Ismail ibn Musa Menk

Ismail ibn Musa Menk (born 27 June 1975) is a Zimbabwean Islamic speaker. He is the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe's Muslim community, and head of the fatwa department for the Council of Islamic Scholars of Zimbabwe.

Menk was named one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan in 2013, 2014 and 2017.

He has been the subject of many controversies during his career, resulting in him being banned in countries such as Singapore and Denmark.

Early life
Menk was born on 27 June 1975 in Harare, Zimbabwe, then known as Salisbury, Rhodesia. He undertook his initial studies with his father, memorizing the Quran and learning Arabic. He went to St. John's College (Harare) for senior school. He studied Jurisprudence and Shariah in Madinah. He specialised post grad in the Hanafi School of thought in Darul Uloom Kantharia in Gujarat, India. Menk has been identified as a Deobandi as well as a Salafi.

Views
Menk opposes terrorism and has pledged his aid in curbing religious extremism in the Maldives. 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. He blames western media for misleading the world that Muslims are terrorists. 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.

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

Works
In 2018 he published a collection of his sayings as a book titled Motivational Moments and in 2019 published the second edition, titled Motivational Moments 2.

Awards and recognition

 * Menk was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate of Social Guidance by Aldersgate College, Philippines and its collaborative partner Aldersgate College – Dublin, Ireland on 16 April 2016.
 * KSBEA 2015 Awards – Global Leadership Award in Social Guidance was awarded by the Cochin Herald.
 * He was listed as one of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2014 and 2017.

Pakistan visit
Menk visited Pakistan in September 2022 to highlight flood-hit areas of Sindh.

Travel bans
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". 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.

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

On Homosexuality
The Huffington Post reported that Menk denounced the act of homosexuality as "filthy." 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. 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." Menk's statement included these words: "How can you engage in acts of immorality with the same sex?... The Qur'an clearly says it is wrong what you are doing... Allah speaks about how filthy this is... With all due respect to the animals, homosexuals are worse than animals."