The Moroccan “Rolex imam” Abdelhamid bought Rolexes and Mercedes with money he collected to help poor pilgrims get to Mecca. He is now in prison.
German authorities have arrested a 33-year-old Moroccan Salafist. He is a popular web imam on social media, according to BBC Arabic.
Helps poor pilgrims
He calls himself Abdelhamid on TikTok and there alone he has more than 611,000 followers. On YouTube he has just under 100,000 followers. He is known for engaging a young audience in religious and also secular issues. Several of his TikTok videos have over two million views.
Salafist propagandist
Abdelhamid’s real name is Dehran Asanov. He is considered one of Germany’s most influential Salafist propagandists. There can be more than a thousand listeners when he preaches in mosques. He preaches a literal interpretation of the Koran, that sharia is superior to secular laws and that women are subordinate to men.
He has used his popularity to raise hundreds of thousands of euros for the pious purpose of building mosques and helping pilgrims get to Mecca. All donations would be “repaid in the grave”.
The money redirected
However, it has come to light that the funds raised have been redirected from mosques and pilgrims to Rolexes and Mercedes – and other luxury items.
Abdelhamid is arrested to ensure he doesn’t take the money with him and flee to Dubai.
During the search of his home, investigators seized €2,000 in cash and a number of Rolexes. They also secured his car.
Blingbling-Hassprediger immer dollerhttps://t.co/ahzzPFaYDd Der Spendenfreund und Rolex-Prediger „Abdelhamid“ (https://t.co/zmxgFbN6Qh berichtete) alias Dehran Asanov ist nicht nur als salafistischer Online-Prediger bekannt, sondern auch als Moschee-Nachwuchsprediger. Seine… pic.twitter.com/HYEmHLfQv5
— Die Achse des Guten (@Achgut_com) October 15, 2024
– Not a pious citizen
Minister Herbert Reul of North Rhine-Westphalia said, according to Welt, that the authorities have “long known that this is not a pious citizen”:
– With his tirades on the Internet, he stirs up hatred and incitement and plants Islamist ideas in the heads of young people.
Risking significant time behind bars
Abdelhamid is accused of fraud and, if convicted, risks a prison sentence of anything from one to ten years.
Salafism is a fundamentalist movement within Sunni Islam that emerged at the end of the 19th century.