Omar Al Kazabri

Training

The son of Sheikh Ahmad al-Qazabri, a scholar from Marrakech, he learned the Quran from his father and had memorised it before the age of eleven. He earned his secondary diploma in traditional Islamic education (ta'lim asil) at the Ibn Youssef school in Marrakech.

After his father's death he left for Saudi Arabia around 1997 and stayed for five years. He attended the Islamic Institute in Mecca and studied the Quranic sciences with several teachers, including Sheikh Mahmoud Ismail, an Al-Azhar scholar, and Sheikh Ahmed Issa al-Ma'sarawi, a specialist in the ten readings. He also led prayers at several mosques in Jeddah and Mecca, notably the university mosque in Jeddah.

Imam in Morocco

Back in Morocco, he became imam and preacher of the Bab al-Rayyan Mosque in the Al-Oulfa district of Casablanca, where his prayers drew thousands of worshippers. After the Casablanca bombings of 16 May 2003 he was asked to stop leading prayers there. He then returned to Mecca, where he was invited to lead prayers at the Ibn Baz Mosque, before being chosen by Morocco's Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs as imam of the Hassan II Mosque, a role he took up in Ramadan 2005.

He has also represented Morocco abroad, inaugurating a mosque in Offenbach, near Frankfurt in Germany, and giving lectures in France.

Recitation

He has recorded a complete murattal recitation of the Quran in the Warsh transmission, as well as surahs in the Hafs transmission. His prayers at the Hassan II Mosque are widely followed and broadcast, in Morocco and beyond.