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Bilal Philips: what Wikipedia removed

Bilal Philips is a Canadian Islamic scholar who has been banned or deported from multiple countries. Through 2020 the opening said he was “arrested in the Philippines for ‘inciting and recruiting people to conduct terrorist activities.’” Today the opening says only that he was “deported from the Philippines,” with the reason dropped; terror appears 0 times in the opening now, though it survives 23 times in the body. A reader today learns he was deported from the Philippines and not that he was arrested there on a charge of inciting and recruiting people to conduct terrorist activities.

The word “terror” appeared 6 times in this article’s opening at its peak, in 2020. Today the opening carries none; the body carries 23. Checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01.

The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot

Section titled “The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot”
word20052010201520206 October 20232025
terror000600
jihad000100

Counts are of the opening paragraph only, the part most readers, search engines and AI training sets ever quote.

What was taken out

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  • An earlier descriptor calling him a ‘Canadian Muslim teacher’ and naming the Islamic Online University he founded is gone, replaced with different wording.
  • The claim shifted from Philips describing himself as a Salafi to Wikipedia describing him that way instead.
  • The specific charge behind his Philippines arrest, inciting and recruiting people to conduct terrorist activities, is gone from the opening.
  • A National Post headline citing the accusation that he was inciting terrorism, dropped with the passage it supported.

How it opened then, and now

Section titled “How it opened then, and now”

2005 (revision 17966933):

Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips was born in Jamaica , but grew up in Canada , where he accepted Islam in 1972. He completed a diploma in Arabic and a B.A. from the College of Islamic Disciplines (Usool ad-Deen) at the Islamic University of Madeenah in 1979 . At the University of Riyadh , College of Education, he completed a M.A. in Islamic Theology in 1985, and in the department of Islamic Studies at the University of Wales , he completed a Ph.D. in Islamic Theology in 1994. Since 1994 he has founded and directed the Islamic Information Center in Dubai , United Arab Emirates . He is known for his many contributions in the field of dawah , including audio lectures and books on Islam. Philips has…

2025 (revision 1297733005):

Canadian Islamic scholar (born 1947) Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (born Dennis Bradley Philips ; July 17, 1947 ) is a Jamaican-born Canadian Islamic scholar and author who is the founder and chancellor of the International Open University , who lives in Qatar. He has been described as a Salafi who advocates a traditional, literal form of Islam . He has written, translated and commented on over 50 Islamic books translated into multiple languages and available online, and has appeared or presented on numerous national and satellite television channels, including Saudi TV , Sharjah TV, Ajman TV, Islam Channel , Huda TV , and Peace TV . Throughout his career, Philips has become the subject of many …

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