Meet the Lewisham Islamic Centre Imams
Meet the Imams
Imam Shakeel Begg
Head Imam
Shakeel Begg grew up in South London. His primary, secondary and further education all took place in South London within the London Borough of Lewisham.
He spent five years studying at the world renowned Islamic University of Madinah. He also obtained an M.A in Islamic Studies from the prestigious Markfield Institute of Higher Education and also has a Diploma in Islamic Jurisprudence, a Diploma in Islamic Finance and a Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy. He is the Chief Imam and Khateeb of the Lewisham Islamic Centre, a position he has now held for more than 20 years.
He was a Muslim Volunteer Chaplain at University Hospital Lewisham and has also been a Volunteer Muslim Chaplain at Goldsmiths University of London. He is an active participant within the community and champions interfaith dialogue and cooperation, particularly with members of the Christian and Jewish faith within the local community in Lewisham and other local authorities in and around London. He has lectured extensively at various Mosques and organisations around the UK.
I have seen the article in The Times on 10 April 2017. The article mentions me and alleges that I have stated that 'violence in support of Islam constitutes a man's greatest deed'. I challenge anyone to find any statement from me using those words. Such reckless and pejorative reporting has sadly become the raison d'être of many media outlets where Muslims are concerned. Any critic with an iota of integrity will never knowingly seek to mislead their adherents by deliberately misrepresenting others. For the avoidance of any doubt, I was not and have never promoted violence as alleged by The Times, or as erroneously attributed to me by a judge who clearly lacked a meaningful understanding of Islam.
Imam Ashraf Dabous
Deputy Imam
Imam Ashraf Dabous joined LIC as Deputy Imam in September 2017.
Imam Ashraf studied at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia where he obtained a Diploma of Arabic Language and a Bachelors Degree from the Faculty of Dawah and Usul al Deen. He is BACP qualified counsellor.
He also studied privately under various Shuyukh and Teachers Hanbali Fiqh and Hanafi Fiqh as well as other Sciences.
Followership before leadership is, in fact, from the universal principles of Allāh which can be seen throughout history. Our leaders have always been raised and taught by those before them. If we are to look at the example of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) himself; he was taught by Jibrīl (ʿalayhi al-Salām); he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was followed by Abū Bakr (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) who, in turn, was followed by ʿUmar (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) who, likewise, was followed by ʿUthmān (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) who was followed by ʿAlī (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu). Likewise, we find Salāh al-Dīn followed Nūr al-Dīn who followed Imād al-Dīn and so on.
