Alabama: Imam who said property of “filthy” non-Muslims could be taken in jihad says mosques not to blame for Muslims joining ISIS
It’s in this audio recording of one of Qadhi’s lectures. Note also his words about jihad, quoting Muhammad: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify la illaha illa Allah [there is no god but Allah].”
And Qadhi says: “The life and property of a mushrik [one who worships others besides Allah] holds no value in the state of jihad….which means if they don’t say la illaha illa Allah, their lives and property are halal” — that is, permitted to be taken by the Muslims.
Qadhi is an imam in Memphis. He is also Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute. He is a hafiz — that is, he has memorized the entire Qur’an. He has an M.A. in the Islamic Creed and a B.A. in Islamic Sciences from Islamic University of Medina, as well as a master’s and a doctorate in Islamic Studies from Yale.
How is it, then, that he misunderstands jihad so spectacularly that he sounds like a greasy Islamophobe? No matter: he was in Birmingham, Alabama to reassure non-Muslims there that the local mosques have nothing whatsoever to do with the Muslims from the U.S. joining the Islamic State, and why should anyone doubt him?
Note also that he blames American foreign policy entirely for the rise of the Islamic State. In other words, he wants the U.S. to stop fighting against jihadis, and to stop supporting Israel, and then presumably all will be well. But it won’t. There will just be more demands.
“Don’t blame mosques for radicals joining ISIS, Muslim scholar says,” by Greg Garrison, AL.com, June 12, 2015:
An Islamic scholar visiting Birmingham today said American Muslims should be able to openly criticize U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East without being viewed with suspicion or having their patriotism questioned.
“It’s not un-American to criticize America,” said Yasir Qadhi, who has a PhD from Yale University and is a resident scholar of the Memphis Islamic Center. Qadhi will speak tonight at 6:30 p.m. on “Is ISIS Islamic?” at the Harbert Center in downtown Birmingham. “If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t criticize it.”
He said conservative right-wing Americans criticize President Barack Obama and still consider themselves patriotic. “That’s a double-standard that needs to be pointed out,” he said. “We shouldn’t criminalize dissent.”
Too many Muslims are afraid to be open in their criticism of American foreign policy, and that sometimes means radical groups are more attractive to those who are questioning U.S. policy, Qadhi said. “These are evil, vicious people in ISIS,” Qadhi said.
The emergence of ISIS is a result of failed American foreign policy in the Middle East, he said. “We really messed up in Iraq,” he said. “We created a baby Frankenstein.”
Qadhi, a professor at Rhodes College in Memphis and dean of academic affairs at Al Maghrib Institute, has been an outspoken opponent of ISIS. Sending more troops is not the answer, he said.”More bombs and more troops is more trouble,” he said. “More violence, more bombs and more killing will lead to more problems.”
Birmingham Muslims have grown increasingly concerned about the threat of ISIS, especially after a 20-year-old Hoover woman was recruited this year to join the terrorist network.
“We are against all extremism,” said Ashfaq Taufique, president of the Birmingham Islamic Society. “They do not follow Islam. It is very important we get the word out.”
Hoda Muthana, 20, abandoned her family and flew to Syria earlier this year to join the terrorist group popularly known as ISIS, the Islamic State in Syria. Muthana graduated from Hoover High School in 2013 and was studying business at UAB before leaving the country.
“We have already been a victim of ISIS recruitment,” Taufique said. “She is there with them right now. She grew up in front of us. I know her. That was a turning point for us.”
The Muslim community lives with the fear of their youth being radicalized by terrorists.
“We are very concerned about our youth,” Taufique said. “We are very concerned about our youth being brainwashed. They can take innocent, weak minds and brainwash them into disobeying their parents.”
Qadhi said that mosques have not been at fault when youth have been lured into ISIS. There is a false perception that people are being radicalized in mosques, he said. “That’s not the case,” Qadhi said. “Every one of these kids is alienated from local mosques.”
When young people are questioning U.S. foreign policy and there is not honest discussion taking place in the mosque, they look for information on the internet, Qadhi said. “This is a battle that is taking place online,” he said.
The average Muslim family is not likely to be affected by radicalism, he said. “To put it in broader perspective, quantitatively there have only been a few dozen of these cases,” Qadhi said. “It is a problem. Each one is a problem. But the average Muslim family is more worried about drugs and car accidents just like any other American family.”…
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