Imam and founder of Quran Revolution Wisam Sharieff faces child porn investigation

(RNS) — Imam Wisam Sharieff, an online Quran instructor for the educational nonprofit AlMaghrib Institute, was charged in an FBI criminal complaint with conspiracy to produce child pornography.

FBI special agent Eric Salvador detailed the allegations in an Oct. 29 affidavit documented in Birmingham, Alabama; One woman, who was Sharieff’s online student, claimed the instructor told her that “achieving orgasm would help her spiritually.” and enable him to communicate better with God,” according to the statement.

The woman reportedly sent Sharieff videos of herself and her young daughter “performing sexual acts on themselves” so that “he could guide them and let them know how far they were coming in their quest to get closer to God.” If true, the actions would constitute a federal crime.

Electronic devices and sexual toys were seized from the woman’s home, and officers discovered a private chat on Telegram, an encrypted instant messaging app, that showed Sharieff sending sexually explicit videos of herself, the affidavit says. According to the testimony, it was also revealed that the mother sent explicit videos of her child watching adult pornography.

The chat also reportedly included messages from Sharieff encouraging the mother to trust him with her secrets and asking when she could “study on the Quran” with her child.

Sharieff was reported to the Alabama Department of Human Resources on October 15 by a person who identified herself as Sharieff’s wife.

Sharieff has not made any public statements since the complaint was filed, and attempts to reach him were not responded to.

Inside Friday, November 1st post AlMaghrib Institute said on social media platform X that it had been informed of “serious violation of AlMaghrib Institute policy by Wisam Sharieff.” The post continued, stating that the institute found that the action violated its code of conduct and terminated Sharieff’s employment contract.

Sharieff, who lives in Texas, is known for founding the AlMaghrib Institute. Quran Revolution A popular curriculum for learning to read the Quran that has claimed to have helped thousands of people. He is also the founder Defending the Qur’anic Lifestyle, It offers to teach students “personal development through the Quranic lifestyle – reading, prayer and supplication to strengthen the mind, body and soul.”

One public declaration On Monday, the AlMaghrib Institute said it was “appalled” by the allegations, which it described as “shocking and sickening.” The statement clarified that the alleged communication between Sharieff and the woman was conducted through a private chat, not on AlMaghrib’s educational platform, and that the child was not a student at the institute.

The statement also said there was “zero tolerance” for romantic relationships between instructors and students, and that the institute launched its own investigation as soon as it received notice of possible code of conduct violations. Although the institute “had no access to law enforcement’s investigation,” it concluded that Sharieff had violated institute rules and fired him.

“Our country’s justice system will now deal with Wisam Sharieff, and we pray to God to bring solace to the victims and healing to our society,” the statement said. “The religion of Allah does not depend on anyone and the Quran Revolution program will continue as planned with our students.”

Online news outlet MuslimMatters, which has previously interviewed Sharieff and published transcripts of his lectures, published a report. expression On Tuesday, he said the outlet had “cut off all contact” with him. MuslimMatters called the allegations a “serious violation” of Quran ethical principles and offered a list of resources on reporting and preventing abuse.

Asiyah Women’s Center, which is an emergency center for victims of domestic violence and serves Muslims. hosted a therapist-led Zoom event Monday night for community members to mourn together in light of the allegations. AlMaghrib instructor Sarah Sultan reminded readers: instagram A person’s “disgusting actions and flaws” are not powerful enough to overcome their faith in God.

Other experts agreed with this view. One Facebook postAbu Eesa, a senior instructor at the AlMaghrib Institute, credited the organization for taking the allegations seriously and making them public. “I hope this will set an example in the future for such institutions not to hesitate to act quickly and effectively, not to care about public sentiment, but instead to give importance to Allah’s religion and their responsibilities towards it.”

Ingrid Mattson, a leading Muslim scholar and former president of the Islamic Society of North America, shared a post: thread in x Noting that spiritual abuse is shocking but should no longer be surprising, he said: “We have heard a lot of tragic news about the abuse of children by those who are assigned to raise children and those who teach them their religion. “It is irresponsible to remain willfully ignorant of these facts.”