Imam denies charges of spreading hatred at court in UAE

 A well-known Islamic preacher and TV personality in the UAE, Waseem Yousef, has denied charges of spreading hatred and racism in society.
During a hearing at the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court on Tuesday, prosecutors read out the charges to Yousef, including publishing information to promote programmes and ideas that spread hatred and racism in the society and harm national unity and social peace. Officers demanded that the defendant be punished in accordance with articles 1, 24, and 41 of the cybercrime law.
The civil attorney submitted to the court, requests from several attorneys wanting to defend the preacher.
But Yousef, who denied the charges at the court, told the judge that he didn't appoint any lawyer to represent him.
When the judge asked him whether he wanted the trial to be adjourned so that he could appoint a lawyer, he replied that he would defend himself.
Yousef told the court that in his TV programme, which is for the global audience and not only limited to the UAE, he never intended to incite hatred and conflict or even wanted to discriminate anyone.
He said his comments on the authority of Sahih Al Bukhari, one of the six major collections of the sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), were only intended to elevate the position of the Holy Quran from any other book.
The preacher noted that some of the words he used on Twitter were referred to Daesh and the Muslim Brotherhood because of their terror and radical activities and weren't intended to the people of the UAE.
Yousef had earlier taken 19 citizens and residents to court, accusing them of publicly insulting and slandering him on Twitter. The preacher claimed that he was bullied on social media by the defendants since June 2019.
The alleged insults followed the comments Yousef made about Sahih Al Bukhari, which was compiled by Imam Mohammad Al Bukhari.
Yousef's trial has been adjourned until March 18.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Abu Dhabi