Muhammad Jibreel

Early life and education

He was born in the village of Tahuriya, in the Shibin al-Qanatir district north of Cairo. He had memorised the whole Quran by the age of nine and won Egypt's national Quran competition several times. He graduated from Al-Azhar University with a degree in Sharia and law.

The Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As

In 1988 he was appointed Tarawih imam at the Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As, the oldest mosque in Africa. His devout voice and long supplications drew enormous crowds, especially on the 27th night of Ramadan, causing serious congestion in Old Cairo. During Ramadan he also used to lead prayers in major mosques and Islamic centres in Europe and America before returning to Cairo for the 27th night.

In 1996 he founded the International Islamic Centre for Quranic Sciences (Dar Ubayy ibn Ka'b) in Cairo. He has presented religious programmes including Aya wa Du'a ("A Verse and a Supplication") on Egyptian television and Ahbab Allah on Jordanian television, co-hosted with Dr Ahmad Nawfal.

The 2015 ban

On the 27th night of Ramadan 1436, 13 July 2015, his supplication against "tyrant leaders" and corrupt media was deemed political by Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments: Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa barred him from preaching and leading prayers in the mosques under the ministry, and on 15 July he was stopped at Cairo airport from flying to London. On 27 October 2015 the Court of Administrative Justice overturned the travel ban, and he subsequently settled in London.

Recordings

His complete murattal recitation of the Quran follows the reading of Hafs 'an 'Asim. He has also recorded a teaching mushaf (mu'allim), a recitation accompanied by a translation, and a recitation in Ibn Kathir's reading as transmitted by al-Bazzi and Qunbul.