Ahmad Tejan Sillah
| Ahmad Tejan Sillah | |
|---|---|
| Chief Imam of the Freetown Central Mosque | |
| Spiritual leader of the United Council of Imams in Sierra Leone | |
| Chief imam of the Masjid Fatima Zahra mosque, Freetown | |
|
In office 1982–1985 | |
| United Nations Goodwill Ambassador | |
|
Assumed office 2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Freetown, Sierra Leone |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Residence | Freetown, Sierra Leone |
| Alma mater | Dar Al Tabligh Islamic University, Qum, Iran |
| Profession | Imam, Islamic Preacher |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Ahmad Tejan Sillah is a Sierra Leonean Islamic preacher and the chief imam of the Freetown Central Mosque, the largest mosque in Sierra Leone.[1][2] He is also the spiritual leader of the Sierra Leone United Council of Imams,[3][4] an Islamic organisation that is made up of imams across Sierra Leone. Sillah is a Shia Muslim and he is one of the most prominent Islamic scholars in Sierra Leone.
Born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sillah received a masters degree in Islamic studies at the Dar Al Tabligh Islamic University in the holy city of Qum in Iran.[3] Sillah is an advocate for child and women's rights to be respected as stated in the Holy Quran. He has often preached against violence in society and violence against women.
During Sierra Leone's civil war, Sillah was one of the leading advocates for peace. He traveled to dangerous rebel held areas of the country to preach to the rebels to lay down their arms and accept peace.[3][5] In 2000, he was appointed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as a Goodwill Ambassador.
Sillah is a founding member of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, which is made up of both Muslim and Christian religious leaders.
Early life and education
Ahmad Tejan Sillah was born and raised in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. He is a Shia Muslim cleric. He attended primary and secondary schools in Freetown. In 1974, he received a master's degree in Islamic studies at the Dar Al Tabligh Islamic University in the holy city of Qum in Iran.[3] He was an Islamic preacher for two years in Iran before returning to Sierra Leone. He is religiously close to Ayatollah Ali Khameinei, the spiritual leader of Iran.[1]
Sillah served as an Islamist cultural advisor at the Iran embassy in Sierra Leone from 1983 to 1985. He was the chief imam of the Masjid Fatima Zahra mosque in Freetown from 1982 to 1985. He has been the chief imam of the Freetown Central Mosque since 1985. From 1986 to present he has served as the spiritual leader of the United Council of Imams in Sierra Leone, an organisation he is a founder member of. Since 1985, he has served as the Director of the Muslim Cultural Society in Sierra Leone and also Director of the Sierra Leone Ahl Ul Bayt World Assembly Sierra Leone, a humanitarian organisation that helps poor Sierra Leoneans. Sillah served as the principal of the International Institute of Islamic Studies in Freetown from 1991 to 1993.
Activist
Sillah is a founding member of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, which is made up of both Muslim and Christian religious leaders. In 2000 he was appointed by the United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNFPA) as a Goodwill Ambassador. Sillah has traveled across Sierra Leone and many other countries preaching peace, belief in the Koran and religious tolerance of non-Muslims.
He has used his own wealth to pay fees for poor students, sponsor students to attend college, and he is an advocate for child and women's rights to be respected as stated in the Quran. He has preached against violence in society and against women. Sillah has preached that most of what exists in a true democratic society had existed in Islam long before democracy itself took place in the Western World.[6]