Enjoy that first paragraph of the report below. Mazen al-Sarsawi knows his ahadith, but American history, not so much. But as for the hadith, al-Sarsawi is not inventing the courses of action he prescribes. Muhammad himself said:
“Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war…When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them….If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them.” – Sahih Muslim 4294
Despite the conventional tropes of interfaith “dialogue,” Jews and Christians aren’t off the hook here as monotheists. The Qur’an accuses both groups of shirk — of associating partners with Allah — in Sura 9, verse 30. “Egyptian Cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi: We Ask a Person Nicely to Convert, But If He Refuses and Does Not Pay the Jizya Tax, We Fight Him,” posted at MEMRI on June 2 (thanks to all who sent this in):
Mazen Al-Sarsawi: “That is how these lowlifes have always acted in all their wars. What did America do when it won the war in Vietnam? It dropped an atomic bomb, causing total destruction. They did not spare anyone. That is the epitome of treachery, ignobility, baseness, and contempt, not to mention what it is doing in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and what the Jews are doing in Palestine”¦
“The infidels are all one and the same. There is a vast difference between this and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, even with regard to war. The war of the Muslims is better than the peace of these dogs. [“¦]
No compulsion in religion, except when there is:
“God says that there is no coercion in Islam. One is free to be a believer or an infidel. That is the starting point, but is someone who converted to Islam allowed to change his mind? No, he is not. [“¦]
“That is a completely different story. Someone who converted and got a taste of the perfection of Islam is not allowed to leave the fold of Islam whenever he feels like it. [“¦]
“First, we ask a person nicely to convert. If he does — it’s over. When the mujahideen fight a country, they say to its people: ‘Convert to Islam. That’s our only demand. We don’t want anything else from you — we don’t want your money or your country. All we want is for you to enter Paradise with us.’ Is there anything more lofty than this? [“¦]
Protection racket:
“Do they kill the infidels if they refuse to convert? No, they don’t. The Muslims say to them: ‘Let’s remain friends. You pay us the jizya poll tax, and we will make sure you are safe. We could easily fight you and take over your country, so you are better off paying the jizya, and we will protect you.’ [“¦]
Here is a direct quotation of the last sentence of Sahih Muslim 4294, quoted above:
“It is said: ‘If they refuse to pay, seek Allah’s help and fight them.’ You tell them to convert — they refuse. You tell them to pay the jizya — they refuse. That means they have evil intentions. Fine, we will fight them.” [“¦]