Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born Ian Stewart Dallas; 1930 Ayr – 1 August 2021 Cape Town) was a Scottish Muslim leader and author. He was Shaykh of Instruction, leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa, founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam, Sufism and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he converted to Islam in 1967 with the Imam of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, Morocco.

Early life

Ian Dallas was born in Scotland in 1930 of a Highland family. He was a descendant of the literary critic and writer E. S. Dallas. He traveled extensively to Greece, France and Italy. He spent his young adulthood working as a playwright and TV dramatist, having studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1954, he produced and directed The Face of Love, an adaptation of Troilus and Cressida aired on the BBC; a subsequent theatrical staging was the first major stage role for Albert Finney. He worked at the BBC through the mid-1960s; among his other adaptations were film or theatrical versions of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair, Arthur Rimbaud's A Season in Hell, Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time, and Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude. In 1963, he had a small role in Federico Fellini's film 8½ as "Il partner della telepata". In the 1960s, Dallas was part of the bohemian "Swinging London" scene, befriending many figures in art, music, and film. He had an affair with the actress Vivien Leigh, seventeen years his senior, and was a close confidant of Edith Piaf. Among his friends was the guitarist Eric Clapton; Dallas gave Clapton a copy of The Story of Layla and Majnun by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, which led Clapton to write the song "Layla", performed by his group Derek and the Dominos.

Conversion

As-Sufi converted to Islam in 1967 in Fes, Morocco as Abdalqadir, witnessed by Abdalkarim Daudi, the Imam Khatib of the Qarawiyyin Mosque, and Alal al-Fasi. He then joined the Darqawi order as a student of Muhammad ibn al-Habib. He travelled to Morocco and Algeria with his Shaykh and was further instructed in Sufism by Sidi Hamud ibn al-Bashir of Blida and Sidi Fudul al-Huwari as-Sufi of Fes.

Teaching

Abdalqadir as-Sufi advocated adherence to the Maliki school of Islamic law, which he considered the original legal school of Islam, the tradition of the people of Medina as recorded by Malik ibn Anas, since he considered this the primal formulation of Islamic society and a necessity for the re-establishment of Islam in the current age. Abdalqadir was responsible for the establishment of the Ihsan Mosque in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and the Jumu'a Mosque of Cape Town. Abdalqadir as-Sufi taught that suicide terrorism is forbidden under Islamic law, that its psychological pattern stems from nihilism, and that it "draws attention away from the fact that capitalism has failed." He stated that Britain was on "the edge of terminal decline" and that only Britain's Muslim population could "revitalise this ancient realm". He wrote extensively on the importance of monarchy and personal rule. He regarded the face veil (or niqab) of Muslim women as un-Islamic, describing it as an "evil Hinduisation of women". In 2006, he issued a fatwa, following a visit and speech given by Pope Benedict XVI in Germany. In his Fatwa Concerning the Deliberations of Pope Benedict XVI in Germany, he stated that "in my opinion, Pope Benedict XVI is guilty of insulting the Messenger of Allah". He was an early mentor of American Sufi scholar, Hamza Yusuf.

Murabitun World Movement

In February 2014 he distanced himself from the dinar and dirham movement, saying, "So, I now dis-associate myself from all activity involving the Islamic gold dinar and silver dirham". The other major condition of a correct Zakat, he argued, is the existence of personal rule, or Amirate, since Zakat is, by Qur'anic injunction, accepted rulings and established practice, taken by the leader, not given as a voluntary sadaqa.

Death

As-Sufi died on 1 August 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa at the age of 91.

Authorship

The author of more than 20 books and several essays and articles, As-Sufi's books include:

Translations undertaken by his students

Gallery