[10] In Medina he studied with a student of the influential Salafi scholar ibn al Uthaymeen, while he also obtained a civil engineering degree in Sudan.
[11] His PhD thesis from SOAS, submitted in 2010, was on Islamic law and entitled "A critical analysis of selected aspects of Sunni Muslim minority fiqh, with particular reference to contemporary Britain.
[7] Haddad was also accused of praising Osama bin Laden in 2011 following the latter's death;[13][14] an allegation[15] for which he successfully claimed libel and a retraction from The Times.
[18] In addition to this he has also claimed that “the most honourable and worthy role for a woman is striving to be a fine wife...this role does not only secure the best for a woman in the hereafter, but also fits perfectly with her natural disposition”[19] He has claimed that there is a "proper" way of performing FGM,[9] further saying "it is consensus of all the scholars that female circumcision is sunnah [proper]".
[23][24] Opposition to al-Haddad and the mosque project as a whole was led by a local councillor, Alan Craig, who eventually in 2014 would join UKIP.
As part of the terms of settlement, the Telegraph contributed £62500[29] towards al-Haddad's legal costs, published a statement withdrawing the allegations, and apologised.