Quran Revolution founder sentenced to 80 years on child pornography charges

(RNS) — A frail Texas imam and online Quran instructor who became once charged with conspiracy to execute child pornography has been sentenced to 80 years in prison, in accordance to federal court paperwork. 

Wisam Sharieff became once sentenced on Wednesday (Jan. 28) within the Alabama Northern District Court docket, extra than six months after he entered a responsible plea on three federal child sexual exploitation charges. He became once additionally ordered to pay $135,000 to a fund for victims of child sexual abuse. His co-defendant, Blake Miller Barakat, became once sentenced to 70 years final October.

The frail high-profile imam’s arrest two years within the past and facts of allegations made on hand in court data sparked outrage for some Muslim Americans and led to conversations about how to again alleged spiritual abusers responsible. 

According to the indictment, Sharieff and Barakat, an Alabama girl he became once instructing, allegedly conspired together to coerce Barakat’s child to engage in sexually impart habits for the reason for producing pornography. FBI particular agent Eric Salvador reported in a sworn affidavit that electronic devices and sexual toys enjoy been seized from Barakat’s region. Officers additionally discovered a personal chat on the Telegram messaging app wherein Sharieff despatched impart movies of himself, and the messages showed that the mum despatched impart movies of her child viewing adult pornography, in accordance to the affidavit. 

Sharieff’s lawyers had asked the court for the minimum punishment in accordance to federal sentencing pointers. In a court submitting days sooner than his sentencing, Sharieff’s companion, sister, a first rate friend and others submitted character letters attesting to his “feel sorry about since his arrest” and announcing “that he has expressed disgrace, accountability, and a right desire to alternate.”

Prior to his arrest, Sharieff became once an online Quranic instructor for the educational nonprofit AlMaghrib Institute, RNS previously reported. He became once identified for organising the institute’s Quran Revolution program, a most traditional curriculum for studying Quran recitation. His employment became once terminated after the institute investigated the allegations in opposition to him. 

Whereas in FCI Talladega, a medium-security federal prison in Alabama, Sharieff wrote a children’s e book about studying from errors. He additionally wrote dozens of journal entries and e book opinions, in accordance to his Prison Professors profile. In a March 2025 blog post, Sharieff attributed his conduct to pornography addiction.

Nonetheless, Sameera Qureshi, a Muslim sexual nicely being therapist, mentioned the utilization of language surrounding behavioral addiction may perchance per chance be cross in some circumstances.

“Whereas ‘addiction’ can occasionally relief portray patterns of habits, it is miles going to never be conventional to soften accountability or obscure harm,” Qureshi wrote in a Wednesday Instagram post referring to Sharieff. “In particular when that harm involves the abuse of energy and the violation of a child’s dignity.”

In fresh years, quite loads of Muslim organizations enjoy fashioned spherical investigating spiritual and sexual abuse. Experts enjoy mentioned that Muslim communities, treasure hundreds of non secular groups, occasionally fail to glimpse that sexual abuse can occur by respected spiritual leaders, which may acquire interior accountability elusive. And in accordance to examine by the Hurma Venture, a Muslim neighborhood that objectives to defend in opposition to abuse, assault and exploitation, many Muslim American congregations enjoy no longer built ample “methods of accountability for misconduct all thru the neighborhood.”