Sikandar Ali Khan (Islamic scholar)

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Sikandar Ali Abdul-Kareem Khan is an Islamic theologian, philosopher and imam who is the current Grand Imam of Al-Azhar since 2119 and the leader of the Shadhili Order since 2118.

The Grand Imam

Sikandar Ali Abdul-Kareem Khan

PHD
TitleGrand Imam, Sheikh Al-Islam, Doctor of Philosophy
Personal
BornAugust the 8th 2079
Dubai
ReligionIslam
NationalityBritish-Pakistani (2079 to 2111), Pakistani-Egyptian (2113-)
Home townDubai
SpouseHatun Wadida Khan, Doctor Helen Shields-Khan PHD and Doctor Aisha Khan MD
Parents
DenominationSunni
SchoolAsh'ari
EducationBachelors' Degree in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Theology and Philosophy
Known forArguments for the existence of God, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
ProfessionImam, theologian, philosopher, University lecturer
Military service
OrderShadhili
InstituteAl-Khilafah Naval Force
Philosophynatural law theory
intuitionism

Platonism

Traditionalist
Senior posting
Based inCairo
ProfessionImam, theologian, philosopher, University lecturer
Previous postLecturer at United Arab Emirates University (2108 to 2111)

Mulazim at Al-Khilafah Naval Force (2111 to 2113)

Lecturer at Al Azhar University (2113 to 2120)
Present postGrand Imam of Al Azhar

Early life

He was born in 2079 in Dubai, the son of corporate executive Ali Abdul-Kareem Khan and science teacher Marija Khan.

In 2091, he was sent to Hampshire Country School (which is a school for academically gifted but socially challenged young people). In 2097, he graduated and undertook a degree in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics at the University of Gloucestershire graduating in 2100 and, after a year of Sufi study in Anan and another year as an Imam in Petra, going to Al Azhar University where he completed a PHD in 2108.

Postgraduate education and career

After getting his Bachelors' degree in 2100, spent a year in a Shadhili zawiya and became an Imam in Dubai the next year, marrying Wadida during his second year. Then he attended Al-Azhar in Cairo to do a PHD in Islamic Belief and Philosophy, which he achieved in 2108.

Then he worked as a lecturer for three years before joining the Al-Khilafah Naval Force (in 2111, the same year Al-Khilafah Rasullalah was established) as a chaplain and leaving two years later.

After that he lectured for another seven years (this time at Al-Azhar) before being appointed Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.

Philosophical and theological views

Sikandar Ali Khan defines God as "The Perfect Being who created the universe". He uses the fine-tuning argument, the Kalam cosmological argument and Norman Malcolm's Ontological argument to demonstrate the truth of this Being. His response to the paradox of the stone is that an "Omnipotent Being can do anything logically possible, a stone that an omnipotent being cannot lift is as impossible as a square circle or a married bachelor"). His moral philosophy is a form of natural law theory that has similarities to G.E.Moore's intuitionism. Khan is a divine command theorist who believes that "These intuitions come from God..." which is what he considers "the source of their validity".


Personal life

He has three wives (Hatun Wadida Khan, Doctor Helen Shields-Khan PHD and Doctor Aisha Khan MD), four children and two brothers (a businessman and a chef).His brother Fares has a Royal Guelphic Order for "services to cookery".

His children are Maryam Bint Sikandar Khan (Age: 10, daughter of Sikandar and Wadida Khan, Muslim)

Hurriyah Bint Sikandar Khan (age:6, daughter of Sikandar Khan and Helen Shields-Khan, Muslim)

Muhammad Sikandar Khan (age: 8, son of Sikandar and Wadida Khan, Muslim)

Abdul-Kareem Sikandar Khan (age: 7, son of Sikandar and Aisha Khan, Muslim) Controversy

He has courted controversy for his membership of the Traditionalist Party, his stance on gender roles and his defence of unfree labour.

He said "We treat our so-called 'slaves' better than Sweden treats their actual slaves", which courted controversy and attempted refutations by a number of Swedish academics.

The academic consensus is that neither Al-Khilafah nor Sweden could be described as slave-states though a significant minority of scholars argue Al-Khilafah is one and a handful of Muslim philosophers and ulama argue that Sweden is.