The controversial Birmingham cleric, Nahiem Ajmal – most commonly known as “Mufti Abu Layth” – posted a video recently on Facebook where he mocked the concept of the Dajjal (the Anti-Christ) by sticking “KFC” on his forehead.
The video was made in response to another cleric allegedly labelling Ajmal a “small Dajjal”.
The “KFC” on Ajmal’s forehead was an indirect reference to the hadith mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari (no. 9,245) about Dajjal having the word “Kafir” written between his eyes.
Ajmal is renowned for proliferating minority and fringe Islamic opinions, which include:
- Pre-marital masturbation is permissible at all times for personal pleasure;
- It is permissible to have tattoos;
- It is permissible for Muslims to celebrate Halloween and Christmas;
- Rejecting the coming of Prophet Jesus in the build up to the Day of Judgement.
In addition to Ajmal’s unorthodox theological views, the Birmingham-based former schoolteacher has been marred by numerous controversies and a criminal conviction:
- Ajmal was one of the early advisers of the much-despised Quilliam Foundation think-tank;
- He received a positive character reference from Dr Usama Hasan of the Quilliam Foundation;
- He is known to be good friends with Rashad Ali, a former founder of the Quilliam Foundation who has close ties with Islamophobic neoconservatives such as the Henry Jackson Society;
- He was arrested and charged with possessing extreme pornography in February 2014 to which he pleaded not guilty. The outcome of this case is unknown;
- Ajmal was jailed for six months for his role in a plot involving a disgraced West Midlands Police officer who tried accessing restricted information about the location of another man’s wife.
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