Ramzy Ajem has been using and abusing mureeds in the name of Tasawwuf since 2008, the early days of Risalah Foundation. Mureeds were called "students of the shaykh." Overall, Ramzy kept a very secretive lid on his Tariqa operations. Ofcourse, "people don't understand Tariqa & Haqiqa," but he didn't mind selling them the Tariqa. Nearly all of the early mureeds left the Tariqa from the GTA either after experiencing oppression directly or after learning about abuse.
There is no one who can police Ramzy Ajem and his team of thugs. Particularly when one is stickered a "shaykh," they become bullet proof in a way. He has abused his religious authority by stickering unqualified men and women as Imams, Ustads, and Ustadhas. Ramy Elhamalawy, Mohamed Mahmoud, and his own wife Naeemah Martinez are all untrained and unqualified. Ramzy will reason it with his "Muslim Educator" program. They are all Tariqa agents. They helped Ramzy build his shop and now he will help them build their shops. Whoever objects is shafted out. If you don't like what you see, leave!
More recently, Ramzy Ajem has been busy profile pumping on the internet to try and delist suficollarcrime.com that contains more information about abuse cases. He picked up all these domains with his name except the one that really described him well. He bought these all on the same day. As far as I am concerned, Ramzy Ajem's shallowness has no bottom. Not even a fake bottom. He will keep going deeper and deeper in the hole. Shameless, really. What he doesn't realize is that he is just giving it away.
Ramzy Ajem understands well all the weaknesses in the Muslim community. Some of these weaknesses are structural. For example, we don't care about "shaykh oversight," financial or operational. Some of these weaknesses are psychological. For example, out of respect for the "shaykh," we will never verify or validate the "shaykh." We don't fact check and we don't investigate. It's all "bad adab." We can be mesmerized by a great Islamic talk. You can also buy us with great food, a good looking mosque, or some great Islamic program.
In reality, Ramzy Ajem is running a private business in the name of Risalah Foundation. There is no functional board to oversee his operations. There are no eyes on Risalah Foundation's bank accounts other than close associates like Mubeen Alam, who is also a mureed. Ramzy Ajem will give you several reasons for not having a board. He wants control and he wants to keep it that way. A board is essential to protect community resources, funds, and gives structure to things like abusive behavior. Between donations and services, it's a great source of revenue! All in Ramzy Ajem's control.