Habib Muhammad Rizieq bin Hussein Shihab (Arabic: مُحَمَّد رِزْق شِهَاب, romanized: Muḥammad Rizq Šihāb, pronounced [mʊˈħæmmæd rizq ʃihaːb]; most commonly known as Habib Rizieq;[1][2] born 24 August 1965) is an Indonesian Islamist cleric, the founder[3] and leader of the Islamist group Islamic Defenders Front (Indonesian: Front Pembela Islam, abbreviated as FPI), which was banned by the government in December 2020.

[4] Following his return to Indonesia, he was arrested in late 2020, accused of criminal incitement for holding crowded events that violated the COVID-19 pandemic regulations.

Considered by neighbors to be a troublesome youth with a penchant for getting into fights, his family sent Rizieq to Saudi Arabia in 1990 to study at King Saud University, majoring in Usul al-fiqh and Education, which he completed in four years with Cum Laude.

[11] In 2012, he returned to Malaysia and was admitted to a doctoral program[12] in Da'wah and Management program at Fakulti Kepemimpinan dan Pengurusan (Faculty of Leadership and Administration) at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), and started working on his dissertation titled "مناهج التميز بين الأصول والفروع عند أهل السنة والجماعة" (The Distinction of Origins and Branches of Ahl Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah) under supervision of Prof. Dr. Kamaluddin Nurdin Marjuni and Dr. Ahmed Abdul Malek of Nigeria.

To make ends meet, Rizieq owned and operated a small store selling perfume and Muslim goods.

[18] Rizieq worked as a high school teacher for about one year in Saudi Arabia after he finished his undergraduate study, before returning to Indonesia in 1992.

[21] Rizieq was jailed for seven months in 2003 for inciting his young, white-shirted followers, who often would hide their faces bandit-style behind handkerchiefs, to attack nightspots in Jakarta with clubs and stones.

[22] On 5 October 2008, Rizieq was jailed for one and half years due to a violent attack against the National Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Faith (Aliansi Kebangsaan untuk Kebebasan Beragama dan Berkeyakinan, AKKBB)[23] which was holding a demonstration at Monas on 5 June 2008.

So Ash'ari and Maturidi, which representing Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, are included in the group along with the misguided JIL which in fact is misleading.

Moreover, the adherent Muslims of the Ash'ari and Maturidi have been around for over 1000 years as the representatives of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah, while the Wahhabism is just born yesterday (recently), but yet continuously wants to call Ash'arites as infidels.

In an article posted on official Islamic Defenders Front website titled "True Mu'min" he wrote that Muslims should reject pluralism, secularism, acceptance of LGBT, zina, pornography, and voting for non-Muslim leaders even when it's allowed by constitution.

He wrote:[37][38]True Mu'min must reject secularism, pluralism, liberalism, LGBT, apostasy, heresy, shamanism, corruption, khamr, drugs, gambling, prostitution, adultery, pornography, pornoaction, injustice, tyranny, immorality, evilness, and leadership of a kafir over muslims, even when the constitution permits it because Qur'an and sunnah forbid it.On 26 April 2017, Rizieq left Indonesia for Saudi Arabia on a visa to perform a minor pilgrimage (umroh).

[46] His departure came after he was summoned by police as a witness for questioning over alleged pornography involving the exchange of graphic messages and nude photos with a woman named Firza Hussein.

[52] In September 2018, the Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said Rizieq had overstayed his visa and lacked a valid permit to remain in the country.

[53] The statement came after he was reportedly questioned and detained by Saudi Arabian police because an ISIL flag was allegedly flown at his home.

[60] Ignoring government regulations on COVID-19 health protocols for social distancing, thousands of Rizieq's supporters went to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to welcome him home on 10 November 2020, creating traffic jams and delaying multiple flights.

[61] Rizieq reiterated his call for a moral revolution while addressing events that attracted crowds around his home in Jakarta's Petamburan neighborhood, and also at Megamendung district in Bogor regency.

[64] The Indonesian military, police and public order officials subsequently removed around 900 banners of Rizieq that been erected around Jakarta.

He later checked into Rumah Sakit UMMI in Bogor, West Java, claiming "tiredness after a long journey" after police said they may summon him over the gatherings.

[70][71] Indonesia's COVID-19 Task Force said that while Indonesian law protects the privacy of patients, the result of any swab test should be disclosed to the proper authorities in the interest of contact tracing.

[73] On 2 December 2020, Rizieq apologized for the crowds at four of his gatherings and said he would pay a Rp50 million fine imposed by the Jakarta administration.

However, earlier that morning, Rizieq and members of his family were reportedly being driven at about 12:30am to attend a pre-dawn prayer meeting, escorted by two cars of bodyguards.

[79][80] Police on 10 December 2020 charged Rizieq with incitement of criminal acts and obstructing law enforcement for holding mass gatherings at Petamburan that breached COVID-19 health protocols.

[84] On 16 March, by which time the technical problem had been resolved, one of Rizieq's lawyers, Munarman, said the defense team would not participate in an online trial.

[85] On 19 March, the presiding judge, Suparman Nyompa, rejected Rizieq's request to be tried in person at East Jakarta District Court, saying his presence would attract a large crowd of supporters.

[86] Following Rizieq's refusal to cooperate, the presiding judge on 23 March said that in order for the trial to run smoothly, it would be held offline.

[88] On 24 March 2021, the same court sentenced Rizieq to four years in jail for spreading false information by claiming to be healthy despite having tested positive to COVID-19.