ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Prominent Salafi figure and university lecturer Abdullatif Ahmad on Sunday announced he would temporarily discontinue delivering Friday sermons amid University of Sulaimani’s request for the Public Prosecutor of Sulaimani to pursue legal action over sexual misconduct allegations.
“I have decided to take a leave of absence for a period of time and refrain from giving sermons,” Ahmad said in a public statement regarding his decision to step back temporarily, “until such time as I reclaim all my legal and Sharia rights through the courts, with the support and victory of Almighty God.”
Ahmad described his removal as “an unjust and legally baseless decision,” adding that opponents with “ill intentions” pressured authorities to restrict his religious activity.
Ahmad, the leader of the Salafi movement in the Kurdistan Region, was arrested in late June following allegations of sexual misconduct from female students that triggered an internal university investigation after audio recordings and messages were published online. The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Higher Education issued a ruling to permanently dismiss him from his post as a lecturer at the university on Wednesday, a decision which permanently bars him from public service as well as future employment in government institutions.
Ahmad’s announcement came hours after a separate official letter went viral on social media in which the University of Sulaimani Presidency requested the city’s Public Prosecutor office to pursue action.
Marked “confidential,” the document, dated July 10, stated: “Following the completion of the investigation and its approval by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and due to the presence of criminal/punitive elements within the context of public office, we request that your office take the necessary legal actions against the aforementioned individual.”
Ahmad said that he had been told by the Directorate of Endowment in Sulaimani to continue preaching, noting that “they are under heavy and difficult pressure,” to proceed with measures to prevent him from delivering Friday sermons.
Ahmad’s case has revived the attention of earlier allegations, including a 2016 incident in which private recordings between him and a student surfaced publicly and later resulted in Ahmad’s marriage to the girl.
