Personal Life
Al-Tijani is a Muslim born in Tunisia. As a student, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, at which time he was influenced by orthodox Saudi teachings—which hold against saint veneration and tomb visitation (central beliefs to the North African Sufi tradition).
Later, Al-Tijani was influenced by an Iraqi student, Mun'im, who invited him to Iraq. Al-Samawi spent several weeks with Mun'im; visited Baghdad and Najaf, and met with several leading Shi'a scholars. These included: Grand Ayatollah Abul-Qassim Khoei (al-Khu'i), Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (Grand Ayatollah to-be) and Allameh Tabatabaei, who taught him about Islam. Eventually, he considered himself a Shi'i.
Read more about this topic: Then I Was Guided (book)
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