasimi changed his way of thinking, to the point where his opponents labelled him "atheist". His most important books - written after he turned against the Salafi ideology - are: "There are the cuffs " and "They lie to see god beautiful" and his book "Arabs are a sonorous phenomenon" (sic). He survived two assassination attempts in Egypt and Lebanon and suffered imprisonment in Egypt under instigation from the Yemeni government, because of his great influence on Yemeni students who, because of their frequent meetings with him, were deeply influenced by his thoughts. Such influence was perceived by the Yemeni government as negative and not suitable to Islam.
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