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Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Dr. Moustafa al-Musawi al-Qazwini (Arabic: مصطفى الموسوي القزويني; born 1961) is an Iraqi-American Shia imam.

He is the imam at the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County in Orange Country, California. He is also on the board of directors of the Development and Relief Foundation in Iraq.

Biography

Early life and education

al-Qazwini was born in Karbala in 1961. His father is Murtadha al-Qazwini from the al-Qazwini family, and his mother is the daughter of Abd al-Amir Nasrallah, from the Nasrallah family. His family was exiled from Iraq whilst he was still young, and upon settling in Qom, in 1980, he joined the seminary and began his religious education.

In 1987, he travelled to Damascus to serve as a teacher at the Islamic seminary. He then travelled to London in 1989, and contributed as associate imam and professor of Islamic studies at several Islamic centers and foundations.

Settling in the United States

In 1994, al-Qazwini travelled to the United States, where his father and brothers were. He founded the Islamic Cultural Center of San Diego, California. This center was the first Shia mosque established in San Diego County for religious and social events.

In September 1996, he founded the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County (IECOC), drawing on his experience in Islamic studies.

al-Qazwini's past associations have included:

• Chairman of the Development and World Events Committee of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California (an umbrella organization for sixty-four mosques and Islamic centers), a board member of the council of Shia Muslim scholars of North America.
• Co-chair of the West Coast Dialogue of Muslims and Catholics
• Adviser for the United Muslim American Association.

He spends much of his time lecturing across the world and nationally at churches, universities and on panels with other parishioners.

Controversy

On 23 June 2017 in a sermon delivered in Orange County, California, al-Qazwini declared that ISIS was supported by Israeli intelligence, shortly after a Wall Street Journal investigative article detailed secret Israeli aid to various Syrian rebel groups, which was confirmed by Israeli authorities, including as far back as 2014. Shortly thereafter, describing unreliable information he had received from Iraqi political and military sources, he publicly retracted the statement and apologized for hurting the sentiments of his Jewish friends and the Jewish community.

Personal life

• al-Qazwini is married to the daughter of Fadhil al-Milani. He has two sons: Mahdi and Hadi.

Bibliography

• Discovering Islam
• Inquiries About Shi'a Islam
• When Power and Piety Collide

References

1. ^ "Bio on Imam Al-Qazwini". IECOC. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
2. ^ "Imam Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini". www.mpac.org. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
3. "Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini". IMDb. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
4. "CAIR-LA's SoCal Muslim of the Week: Dr. Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini". CAIR Los Angeles. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
5. "DRF Team | Development and Relief Foundation". 27 November 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
6. Whitney, Susan (10 May 2008). "Imam stresses commonalities of religions". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
7. "Shia Muslims in UK participate Muharram mourning ceremonies + Photos". International Shia News Agency. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
8. "Iraqi-American Shi'ite Imam Moustafa Al-Qazwini In Sermon At Islamic Educational Center Of Orange County, California: ISIS Is The Production Of Israeli Intelligence". MEMRI - The Middle East Media Research Institute. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
9. "Israel Gives Secret Aid to Syrian Rebels". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
10. "Israel 'giving secret aid to Syrian rebels', report says". Independent. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
11. "Israel secretly paying salaries of Syrian rebels on Golan Heights border: report". Newsweek. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
12. "Israel acknowledges it is helping Syrian rebel fighters". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
13. "New UN report reveals collaboration between Israel and Syrian rebels". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
14. "Imam Dr. Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini Retracts Statement Linking Israel to ISIS". Twitter. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
15. القزويني, Hadi Qazwini هادي (29 December 2019). "Beautiful photo of my maternal great-great-grandfather, Āyatullāh al-Sayyid Muḥammad Hādī al-Mīlānī (d. 1975), leading prayers in the mausoleum of Imām ʿAlī al-Riḍā in Mashhad, Iran, in the early 1970s. The young man standing behind him is my grandfather Dr. al-Sayyid Fāḍil.pic.twitter.com/7aFFvUxt2n". @HadiQazwini (in Romanian). Retrieved 10 April 2020.

• 1961 births
• Living people
• American Shia Muslims
• American imams
• Iraqi emigrants to the United States
• Iraqi Shia Muslims
• People from Karbala
• Religious leaders from California
• Ahlulbayt TV people
• Iraqi people of Iranian descent