Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

FAROUK Abdul-Majeed, former president of the Islamic Council of Jamaica and a man who studied with Sheikh el-Faisal, has said that a love for the limelight may have been the downfall of the Jamaican-born terror preacher.

"I know him very well. I have never known him as a violent person but what I do know is that he has always loved the spotlight. He was not a controversial person.

He was not a person who had those kinds of thinking. I am a little bit surprised. When he returns, I would like to have a talk with him about some of these things we are hearing," Abdul-Majeed, who studied with Sheikh el-Faisal in Guyana during the 1980s, told The Gleaner.

Sheikh el-Faisal, a Jamaican-born Muslim preacher was convicted in Britain for inciting racial hatred. Among his ideologies, recorded and distributed on audio cassettes and DVDs is the eradication of non-Muslims.

Since the September 11 bombings in the United States, and the 7/7 bombings in London, Muslims have been under the microscope, as many Islamic extremists have been linked to these so-called terrorist attacks.

While being careful not to label his Muslim brother a terrorist, Abdul-Majeed said he cannot help but wonder if el-Faisal was influenced by extremists.

"If he has not been misquoted, his statements are ridiculous. His parents are Christians, his brother who is a policeman, is a Christian and for him to say kill non-believers is not just ridiculous, but is outside of Islam."