Menk was born on 27 June 1975 in Salisbury, Rhodesia.[9] He undertook his initial studies with his father, memorizing the Quran and learning Arabic.[10] He went to St. John's College (Harare) for senior school.[11] He studied Jurisprudence and Shariah in Madinah.[12] He specialised post grad in the Hanafi School of thought in Darul Uloom Kantharia in Gujarat, India. Menk has been identified as a Deobandi[11][13][14] as well as a Salafi.[15]
Views
Menk opposes terrorism and has pledged his aid in curbing religious extremism in the Maldives.[16] On 31 March 2018, he urged Muslims to avoid Muslim—Christian violence, arguing that Muslims and Christians are brothers and sisters from one father, the prophet Adam.[17] He blames western media for misleading the world that Muslims are terrorists.[18] According to Gulf News, Menk said that everyone on this earth is a part of a family and has one maker, therefore, no one has the right to force any belief or faith on another.[19]
In September 2023, Mufti Menk visited Trinidad and Tobago during his special visits in the Caribbean.[20] MP Saddam Hosein, while sharing a Facebook post expressed that he is honored with a visit from an international beacon of peace and understanding.[21]
Works
In 2018 he published a collection of his sayings as a book titled Motivational Moments[22][23] and in 2019 published the second edition, titled Motivational Moments 2.[24]
Awards and recognition
Menk was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate of Social Guidance by Aldersgate College, Philippines and its collaborative partner Aldersgate College – Dublin, Ireland on 16 April 2016.[25]
On 31 October 2017, Singapore banned Menk from its borders because it believes he expresses views incompatible with its multicultural laws and policies. According to the Straits Times, he has asserted that "it is blasphemous for Muslims to greet believers of other faiths during festivals such as Christmas or Diwali". Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement that its decision to reject Menk's application for a short-term work pass stemmed from his "segregationist and divisive teachings".[31][32] The Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe, Menk's own institution, released a statement to express "regret and dismay" regarding the ban. It said that Menk was an "asset to multi‐cultural, multi‐religious Zimbabwe" and that viewers should "listen to his sermons in full" and not "edited clips of a few minutes" to see the moderate path he has chosen.[33]
In November 2018, the Danish government banned Menk from entering its borders for 2 years.[34][35]
On homosexuality
The Huffington Post reported that Menk denounced the act of homosexuality as "filthy."[36] In 2013, he was due to visit six British universities – Oxford, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow – but the speaking tour was cancelled after student unions and university officials expressed concern about his views.[37] Liverpool University stated that "it is not the role of the University to censor people’s views, but rather to provide a neutral, open environment for them to be debated and challenged.”
However, Menk has since retracted his statements regarding LGBT and homosexuality completely and states on his website: "on the issue of LGBT, let me clarify the statement I made back in 2011 which had me saying, “With all due respect to the animals, they are worse than those animals” was based on a misguided notion. I no longer believe that to be true. I make a full retraction of that statement".[38]
^Wade, Evan (8 October 2014). "Harare, Zimbabwe (1890- ) •". BlackPast. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024. In 1982, on the two-year anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence, the government renamed Salisbury "Harare"
^Sam Westrop, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Deobandis, Islamism and British Multiculturalism Policy" in Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan, Springer, 2016, p. 461
^Mokhtar, Faris. "Mufti Ismail Menk is Deobandi not a Salafi". Today. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018. For example, popular televangelist Zakir Naik, jailed radical Muslim preacher Anjem Choudary, and Ismail Menk (the Mufti of Zimbabwe) all belong to the Salafi sect.
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