Dr. Abdullah Basfar: The Sheikh Who Was Jailed for a Prayer at Hagia Sophia

Together for Justice renews its firm condemnation of the continued imprisonment of prominent Saudi academic and Qur’an reciter Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Basfar, who has now spent nearly five years behind bars under the rule of the Saudi regime. In October 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court — notorious for its politically motivated rulings — sentenced him to 12 years in prison under the pretext of the Counterterrorism Law, in a case that stands as a chilling example of how Saudi authorities criminalize peaceful religious expression and independent thought.

Dr. Basfar was arrested in August 2020 during a widespread crackdown targeting scholars, clerics, and academics whose religious or political views diverge from the regime’s strict narrative. Security forces raided his home in Jeddah without legal warrant or justification, forcibly disappeared him for several months, and denied him access to a lawyer or the outside world. During this time, no formal charges were filed, and his family was left in the dark about his whereabouts and condition.

It wasn’t until nearly a year later that he was brought before the court — not to receive justice, but to face a politically charged trial riddled with violations of due process. The charges stemmed primarily from an earlier visit he made to Istanbul, where he was invited to lead prayer at a mosque. During that visit, he offered a public supplication calling for the reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque — a statement that, in any functioning legal system, would be regarded as an exercise of religious expression, not a criminal offense.

Instead, Saudi authorities framed this simple, peaceful act as a national security threat. His prayer — broadcast to an audience of worshippers — was cited as evidence of political dissent and categorized under terrorism charges. The regime’s use of the Counterterrorism Law in such contexts reflects an alarming pattern in which faith-based speech and symbolic religious gestures are reinterpreted as crimes.

Sheikh Dr. Basfar is a distinguished scholar and a respected voice in the Islamic world. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sharia and Islamic Studies at King Abdulaziz University, and formerly served as Secretary-General of the International Organization for the Qur’an and Sunnah. With a voice known to millions across the Muslim world, he was once a celebrated ambassador for Saudi Arabia in international Qur’anic forums. But under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s authoritarian rule, even figures like Dr. Basfar — long associated with the kingdom’s religious prestige — have become targets of brutal repression.

According to legal observers and rights advocates, Dr. Basfar’s trial was marred by procedural flaws, denial of legal representation, and allegations of psychological abuse and coercion during interrogations. The court disregarded all evidence in his favor, including the lack of any incitement, violence, or illegal association. His sentence was based on vague accusations and coerced statements obtained under duress.

The continued imprisonment of Dr. Abdullah Basfar is a flagrant violation of his right to freedom of religion, expression, and movement, and demonstrates the Saudi regime’s growing hostility toward independent religious voices. The act of offering a prayer for the restoration of a mosque — a gesture of faith made outside Saudi borders — was distorted into a fabricated offense punishable by over a decade in prison.

Together for Justice holds the Saudi regime fully responsible for this injustice, and for the broader pattern of targeting clerics, academics, and peaceful dissenters under the guise of anti-terrorism.

We urgently call on the international community — including the United Nations, the European Union, and global human rights institutions — to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abdullah Basfar, and to launch a transparent and independent investigation into the abuses he has endured. The silence of the world in the face of such repression emboldens authoritarian regimes to escalate their assaults on freedoms. Dr. Abdullah Basfar is not a criminal. He is a prisoner of conscience, a victim of religious persecution, and a symbol of the silenced dignity of Saudi scholars.