Philips moved with his family to Sabah, East Malaysia in 1964, as his parents were part of the Colombo Plan.

Berger, some of the US military men and women who participated in his revival program were later recruited as volunteer trainers in the 1992–95 Bosnian War.

[17] When asked in an interview with author Berger about his statement, he explains that he opposes the effort by "globalized western civilization" to "push ... secular democracy ... down the throats of the rest of the world.

[21] The chairman of the Luton Islamic Centre has said Philips' comments that were posted on its website contained errors and that it should not have been categorized as "suicide bombings" because he was referring to military operations as opposed to harming innocent people.

[21] In an interview in Austrolabe, republished in Muslim Matters, Philips calls himself a "moderate" and the claim that he is an extremist "baseless".

[13] Philips has responded to such criticism by stating he is a moderate[17] who does not endorse terrorism or the use of suicide bombings in Islam.

[23][14] Philips has been banned from entering the United Kingdom,[21] Australia,[24] Denmark[25] and Kenya,[26] banned from re-entering Germany,[27] ordered to leave Bangladesh,[28] because of his extreme views[18] and arrested in and deported from the Philippines[29] for "inciting and recruiting people to conduct terrorist activities.

[34][35] In 2014, the publisher of a book authored by Philips entitled "The Fundamentals of Tawheed" was arrested by armed officers during a raid of Islamic institutions in Prague.

[18] Law enforcement officials claimed Philips' book "incites xenophobia and violence" and insisted it was racist.

"[18] In June 2014, the Bangladeshi intelligence service ordered Phillips, who had come to Dhaka to give lectures, to leave the country.

[23][37] The director of the Philippine National Police in Southern Mindanao, said Philips was questioned for his possible links with terror groups including the ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria).

[13] In the April 2016 issue of Dabiq Magazine, The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, declared Philips to be a murtadd (or apostate)[41] and threatened to kill him for denouncing ISIS.

[45] In May 2017, Philips was banned from entering Denmark[25] for two years along with other preachers including Salman al-Ouda and Terry Jones.