Khaled Al-Rashed

Khalid bin Muhammad bin Hamad al-Rashed is a Saudi preacher who was imam and khateeb of the Fahd bin Muflih al-Subaie Mosque in al-Khobar and general supervisor of the Qawafil al-A'ideen wa'l-A'idat website. ^{1 2}

English and Arabic Wikipedia give his birth as 1970 (1390 AH) in Saudi Arabia, while Alkarama's profile gives a different birth date, 18 March 1962; the disagreement is recorded here without being resolved. ^{2 1}

According to the Arabic article, he studied under Ibn Baz for eleven years, and under Ibn Jibrin, Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak and Abdullah al-Saad. ¹

He became known for his sermon "Ya Ummat Muhammad" (O nation of Muhammad), delivered in protest at the Danish cartoons, in which he demanded the closure of the Danish embassy. ²

Accounts of his arrest differ: Alkarama states that he was arrested on 19 March 2006 in Mecca while performing Umrah, while Sanad links his arrest to 2005, after the Danish-cartoons sermon; both accounts are reported here with their attribution. ^{2 1}

He was first sentenced to five years' imprisonment; on appeal in 2009 the sentence was tripled to fifteen years, and when that term ended in 2020 he was not released; he was retried and given eight further years, then seventeen more, bringing his total to forty years, according to the USCIRF victims database, which lists him as not released. ^{3 2}

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in its Opinion No. 4/2007, held that his detention rested solely on his political activities and contravened Articles 9 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as reported by the English article. ²

His recorded sermons and lessons, made before his arrest, circulate through his official website (khaled-alrashed.com) and through sites, apps and channels run by others; he has no personal YouTube channel, having been imprisoned before any personal presence on the platform. ²

• English Wikipedia article "Khalid Rashid".
• Arabic Wikipedia article "خالد بن محمد الراشد".
• USCIRF Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List entry for Khaled Al-Rashed.