Pierre Vogel

Pierre Vogel (born July 20, 1978), also known as Abu Hamza[3] (Arabic: أبو حمزة‎) is a German Islamist[4] preacher and a former professional boxer.

Pierre Vogel
Statistics
Real namePierre Vogel
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Nationality German
Born (1978-07-20) July 20, 1978
Frechen, West Germany[1]
Stance?
Boxing record
Total fights7[2]
Wins6
Wins by KO2
Losses0
Draws1

Early life and boxing career

Vogel was born in Frechen. He turned professional at the age of 22, fighting briefly (for two years) as a cruiserweight for the Sauerland club and was undefeated in seven bouts.[2]

Religion
Pierre Vogel (on the right) and Bilal Philips speaking at a rally in Frankfurt, April 2011

Vogel converted to Islam in 2001 and shortly thereafter began courses in Islamic studies in Germany, and then studied in Medina.[5][6]

He is considered to be one of the most influential Islamists in Germany.[7]

Private life

Vogel is married to a Muslim Moroccan woman and is the father of three children.[8]

Media perception

He has been described in one German report as a "radical Muslim",[9] while Matthias Matussek, author and commentator for Spiegel Online, described him as representative of the "dark Nazi variant" of Islam in Germany.[10]

When he appeared at a Muslim meeting in Dillingen, Saarland, 25 April 2010, he said that polygamy is legitimate due to the fact that there are more women than men in Germany.[11]

In January 2016, Vogel shared a video giving out the personal details of a woman who claimed to have been raped by men of Middle Eastern appearance in Cologne, claiming that she had falsified her story in order to slander Islam. The video's creator deleted it after a legal challenge from the victim.[12]

References
  1. Karagiannis, Emmanuel (2 January 2018). The New Political Islam: Human Rights, Democracy, and Justice. ISBN 9780812249729.
  2. "Pierre Vogel". BoxRec. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  3. The Christian Science Monitor. "German universities move to train next generation of imams". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  4. "Protests in northern German city against Salafist preacher Vogel". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  6. "Ick bin ein Muslim jeworden". Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
  7. "An overview of Germany's Islamist scene". Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  8. "RTÉ Television - West of Mecca". Rte.ie. 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  9. "Kundgebung: Umstrittene Islam-Prediger sprechen in Frankfurt - Deutschland - FOCUS Online - Nachrichten" (in German). Focus.de. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  10. Matussek, Matthias (27 October 2010). "Wir werden die Religion nicht los" (in German). SPIEGEL Online. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  11. "Islamistische Missionierung im Saarland: Seite 2 of 2 | hpd" (in German). Hpd.de. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  12. "Online-Hetze gegen Selina" [Online incitement against Selina] (in German). SWR. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

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