Ustaz Grifter: Man whose wife and baby slept rough in Europe on ‘vacation’ accused of rape, sexual assault and embezzlement

After gaining widespread notoriety over a (now taken down) Twitter post describing how he and his wife and (unvaccinated!) toddler spent a sojourn in Europe sleeping mostly on park benches, save for the occasional hotel check-in to shower, wash clothes, and take food from the breakfast buffet, the man behind the original post has found himself making headlines yet again.

We probably don’t need to tell you that the guy who posted boastfully about how his wife and baby sleept rough in Europe without complaining is almost certainly some kind of dirtbag.© Provided by Coconuts Media Limited

However, if a Facebook post gaining widespread attention this week is to be believed, he also stands accused of rape, embezzlement and wayward religious teachings.

Let’s dive in, shall we?!

A social media user known as Zakat Faiz brought an unseemly light onto himself in late September after his (now deleted) Twitter and Facebook posts began to make the rounds on social media.

Many were appalled that someone complaining about the cost of travel (almost 50 euros a day, he cried) would take it upon themselves to still make the trip, and have their family endure unsafe and uncomfortable conditions while in foreign lands.© Provided by Coconuts Media Limited

Well, one social media user recognized the man in the photos and took to her Facebook to reveal appalling allegations and police reports made against Zakat Faiz.

Sha Ramson Abdullah alleges that our budget traveling troubadour is not just the level of cheapskate who would have his baby sleep rough in the park, but he’s also a man with no less than seven police reports lodged against him, including rape accusations.

The woman writes that the suspect, who she refers to as ustaz (religious teacher), initially begged her to not file a rape report herself, saying that his parents were ill and that the matter would cause great stress for them. She writes that she felt sorry for him, and obliged.

However, she was not his only, nor his first alleged victim, and before his attack, he was accused of sexually assaulting another woman. His previous victim filed a police report against him; however, there is no indication what, if any, action was taken on the matter.

Sha Ramson details that one of his victims was a woman whose husband was in Mecca doing umrah (like a mini-Hajj) when the suspect tried to “persuade” the woman to sleep with him. When her husband returned from abroad, a police report was filed against him.

She claims that in July 2017, a musyawarah on the matter was held. While she makes no clarification of the parties involved, the term implies a council-ish meeting usually involving community stakeholders.

At the meeting, she alleges that in the deposition, the ustaz gave a false statement that contradicted the victim’s claims and report. She then added that in her learnings with the man, he taught his disciples that the teacher was always above the husband in authority.

Of course, this made him the omnipotent force.

Sexual assault allegations were not the only indiscretions on his rap sheet: Many of his former students have accused the ustaz of raising funds to start a(n unauthorized!) school only pay off his own debts that he had racked up, to the tune of RM100,000 (US$25,000).

At the time, she alleges that he made a Facebook post claiming that God had helped him pay off the debts, without mentioning the ill-gotten donations.

© Provided by Coconuts Media Limited

A screencap of a conversation in a WhatsApp group between the accused and his students shows the ustaz belittling the money raised by some of his pupils. He told them if they didn’t have enough, they shouldn’t bother him.

He then exited the group, leaving the students high and dry.

Prior to his European vacation, Sha Ramson alleges that the ustaz had begun soliciting donations from the public, claiming that he wanted to further his religious education. Shortly after, he went viral on social media for his shoe-string, homeless European travels.

Through her post, Sha Ramson hopes that the ustaz will be held accountable not only for the claims of rape and assault against him, but also that he will stop using religious education as a front to take money from naïve followers.

We’ve reached out to Sha Ramson for comment, and will let you know if she responds. We were unable to locate the ustaz’s social media accounts, leading us to believe he may have disabled them.