Othman al-Khamis

Uthman bin Muhammad bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Saleh bin Muhammad al-Khamis al-Nasiri al-Tamimi is a Kuwaiti scholar, hadith specialist and jurist, an imam and preacher, and a lecturer at Kuwait University, born in Kuwait on 22 Dhu al-Hijja 1381 AH, corresponding to 26 May 1962. ^{1 2} He became known to audiences from the late 1990s as a debater for Ahl al-Sunna wa'l-Jama'a against Twelver Shia scholars on the London-based al-Mustakilla channel, where he was the Sunni side's permanent representative, and later on the Safa channel, which he co-founded. ¹ According to the English article he currently heads the Global Da'wah Council, and he hosts question-and-answer programmes on television and social media in which he answers the public's questions live. ²

Al-Khamis descends from the al-Nawasir branch of Banu Tamim. He studied at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, taking a master's degree in the Prophetic hadith with a thesis on the hadiths concerning the two grandsons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and a doctorate from King Saud University with distinction, his thesis entitled "al-Muraja'at: A Critical Hadith Study". ^{1 2}

He worked as a muezzin at al-Hamidah Mosque from 1989 to 1993, then as its imam from 1993 to about 2004. ^{2 1}

He rose to prominence as a debater in the late 1990s on al-Mustakilla, which hosted Shia clerics to debate the repercussions of the fitna of Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him)'s killing and the questions of Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him)'s wilayah and the awaited Mahdi's state; al-Khamis was the permanent representative of the Sunni side, and criticised classical and modern Shia scholars and debated them on many of their beliefs. ^{1 2}

He co-founded the Safa satellite channel, which airs dialogue programmes on points of difference between Islamic sects, and chaired its board; the Arabic article says he left it in 2009 for personal circumstances. ^{1 2}

Al-Khamis hosts question-and-answer programmes on television and social media, receiving the public's questions and answering them live; most questions concern Islamic social life. ² Among his continuing scholarly works is the programme "Mafatih al-Talab", in which he explained 17 books in its first year, 2022, 11 books in 2023, and 10 books in each of 2024 and 2025. ¹

The Arabic article lists among his debates those with Muhammad al-Tijani and Muhammad al-Musawi and the al-Mustakilla debates, his responses to Adnan Ibrahim, and lessons in creed, fiqh and its principles, hadith, tafsir, sira, the stories of the prophets, and the biographies of the Companions and scholars. ¹

He is a senior instructor in the Islamic Studies administration of Kuwait's Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, a lecturer at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Kuwait University, chairman of the board of the Insan charity association, general supervisor of the scholarly project of Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin in Kuwait, and a member of scientific and administrative committees in the Awqaf ministry; the English article adds that he heads the Global Da'wah Council. ^{1 2}

This section should be read as an account of positions reported in the sources, not as the museum's judgement on them.

Al-Khamis is known for his books, research and responses to the Twelver Shia. The English article describes his criticism of classical Shia scholars such as al-Kulayni, author of the most prominent Shia hadith collection, and of modern ones such as al-Khomeini, on many of their beliefs; the Arabic article describes him as one of the poles of the Sunni camp defending Ahl al-Sunna wa'l-Jama'a and their belief concerning the fitna that followed the killing of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan. ^{2 1}

On international reception, the English article records that in 2023 he was subjected to a two-year entry ban by Denmark, and that he had previously been banned from the Netherlands. ²

Among his works named in the sources are his two university theses — the master's on the hadiths concerning the two grandsons, and the doctorate "al-Muraja'at: A Critical Hadith Study" — and books, research and responses to the Twelver Shia that both articles mention without a full list. ^{1 2}

He married in 1987 and has four children; the museum does not publish family detail beyond what understanding his work requires. ^{2 1}

His public presence was built on satellite debates from the late 1990s and then on question-and-answer programmes and recorded lessons, formats that carried his scholarly and preaching material to a wide audience inside Kuwait and beyond through satellite channels and social media. ^{1 2} His own YouTube channel, published under the handle @othmanalkamees, recorded 5.78 million subscribers in a channel harvest checked on 25 October 2026. ³

• The defined sources cited above, registered in data/source/.
• Later translations and edits of this article need periodic review with clear update dates.