Abdul Somad Batubara

Abdul Somad Batubara was born on May 18, 1977 In Asahan North Sumatra , he is
popular with Ustad Abdul Somad or UAS. He is an Indonesian Islamic preacher
and ulama from Asahan, North Sumatra. He is known for his lectures on various religious issues,
especially regarding hadith studies and Islamic jurisprudence. In addition, he often discusses
trending topics in the Muslim community and society, such as nationalism. His dawah and
lectures are characterized by unique rhetoric and humor that attract layman as well, and often
broadcast through the YouTube channel and other social media. He is currently also serving as a
lecturer at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II State Islamic University (UIN Suska) in Riau. In addition to
his lecture, he authors several books, among them are translations of Arabic publications, and
religious guides regarding individual subjects such as qurbani and salah.
He went through his elementary education at Al-Washliyah, a school based on Quranic
memorization. After the graduation in 1990, he moved to continue his education at Mu'allimin al-
Washliyah in Medan. After graduating in 1993, he returned to Riau to study at Nurul Falah Higher
Madrasah, completing it in 1996. In 1998, he was among 100 students who received
scholarships which were granted by the Egyptian government to the Indonesian students
studying at Al-Azhar University. In 2004, the Moroccan government provided him scholarships for
post-graduate education at Dar al-Hadith al-Hasaniyyah Institute which annually receives 20
students, constitute of 15 Moroccans and five foreigners.
His personality is described as simple and ordinary, with his lectures attracting people
because of his interaction with audiences, humor, and depth in knowledge instead of charisma,
exemplified by other well-known da'is and televangelist figures such as Abdullah
Gymnastiar and Zainuddin MZ. His style of lecture is considered less suited for large-scale and
national level events, but more for small-scale lectures inside the local mosques. It is considered
that the proliferation of his lectures through the Internet due to the popularization of social media
has led to his national fame.
In an October 2017 video posted on the Islamic-oriented YouTube channel Fodamara
TV, Abdul Somad attracted controversy for stating that Muslims who shop or buy at coffee shops
owned by Starbucks would go to hell due to the company's pro-LGBT policies. The video went

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viral in March 2018 with many online mocking the preacher for being hypocritical, noting that
many of the platforms that Somad uses to spread his message such as YouTube, Facebook, and
Twitter have similar pro-LGBT policies to Starbucks

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