Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi (; born 7 May 1963) is a Syrian Islamic scholar and religious leader. He has opposed both Bashar al-Assad and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Early life and background Al-Yaqoubi was born in Damascus, Syria. He comes from a family of Islamic scholars that traces its roots back to Morocco and has taught the Islamic sciences for centuries. His father, Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi (d. 1985) was a scholar. His paternal grandfather Ismail al-Yaqoubi (d. 1960) was a scholar and Sufi master. His father's maternal uncle was Arabi al-Yaqoubi (d. 1965), and his paternal uncle was Sharif al-Yaqoubi (d. 1943). Amongst al-Yaqoubi's predecessors three have held the post of Maliki Imam at the Grand Umayyad Mosque of Damascus. Al-Yaqoubi is a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, tracing his lineage through Mawlay Idris al-Anwar, (founder of the city of Fès), who was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad. Education Al-Yaqoubi's father took care of his upbringing, and he was both his teacher and spiritual master. His father gave him several ijazah, or certificates of authority to teach, narrate and issue legal rulings under Islamic law. Al-Yaqoubi also received training from his father in Sufism, until he attained qualification as a murshid and the rank of a spiritual master in the Sufi tradition. Al-Yaqoubi has also received ijazat from prominent scholars of Syria including: the Maliki Mufti of Syria, Makki al-Kittani; the Hanafi Mufti of Syria, Muhammad Abul Yusr Abidin; Ali al-Boudaylimi of Tlemcen, Abdul Aziz Uyun al-Sud, Salih al-Khatib, Zayn al-'Abideen at-Tounisi, Muhammad Wafa al-Qassaaband and Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri of Damascus. In 1987, al-Yaqoubi completed a degree in Arabic Literature at the University of Damascus within the Faculty of Islamic Law. He then studied philosophy for two years at the Beirut Arab University. In 1991, he joined the PhD program of linguistics in the Oriental Studies Department of the University of Gothenburg. In Sweden, he worked as a researcher and teacher of Arabic literature. In 1999, the Swedish Islamic Society appointed him mufti of Sweden. Al-Yaqoubi is "fluent in several languages including Arabic, English, and Swedish" and sacred knowledge organisation states that he has trained several hundreds of scholars, imams and preachers Career Al-Yaqoubi started teaching Qur'an studies and recitation at the Darwishiyya Mosque at the age of 11. He delivered his first Friday sermon at the age of 14 at al-Saadaat Mosque, was appointed as