The rapid rise to power of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has baffled many, and despite increased media interest in the elusive grouping, there remain a slew of questions around who ISIS is and what its objectives are. While many books and academic papers may have been written to trace its ideological and political roots, this week Capetonians will be able to hear a different perspective on the ISIS phenomenon – through the eyes of Shaykh Salman Al Husaini Al Nadwi. The prominent international scholar will be in Cape Town on Thursday for a special talk called ‘Unmasking ISIS’.

“I have followed his most recent presentations in India and other parts of the Muslim world where he has given brilliant analyses of ISIS,” said Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) president Maulana Ighsaan Hendricks, a former student of the scholar.

Ulema, students and Islamic institutions have been urged to attend. The event is also open to the public.

“We need to keep our community informed of the dangers and complexities of ISIS.”

Al Nadwi is a scholar and a professor in the Islamic Sciences and the dean of the faculty of Shariah at the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama in Lucknow. He is a full-time professor of Hadith, having taught many scholars from South Africa.

Shaykh Al-Nadwi was born in 1954, in the city of Lucknow into a noble family of scholars. His lineage can be traced back to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) through Hussein ibn Ali. His mother is the niece of the great Indian Islamic scholar and thinker Allamah Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi, from whom the scholar benefited greatly.
He began his elementary education at a branch school of Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama where he memorised the Qur’an at an early age.

After completing a middle school level education of Islamic studies, he matriculated to a graduate program at the College of Shari’ah and Usul al-Din in Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama. After graduation in 1974 AD, he, alongside a group of other graduates, established the Jam’iat Shabab al-Islam (Muslim Youth Assembly), an organisation that is considered today to be one of the largest and most active Islamic organisations in India. He is also a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The event takes place at the Islamia Auditorium on Thursday at 1.30pm. VOC