Ahmad Kutty

Ahmad Kutty is a prominent North American Islamic scholar.

Biography

Kutty was born in the Indian state of Kerala in 1946. He arrived in Canada in the 1970s as a student and has since obtained Canadian citizenship.

Kutty graduated in the traditional Islamic sciences and received the "Ijazah" (title) of "al-Faqih fi al-ddeen" (first rank) from Islamiya College Santapuram, a leading Islamic institution in south India [ [http://www.mwlcanada.org/home/kutty.htm Sheikh Ahmad Kutty CV ] ] . He then obtained his Licentiate in "Usul al-Ddeen" (first rank) from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia. In 1973 he earned an M.A. in Islamic studies from the University of Toronto. From 1975 to 1980 he pursued his Doctoral studies in Shari’ah thought at McGill University.

Kutty has served on the Fiqh Council of North America, the pre-eminent Islamic law body on the continent. He has served as Imam and resident scholar at various institutions in Montreal and Toronto, including Toronto's Jami Mosque and the [Islamic Foundation of Toronto] . He is currently resident scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto.

Kutty is a prolific writer and has written a number of articles, books and journal articles. He is a regular scholar answering Islamic law questions on [http://IslamOnline.net Islam Online] .

In addition to his participation in lectures, seminars and inter-faith dialogues in North America, Kutty is invited as a guest speaker in functions all over the world.

Recent events

Kutty made international headlines when he and Imam Abdul Hamid were detained and held in a Fort Lauderdale jail after disembarking from their flight on September 11, 2003. [ [http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0916-09.htm A Chilling Message to Muslims ] ] . The two were travelling to Florida to speak at an Islamic conference. He is a well-known scholar, preacher and speaker on Islam and Muslims. Ironically, among the topics to be discussed at the conference was the danger of Islamic fanaticism. After returning to Canada, Kutty asked:

Kutty was one of the 120 imams across Canada who signed a statement condemning acts of terrorism. The statement coordinated by the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations [ [http://www.caircan.ca Canadian Council On American-Islamic Relations - Cair-Can ] ] read:

External links

* [http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0916-09.htm Article by Thomas Walkom]
* [http://Islam.ca Islamic Institute of Toronto]
* [http://www.islamicfoundation.ca Islamic Foundation of Toronto]
* [http://www.mwlcanada.org/home/kutty.htm Leading Islamic institution in south India]
* [http://IslamOnline.net Islam Online]

References

* Faisal Kutty