Iyad Abdul-Hafiz Hamadeh Quneibi (born in Salmiya, Kuwait, 1975 AD) is an Islamic preacher, Jordanian academic, associate professor of pharmacology and lecturer in pharmacology, clinical pharmacy and medication, and toxicology in some Jordanian universities, and a YouTube content creator. Quneibi is described as being close to the Salafi-jihadi movement to the extent that he was described as "one of the most prominent theorists" of this movement, but he rejects that description and considers it a "restriction of his call". He has been imprisoned more than once for his intellectual publications, and he has links with Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the ideologue of the Salafi-jihadi movement in Jordan. Observers say he is the ideological thinker of the Al-Nusra Front fighting in Syria. Despite this, Quneibi is not officially affiliated with any Islamist organization, including the Salafi-jihadi current, despite his closeness to it ideologically. Birth and upbringing He was born on the sixteenth of Shawwal 1395 AH corresponding to October 22, 1975 AD, in the city of Salmiya, Kuwait, to a Jordanian family. But his family moved to Amman, the capital of Jordan, as a child, and his parents were from the city of Hebron in Palestine. His scientific life Quneibi worked for the Jordanian Company for Pharmaceutical Production for a year and a half, in the Research and Development Department and the Drug Information Department. Iyad was particularly interested in reading books of interpretation and the Prophet's biography, and memorizing the Qur'an with the chain of transmission related to the Prophet Muhammad according to the narration of Hafs from Asim by Sheikh Abd al-Rahman bin Ali al-Mahmoud. Before that, he obtained a license to read the Qur’an based on the narration of Hafs on the authority of Asim. Academic Work He worked at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Applied Sciences in Amman, and Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Jerash University, and worked as a part-time lecturer at the University of Jordan and the University of Science and Technology, was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2013. Dr. Iyad Qunaibi was awarded the Best Researcher Award at the College Pharmacy at the University of Applied Sciences in Jordan. He obtained his PharmD degree in 2003 from the University of Houston, USA, in Texas. His views: Observers say that Qunaibi is the ideological thinker of the Al-Nusra Front fighting in Syria, and Qunaibi believes that Jabhat al-Nusra (which is the arm of Al-Qaeda in Syria) represents a "regenerative current in Al-Qaeda", and that "its leader is keen to cooperate with other Islamic factions", and "He avoids showing his affiliation with al-Qaeda." Quneibi praised what he described as "the purity of the front's approach, the good morals of its fighters, its good relationship with other fighting factions, its affection for the general public, and its good management of the liberated areas it controls." Al-Qunaibi criticized Jordan's invitation to former Israeli President Shimon Peres and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the World Economic Forum held in Shouneh on the shore of the Dead Sea in May 2015, as well as the signing of a memorandum of understanding to import gas from Israel. He also criticized Jordan's participation in the Paris march against terrorism after the attack on the satirical newspaper "Charlie Hebdo" in 2015. He also criticized the establishment of festivals with the participation of young men and women, fashion shows and other events, and said: "These are all new and unprecedented signs in Jordanian society that are added to the evils and calamities." many old ones. In 2015, Al-Qunaibi attacked ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, describing him as the "alleged caliph", criticizing his positions in both Syria and Afghanistan, accusing him of stabbing Muslims in the back and aiding "infidels against Muslims." And he talked about the dispute between the Islamic State and the Taliban, saying that “individuals in Afghanistan deceived Al-Baghdadi in issuing (and on that day the believers will rejoice 1) accusing the Taliban of allying with the Pakistani intelligence against them and declaring war on the Taliban and threatening revenge for their comrades who were killed in battles they made with the Taliban, and waving to kill the mullah. Omar, citing the hadith: (If allegiance is given to two caliphs, then kill the other of them), on the grounds that al-Baghdadi is a caliph who must be heard and obeyed! Are they going to fight the real enemy?!" Quneibi also warned more than once of the "danger" of ISIS, but he refuses to launch an international war against it. Arrests Quneibi was arrested because of his sermons four times. The General Intelligence Department arrested him for the first time on January 15, 2010, for twenty days. Quneibi was re-arrested in 2013 and charged by the State Security Court with carrying out illegal acts that would "disturb the peace of their relations" with foreign countries. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, then the Court of Cassation overturned the sentence and declared that he was not responsible for what was attributed to him. He was again arrested by the General Intelligence Department on June 16, 2015, and the State Security Court transferred him to "Al-Muwaqar 2" prison in Jordan on charges of "promoting Islamic groups" and "inciting" to undermine the regime in Jordan, against the background of articles he published on his website in which he criticized the regime's policies. Jordanian. On December 7, 2015, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, then the sentence was reduced to two years. Human Rights Watch criticized the ruling and considered it “indicating a tougher approach by the authorities towards crimes related to freedom of expression.” On May 16, 2016, the State Security Court reduced the sentence to one year, and then released him only a day after the decision was issued.