Pedersen embraced Islam in 1982 after a long search through different world religions. He was brought up as a Christian, became a free-thinker at the age of 16 and was a follower of Hinduism for four years before eventually deciding on Islam. Pedersen was sentenced in December 1983 one year and four months in prison after the drug section 191 of the Criminal Code. He was Muslim back then when he dealt with crime and drugs.
Career
Pedersen was Vice President of Muslims in Dialogue in the early years of the existence of the organization, which is a Danish Muslim multi-ethnic organization promoting Islam into the Danish society. Pedersen is Vice Chairman of Muslim Council of Denmark, which is the largest body of Muslim organizations in Denmark. He is co-founder and principal of three private schools for children of Muslim parents in Denmark. He is also co-founder and long-time vice chairman of Islamic Christian Study Center in Copenhagen. He spearheaded relief projects in numerous countries worldwide. E.g. the establishing of a school in the Kunar province of Afghanistan before the Taliban regime which accepted girls as well. Pedersen is co-founder of Danish Muslim Aid and presently Secretary General of same organization. DM-Aid has, among other things, rebuilt more than 500 homes for earthquake stricken people in the Kashmir area of Pakistan during the winter 2005 - 2006. The organization supports more than 700 orphans in more than 10 countries, finances hundreds of micro-finance projects for poor families in Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. Danish Muslim Aid is the largest charity organization in Denmark founded by Muslims. He is one of the European representatives of the Global Network of Religions for Children and is a board member of the Swedish Islamic Academy. He has translated a number of books on Islam into Danish. In 1997 he was the first imam to start holding Friday sermons in Danish.
Personal life
Pedersen was born in Sweden, and his mother is Finnish. He is married to a Moroccan wife, and the two have four children.
Controversies
Pedersen founded the Independent Scandinavian Relief Agency in 1988 and served as its Secretary General. ISRA was closed down in late 2004 due to allegations of supporting terrorism and connections to the Islamic African Relief Agency In May 2007 he caused controversy when he said that polygamy is acceptable if the first wife agrees and if there is good reason for it, such as lack of children. Pedersen has once stated that stoning was a part of Islam, and he defended stoning as a punishment of adultery, which caused condemnation and criticism against him.
