Wikipedia's first sentence called it “shaykh of tarbiyah”. Today it says “scottish muslim leader and author”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born Ian Dallas in Ayr , Scotland in 1930) is a Shaykh of Instruction, leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa , founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam , Sufism (Tasawwuf) and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he accepted Islam in 1967 with the Imam of the Masjid al-Qarawiyyin (Qarawiyyin Mosque) in Fes , Morocco.1Abdalqadir as-Sufi has worked in spreading Islam since that time and has students in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. He continues to write. Among his latest publications are The Book of Tawhid , The Book of Hubb , The Book of 'Amal and The Book of Safar , and as Ian Dallas Ian Dallas Collected Works , The Time of the Bedouin – on the politics of power , Political Renewal and The Interim is Mine . His commentary on current events and issues affecting Muslims in different parts of the world can be found on his website.2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 668558314.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born 1930 Ian Dallas in Ayr, Scotland ) is a Shaykh of Tarbiyah (Instruction), leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa , founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam , Sufism (Tasawwuf) and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he accepted Islam in 1967 with the Imam of the Masjid al-Qarawiyyin (Qarawiyyin Mosque) in Fes , Morocco . Abdalqadir as-Sufi has been actively spreading Islam since that time and has students all over the world in both Muslim and non-Muslim lands. He continues to write; among his latest publications are The Book of Tawhid , Ian Dallas Collected Works and The Time of the Bedouin "the book of amal"– on the politics of power (as Ian Dallas). His commentary on current events and issues affecting Muslims in different parts of the world can be found on his website. He currently resides in Cape Town , South Africa , where he holds regular gatherings of Dhikr and instruction in the Islamic sciences.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 358113021.
The opening as it stood in 2020 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born Ian Dallas in Ayr , Scotland in 1930) is a Shaykh of Instruction , leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa , founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam , Sufism and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he converted to Islam in 1967 with the Imam of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, Morocco .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959381652.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Scottish Islamic scholar (1930–2021) Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born Ian Stewart Dallas ; 1930 – 1 August 2021) was a Scottish Muslim leader and author. He was Shaykh of Instruction , leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa , founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam , Sufism and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he converted to Islam in 1967 with the Imam of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, Morocco .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173180790.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
He was Shaykh of Instruction , leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Tariqa , founder of the Murabitun World Movement and author of numerous books on Islam , Sufism and political theory. Born in Scotland, he was a playwright and actor before he converted to Islam in 1967 with the Imam of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, Morocco .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1283691324. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “shaykh of tarbiyah”. Today it says “scottish muslim leader and author”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
shaykh of tarbiyah
Now
scottish muslim leader and author
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.