YouTube: Videos of controversial Dearborn cleric don't violate our guidelines Muslim-American leaders in metro Detroit disavow controversial Dearborn preacher Ahmed Jebril, saying he's not welcome at local mosques

Niraj Warikoo | Detroit Free Press

YouTube has determined that the videos of a local Muslim cleric said to have influenced one of the London Bridge suspects in an attack that killed seven do not violate the company's policy.

The video-sharing site, which is owned by Google, has reviewed the channel of Ahmad Musa Jebril, 45, of Dearborn, and concluded that the content does not advocate violence. YouTube currently is not planning to remove the videos.

YouTube said it is committed to removing videos that contain hate speech or incitement to commit violent acts, or are uploaded by members of groups designated by the U.S. as terrorist groups. YouTube said Jebril's videos didn't incite violence, but were on Islamic teachings such as interpretations of Islam's holy book, the Quran, behavior in Islam, fasting, and what Jebril sees as the limits of Western medicine.

"We want to make sure that terrorists do not have a voice and cannot spread extremist material on our services," Peter Barron, a vice president at Google, said in a statement to the Free Press.

"We are working urgently to improve and accelerate our ability to remove content which violates our policies and the law. These are complicated and challenging problems, but we know we can do better and we are committed to working with the government to ensure that we are part of a lasting solution."

While Jebril's videos on Islam have developed an online following, local Muslim leaders say that Jebril is not a true Muslim leader.

"As far as I know, he's not an imam," said Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, spiritual leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights and part of the Imam's Council of the Michigan Muslim Community Council.

"Imam" refers to a religious leader in the Muslim community.

"I never saw him in a Imam's Council meeting," Elahi said. "And he doesn't belong to any mosque. He doesn't represent any mosque."

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Suehaila Amen, a Muslim and Arab-American advocate in metro Detroit, said of Jebril: "In my 20 years of working in the community, I have never seen or heard of him. ... He was never someone among the respected clergy in our community. I don't know what mosque he went or where he supposedly preached."

Amen said Jebril was not "part of the active Muslim community in Dearborn."

Jebril, whose last name is often spelled Jibril on social media, was released from prison in 2012 after serving 6 1/2 years in prison for financial fraud and money laundering. Federal authorities have described him in court records as a "Shaykh," considered a religious leader or scholar in Islam. His followers also often describe him as a Shaykh.

Prosecutors said in a memo filed in that case: "Ahmad Jebril encouraged his students to spread Islam by the sword, to wage a holy war, to hate and kill non-Muslims."

Jebril was kicked out of two mosques in metro Detroit for his radical views, according to a 2014 report by the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence.

Jebril also drew criticism when he gave sermons seen as extremist to a Muslim group at the University of Michigan-Dearborn about 13 years ago, the report said.

The 2014 report also said Jebril is the most popular religious leader among ISIS fighters from the West and has communicated with ISIS fighters.

In 2005, Jibril and his father were convicted of 42 counts of fraud of almost $400,000 that included mail fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and failure to pay income tax.

Dr. Muzammil Ahmed, chairman of the Michigan Muslim Community Council, said Jebril is "considered an outcast from the metro Detroit Muslim community. He's not welcome in most mosques that I know. He's been around in the metro Detroit area for a long time. He's created a lot of controversy and tensions. He's not welcome."

Jebril could not be reached for comment.

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Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk, head of the Islamic Organization of North America mosque in Warren and co-chair of the Imam's Council of the Michigan Muslim Community Council, said that Jebril "has extremist views."

"I'm a co-chair of the Imam's Council and I have not seen him once" at meetings, Elturk said. "I have never heard anyone say that he's an imam or they pray behind him."

The London Bridge terror attacks have renewed concern about social media responsibility and the possibility of online radicalization.

A friend of one of the three attackers told the BBC: “He used to listen to a lot of (Ahmad) Musa Jibril. I have heard some of this stuff and it's very radical. I am surprised this stuff is still on YouTube and is easily accessible. I phoned the anti-terror hotline. I spoke to the gentleman. I told him about our conversation and why I think he was radicalized.”

But free speech experts say the U.S. has strong First Amendment protections that allow for speech that may seem hateful or extreme.

"Hate speech is fully protected under the First Amendment," said Distinguished Professor of Law Robert Sedler, who teaches constitutional law at Wayne State University. "We give more constitutional protection to freedom of speech in the constitution compared to other democratic nations."

However, Sedler added, companies such as YouTube and Google are private entities that have the right to ban or remove videos at their discretion.

Google and YouTube "have their First Amendment rights. They could kick him off if they wanted to. The government can't sanction them for kicking him off."

YouTube officials said their company works around the clock to remove videos that contain hate speech or incitement to violence.

Since 2008, the company has placed a "promotes terrorism" flag under videos. If a user flags the video, it is reviewed by YouTube. It also will terminate any account held by someone who is with a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a label used by the U.S. State Department to describe groups it says are terrorist organizations.

Social media sites have faced criticism for not acting quicker to crack down on ISIS, but YouTube says it is taking steps.

In December, YouTube announced a partnership with Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter to stop the spread of terrorism content.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo.