(RNS) — Imam Wisam Sharieff, an online Quranic instructor for the nonprofit AlMaghrib Educational Institute, was arrested following a criminal complaint filed by the FBI accusing him of conspiracy to produce child pornography, according to a public affairs official for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. in the Northern District of Alabama.

FBI Special Agent Eric Salvador reported details of the allegations in a Birmingham, Alabama-documented affidavit dated Oct. 29, alleging that a woman who was an online student of Sharieff said that the The instructor told him “that reaching an orgasm would help him spiritually.” and enable him to communicate better with Allah,” according to the affidavit.

The woman allegedly sent Sharieff videos of herself and her minor daughter “engaging in sexual acts on themselves” so he “could guide them and let them know how far they were progressing in their quest to get closer to Allah. If true, these actions would constitute a federal crime.

The affidavit says electronic devices and sex toys were seized from the woman’s home and agents discovered a private conversation on Telegram, an encrypted instant messaging app, that indicated Sharieff had sent explicit videos of himself -even. It also revealed that the mother had sent explicit videos of her child watching adult pornography, according to the affidavit.

The conversation also allegedly included messages from Sharieff encouraging the mother to trust him with her secrets and asking when he could “work on the Quran” with her child.

Sharieff was reported to the Alabama Department of Human Resources by a person who identified herself as Sharieff’s wife on October 15.

Sharieff has not made any public statements since the complaint was filed, and attempts to reach him have gone unanswered.

In an article from Friday (November 1) On the social media platform The post goes on to claim that the institute determined that this action violated its code of conduct and terminated Sharieff’s employment contract.

Sharieff, who lives in Texas, is known for creating the AlMaghrib Institute program. Koranic revolution program, a popular program for learning Quran recitation that claims to have helped thousands of people. He is also the founder of Advocating the Quranic way of life, which proposes to teach students “personal development through the Quranic way of life – recitation, prayer and supplication – to empower the mind, body and soul”.

According to archived versions on his website, Sharieff studied for three years at the Islamic Institute of Education, a boarding school for grades 6 through 12 in Elgin, Illinois, under Mufti Abdullah Saleem, the founder of school. In 2016, Saleem was sentenced of sexually abusing a former student and a former employee of the school.

In a public statement On Monday, the AlMaghrib Institute said it was “horrified” by these allegations, which it described as “shocking and sickening”. The statement said the alleged communications between Sharieff and the woman took place via a private chat, not on AlMaghrib’s educational platform, and that the child was not a student at the institute.

The statement also said it has “zero tolerance” for romantic relationships between instructors and students and that upon receiving notice of possible violations of the code of conduct, the institute undertook its own investigation. Although the institute “did not have access to the law enforcement investigation,” it concluded that Sharieff had violated institute rules and fired him.

“Our country’s justice system will now deal with Wisam Sharieff, and we ask Allah to bring comfort to the victims and bring healing to our community,” the statement said. “The religion of Allah does not depend on any particular individual, and the Quranic Revolution program will continue with our students as planned. »

MuslimMatters, an online media outlet that previously interviewed Sharieff and published transcripts of his lectures, published a statement On Tuesday, the media declared “broken all association” with him. MuslimMatters called the allegations a “serious violation” of the ethical principles of the Quran and offered a list of resources for reporting and preventing abuse.

The Asiyah Women’s Center, an emergency center for victims of domestic violence serving Muslims, hosted a therapist-led Zoom event On Monday evening, community members will be able to mourn together in light of the allegations. Sarah Sultan, AlMaghrib trainer, reminded readers Instagram that an individual’s “heinous actions and failures” have no power to replace their faith in Allah.

Other experts also spoke. In a Facebook postAbu Eesa, senior instructor at the AlMaghrib Institute, thanked the organization for taking the allegations seriously and addressing them publicly. “I hope that this will serve as an example in the future for these organizations so that they do not hesitate to act quickly and effectively and do not worry about public opinion but rather about the Deen of Allah and their responsibility towards it.”

Ingrid Mattson, a prominent Muslim scholar and former president of the Islamic Society of North America, published a thread on noting that while spiritual abuse is shocking, it should no longer be surprising: “We have heard too many tragic reports of the abuse of children by those charged with raising them and those who teach them their faith. It is irresponsible to remain in a state of willful ignorance of these realities. »

This story has been updated to reflect the arrest of Wisam Sharieff.