Omar al-Haddouchi

Omar al-Haddouchi (عمر الحدوشي; born 1970) is a Moroccan Islamic scholar who is among the leaders of the Salafi movement in Morocco.

Education
Al-Haddouchi was born in Al Hoceima, Morocco in 1970, and began studying and at a young age with various moroccan scholars, most notably Muhammad Abu Khubza with whom he studied with for 8 years before traveling to Saudi Arabia to continue his studies.

History
He said during his trial, "We are preachers, not revolutionaries. It is not our job to judge others, which is a prerogative of the Sultan and his delegates". At the same time, he has also been described as "the most hard-line Salafist" in this trend and is known as a supporter of al-Qaeda.

2011 pardon
Al-Haddouchi was sentenced to thirty years in prison because of his connections to the perpetrators of 2003 Casablanca bombings, but was released from prison in 2011 after the Moroccan King Mohammed VI gave him a pardon in an Arab Spring initiative.

2012
On Apr 15, 2012 he called for all Muslims living in France to leave and return to North Africa.

On October 21, 2012, a leader of Ansar al-Sharia Morocco, Hassan Younsi, was arrested after leaving the home of Omar al-Haddouchi.