Abdur Raheem Green

Born in 1962 in Tanzania to a British father and a Polish mother, Abdur Raheem Green was raised as a strict Roman Catholic. His father was employed as a colonial administrator in the former British Empire, and as such attended both Roman Catholic Monastic schools and various boarding schools growing up, including St. Martin’s Ampleforth and Ampleforth College. He went on to pursue a degree in history at the University of London; however, he never finished as he became embittered with the British educational system and its Eurocentric focus and teaching style.

In 1987, after struggling with his Roman Catholic upbringing and a brief stint practicing Buddhism, Abdur Raheem Green began his journey to Islam, and in 1988 officially converted. He soon became a fixture at the infamous ‘Speakers Corner’ in Hyde Park, London where he practiced dawah (calling to Islam) on a regular basis. Through this, Green became well known and began to deliver talks amongst various universities, eventually reaching international platforms such as the Peace Conference in Mumbai, India. He also went on to co-found the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), and may now be found as a regular presenter on Peace TV.

As he grew in fame, however, Abdur Raheem Green’s life and work did not come without controversy. He was once barred from boarding a flight that had a stopover in Australia as he holds a place on their ‘movement alert list’. In addition, Green was barred from giving a lecture at Concordia University in Canada and from the Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates owned stadium. Green and his organization iERA have been criticized for holding extreme views about the coexistence of Muslims and westerners, the treatment of wives by their husbands, Jews, and terrorist acts.

Green maintains a blog (last updated October 2014), as well as more frequently updated Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Select Bibliography:

“Abdur Raheem Green.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.

“Abdurraheem Green.” IERA. Islamic Education and Research Academy, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.

“Sheikh Abdur-Raheem Green.” Islam Events. Islam Tomorrow, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.

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