Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips is a teacher, speaker, and author, resident in Qatar. He appears on Peace TV, which is a 24-hour Islamic satellite TV channel broadcasted to many countries around the world.
Education
Dr. Philips was born January 7, 1947[4] in Jamaica, but grew up in Canada, where he converted to Islam in 1972. He received his B.A. degree from the Islamic University of Medina and his M.A. in Aqeedah (Islamic Theology) from the King Saud University in Riyadh. Philips comes from a family of educators, as both his parents were teachers and his grandfather was a Church Minister and Bible scholar.
Islamic Information Center
In 1994 he founded (and continues to direct) an Islamic Information Center, now known as Discover Islam, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Islamic Online University
The Islamic Online University (IOU) is the brainchild of Dr. Bilal Philips. He envisioned an institution that would offer online intensive, undergraduate, and graduate courses in Islamic Studies completely tuition-free. The university offers a four year BAIS program.
The IOU was initially launched in 2001 from UAE with an offering of a few short courses. After a five year interlude, it was restarted in 2007 from Qatar with a greater offering of completely free short courses.
The Islamic Online University (IOU) is the brainchild of Dr. Bilal Philips. He envisioned an institution that would offer online intensive, undergraduate, and graduate courses in Islamic Studies completely tuition-free. The university offers a four year BAIS program.
The IOU was initially launched in 2001 from UAE with an offering of a few short courses. After a five year interlude, it was restarted in 2007 from Qatar with a greater offering of completely free short courses.
Controversies
In an interview given, Philips accused the Australian authorities of "blindly following American allegations and unsubstantiated false accusations" claiming that investigations in the UK, Canada and Australia had found no evidence that he was in any way connected with terrorism. In this interview, he also pointed out that he had not entered the USA since 1995, characterizing media claims that he had been deported in 2004 as an "outright lie". Philips also called the statement that he was an "unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing "really a joke", claiming that it was based on a "supposedly leaked report" of over 100 prominent Muslims who were never charged. His response to the issue is posted on YouTube as "Bilal Philips replies on Australian Visa denial".
In an interview given, Philips accused the Australian authorities of "blindly following American allegations and unsubstantiated false accusations" claiming that investigations in the UK, Canada and Australia had found no evidence that he was in any way connected with terrorism. In this interview, he also pointed out that he had not entered the USA since 1995, characterizing media claims that he had been deported in 2004 as an "outright lie". Philips also called the statement that he was an "unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing "really a joke", claiming that it was based on a "supposedly leaked report" of over 100 prominent Muslims who were never charged. His response to the issue is posted on YouTube as "Bilal Philips replies on Australian Visa denial".
