#MosqueMeToo: Poignant allegations emerge from report on Fatih Seferagic

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Facing Abuse in Community Environments (FACE), an organization based in the United States, has released a report laying out serious allegations against Fatih Seferagic. Seferagic, a German-born narrator, traveled to South Africa in April to lead prayers during Ramadan. His visit drew backlash and criticism online, citing the investigation into the sexual abuse allegations against Seferagic.

FACE’s investigation found that there were several substantiated allegations ranging from drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual assault, sexual violence, physical abuse, embezzlement, spiritual abuse, d misconduct at work and reckless transmission of a sexually transmitted disease. There were primary allegations of sexual and physical abuse and secondary allegations of embezzlement.

The full report is available here.

Responding to the report through an Instagram post, Seferagic denied the allegations. He says all the allegations have been fabricated and are completely baseless. Seferagic also urged those who had raised the allegations to file formal complaints with law enforcement. Until such action is taken, there will be no further comment from me on it, he said.

We are completing phase 1 of a 4-phase process in the public inquiry into credible allegations of abuse made against Quran reciter and social media influencer Fatih Seferagic. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/hfSM7suOEq

– FACE (@facingabuse) July 30, 2020

In 2020, FACE opened an investigation into the allegations against Seferagic. The investigation lasted for a year between July 10, 2020 and August 31, 2021. The organization announced in July 2020 that it was completing the first phase of a four-phase public inquiry into the allegations against Seferagic. FACE said it learned of the public outcry over the allegations in June 2020. During its investigation, it interviewed 12 victims and 36 sources.

Seferagic noted that he had only had 48 hours to respond to the FACE survey, thus attracting close scrutiny of the methodology. FACE told the Daily Vox that, as noted in its report, they received calls from people who identified themselves as members of Mr. Seferagic’s legal and management team as early as July 15, 2020, five days after FACE announced the launch of the investigation.

FACE is a nonprofit organization that aims to foster safe community environments by holding abusive religious and community leaders to account. They did this by investigating various religious or community leaders. The organization notes on its website that the findings are not part of criminal proceedings. Instead, the organization said the purpose of the reports is to educate the community and potential employers so they can make informed decisions when engaging with the topic of the survey.

In addition to its investigation of Seferagic, the organization conducted surveys of four other people from 2018 to 2021. They also compiled a list of religious or community leaders who allegedly publicly abused their positions of power.

Several organizations previously affiliated with Seferagic have cut ties with him. A UK charity, Human Appeal ended their relationship with him ahead of an event he was due to lead in July. The organization said: take community concerns seriously and always seek to uphold the values ​​of transparency and accountability.

Seferagic initially announced plans to travel to South Africa for the first ten days of Ramadan via a Twitter post. The message was then deleted. He made no mention of any organization hosting him. Seferagic posted prayers from several mosques in the Western Cape on his Facebook page, but the names and locations were not publicly disclosed. His trip to South Africa was also cut short by five days according to the FACE report.

It is still unclear who the South African hosts of Seferagics were.

American Qari Fatih Seferagic, accused of several allegations of sexual assault, led Taraweeh’s prayers in four different Masjieds in the Western Cape. On Friday and Saturday night, he was seen directing Taraweeh to Masjidul Mahir in Schaapkraal, despite an outcry from the community. pic.twitter.com/nfmByomxeX

– Ward? H Wilkinson (@WardahWilkinson) April 17, 2021

After Seferagic’s visit to South Africa, two Muslim women, Lameesah Soeker and Sumaya Adams formed an organization. The organization is called People Eradicating Abuse in Community Environments (PEACE). The aim of the organization is to create a safe environment for victims of abuse by holding religious and community leaders accountable. They plan to focus on sexual, spiritual, financial and physical abuse.

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Featured Image via Facebook

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