Investigate Ramzy Ajem
A formal FBI-grade investigation is absolutely necessary to understand the depth and breadth of Ramzy Ajem's (and his team's) cruelty and fraud. It is the right of every victim as well as the right of the community these men seek to "serve."
It is very difficult to investigate Abdullah el-Haddad alone. He lives in Morocco and we all know how law-abiding the Muslim world is. There are numerous other reports about him that require investigation and verification. Ramzy Ajem, however, is sitting on a lawsuit right now. He, and his teammates as well his wife Naeemah Martinez ("Ustadha"), have their finger prints all over the place. All of them must be investigated.
Various Audits
The investigation should be conducted by a panel of lawyers and Islamic scholars. The panel should be made public so biases can be identified. We don't want "students of the shaykh" investigating the Shaykh. The investigation must include various audits:
- Counselling Audit (social and religious counselling)
- Operational Audit: Employment contracts, salaries, board, governance, etc.
- Financial Audit: spending, endorsement payments, facility contractors, financial oversight, etc.
These audits should include a few key activities:
- Interview victims, here and abroad. Investigators must create a safe and secure space for victims to come forward and share their experiences. Their identities must be protected. Some victims fear "consequences." Slander, gossip, and community blacklisting are common consequences for speaking up. "Fulan has X problem" becomes a common theme. Someone has a dog problem, someone has father issues, and someone has an ego problem. Everyone has problems except these "shaykhs." Ofcourse, victims don't really stick around to defend themselves. Often they are disgusted and leave the community altogether and in some cases, they leave Islam. How many even reach out to victims?
- There are dozens of people including community members, victims, and their families that should be interviewed.
- Thoroughly analyze submitted emails, text transcripts, and all forms of media.
- Shariah Audit: Scholars should review counselling efforts by these men from a Shariah standpoint. There are numerous instances of fiqh-fooling.
- Investigators should have access to all of Risalah Foundation's email accounts and documents.
Financial Audit
Ramzy Ajem is not a trustworthy man. He is dishonest and shamelessly misleads. I don't know how he can be a saint in financial matters knowing he lives in Toronto (expensive place), has a family to feed, and is known to have "money problems" (coming from victims and community members). He has also been fundraising for the Mother Zawiya using Risalah Foundation's resources. A thorough financial audit is absolutely essential. Investigators should appoint third-party auditors to go through all of Risalah Foundation's financial accounts since inception. Auditors should be made public as well. I have seen instances of "buddy auditors" rubber stamping reports. Several members of the community have already notified the CRA for a financial audit.
Credential Audit
Psychiatric Assessment
Endorser Interrogations
Investigators must also interrogate each of the following endorsers:
- Imam Zaid Shakir
- Umar Faruq Abd-Allah
- Walead Mosaad
- Talal Ahdab
- Hamdi Ben Aissa
- Ahmad Saad Al-Azhari
- Faraz Rabbani
- Mustafa Ghani
Over the years, these men have endorsed and facilitated Ramzy Ajem and some of his team members. Some of them, like Imam Zaid Shakir, get paid for their endorsements. Endorsement payments should be made public.
Investigations and audit reports each for Ramzy Ajem, Mohamed Mahmoud, Ramy Elhamalawy, and Shelby Haque should be published for the community.
Lastly, victims should be consulted about what they would like to see happen. As per the Shariah, they have the right to seek revenge. "An eye for an eye." Financial loss for a financial loss. Just calculating based on lost time, Ramzy Ajem and his team are in for decades of lost time across all the victims. That's not counting the broader scammed community.
All of this is a very big lift. It demonstrates maturity and accountability at a community level. I don't have confidence that we will get through even a small portion of this in a respectable manner.