Ismail ibn Musa Menk

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Mufti[1]
Ismail Ibn Musa Menk
Menk in 2022
Born (1975-06-27) 27 June 1975 (age 51)
Salisbury, Rhodesia (present-day Harare, Zimbabwe)
OccupationsMotivational speaker, Islamic scholar, Grand Mufti[1]
EraContemporary
Notable workMotivational Moments
HonorsThe 500 Most Influential Muslims (2010 - 2026)
Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe
Personal life
EducationKantharia Darul Uloom,[2] Islamic University of Madinah
Religious life
ReligionSunni Islam
Senior posting
AwardsKSBEA 2015 Awards for Social Guidance, 2015
Websitemuftimenk.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2010–present
Subscribers6.08 million
Views624.7 million
Last updated: 9 September 2025

Ismail ibn Musa Menk (born 27 June 1975), commonly known as Mufti Menk, is a Zimbabwean Islamic preacher, scholar and cleric who is the Grand Mufti[4][5] of Zimbabwe,[6][7] and head of the fatwa department for the Council of Islamic Scholars of Zimbabwe.

Early life

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Menk was born on 27 June 1975 in Salisbury, Rhodesia to Indo-Zimbabwean parents of Gujarati origin.[8][9][10] He undertook his initial studies with his father, memorizing the Quran and learning Arabic.[11] He went to St. John's College (Harare) for senior school.[12] He studied Jurisprudence and Sharia in Madinah.[13] He specialised post grad in the Hanafi school of thought in Darul Uloom Kantharia in Gujarat, India. Menk has been identified as a Deobandi[12][14][15] as well as a Salafi.[16]

Views

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Menk opposes terrorism and has pledged his aid in curbing religious extremism in the Maldives.[17] On 31 March 2018, he urged Muslims to avoid Muslim—Christian violence, arguing that Muslims and Christians are brothers and sisters from one father, the prophet Adam.[18] He blames western media for misleading the world that Muslims are terrorists.[19] According to Gulf News, Menk said that everyone on this earth is a part of a family and has one maker, therefore, no one has the right to force any belief or faith on another.[20]

In September 2023, Mufti Menk visited Trinidad and Tobago during his special visits in the Caribbean.[21] MP Saddam Hosein, while sharing a Facebook post expressed that he is honored with a visit from an international beacon of peace and understanding.[22]

Works

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In 2018 he published a collection of his sayings as a book titled Motivational Moments[23][24] and in 2019 published the second edition, titled Motivational Moments 2.[25]

Awards and recognition

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Recognition

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Mufti Ismail Menk has been listed in The 500 Most Influential Muslims—an annual publication by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (Jordan)—every year since 2010.[29] He appears under the “Preachers & Spiritual Guides” category, including the most recent 2026 edition.[30]

Controversies

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Travel bans

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On 31 October 2017, Singapore banned Menk from its borders because it believes he expresses views incompatible with its multicultural laws and policies. According to the Straits Times, he has asserted that "it is blasphemous for Muslims to greet believers of other faiths during festivals such as Christmas or Diwali". Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement that its decision to reject Menk's application for a short-term work pass stemmed from his "segregationist and divisive teachings".[31][32] The Majlisul Ulama Zimbabwe, Menk's own institution, released a statement to express "regret and dismay" regarding the ban. It said that Menk was an "asset to multi‐cultural, multi‐religious Zimbabwe" and that viewers should "listen to his sermons in full" and not "edited clips of a few minutes" to see the moderate path he has chosen.[33]

In November 2018, the Danish government banned Menk from entering its borders for 2 years.[34][35]

On homosexuality

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The Huffington Post reported that Menk denounced the act of homosexuality as "filthy."[36] In 2013, he was due to visit six British universities – Oxford, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow – but the speaking tour was cancelled after student unions and university officials expressed concern about his views.[37] Liverpool University stated that "it is not the role of the University to censor people's views, but rather to provide a neutral, open environment for them to be debated and challenged."

However, Menk has since retracted his statements regarding LGBT and homosexuality completely and states on his website: "on the issue of LGBT, let me clarify the statement I made back in 2011 which had me saying, "With all due respect to the animals, they are worse than those animals" was based on a misguided notion. I no longer believe that to be true. I make a full retraction of that statement".[38]

References

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  8. ^ https://puc.1ummahng.org/speakers/mufti-ismail-menk
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  14. ^ Sam Westrop, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Deobandis, Islamism and British Multiculturalism Policy" in Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan, Springer, 2016, p. 461
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