“You cannot kill innocent kids at school and claim to be Muslims, this has driven you out of Islam because your action is an act of disbelief in itself.” It’s noteworthy that he doesn’t say “You cannot kill innocent Christians at churches,” as Boko Haram has done frequently, but in any case, what Bilal Philips says here goes to the heart of the problem of Qur’an-inspired violence. Islam forbids killing the innocent (cf. Qur’an 5:32, quoted below), and enjoins killing the guilty (cf. Qur’an 5:33, also quoted below).
But who determines who is innocent or guilty, and on what basis? Boko Haram considers Western education to be sinful — that is the meaning of the name by which they’re popularly known. So they went to a school and murdered schoolchildren whom they considered to be guilty of the sin of receiving an un-Islamic education. Bilal Philips differs from them about that, but he cannot legitimately say that they were not operating according to accepted Islamic principles: he himself has gained controversy for advocating death for homosexuals. According to the National Post, he also “defends child marriages, wife beating, polygamy and killing apostates.” So he advocates killing homosexuals and apostates, because he doesn’t consider them innocent. This indicates that he doesn’t differ from Boko Haram in core beliefs, but only in their application.
“Boko Haram ideology forbidden in Islam- Scholar,” by Sani Tukur for the Premium Times, March 10:
A renowned Islamic scholar, Bilal Philips, has condemned the extremist group, Boko Haram, saying contrary to the group’s claim of being against western education, it is the sect’s logic and reasoning that is forbidden in the eyes of Islam.
Mr. Philips described the insurgent group as being Haram themselves. “Boko Haram are Haram,” he said.
The word Haram is an Arabic word for “forbidden”, and Boko Haram which has killed thousands mainly in northern Nigeria since 2009, has as its central belief that the acquisition of western education is forbidden.
Mr. Philips, who delivered a lecture Sunday in Abuja under the theme: The Prophet; the ideal role model for all time, stated that members of the sect are ignorant of Islam.
“You cannot kill innocent kids at school and claim to be Muslims, this has driven you out of Islam because your action is an act of disbelief in itself,” he said.
The scholar said members of the sect have no conscience and it is only ignorance of Islam that will allow them “do this kind of atrocity”.
He said Muslims are expected to oppose policies only through peaceful constitutional means by bringing their view point to relevant organs of government through their trusted representatives.
He stated that Prophet Muhammad always preached peace and only fought when necessary and often times to bring peace to the community.
The moral message of Prophet Muhammad
Mr. Philips said Prophet Muhammad represented a blessing to Muslims. He said the greatness of Islam lies in its message to human kind, arguing however that the moral message of the Prophet has been greatly undermined.
“The moral foundation of civilization is shaking, Islam enjoins all Muslims to stand firm on their moral foundation as prescribed in the Quran and exemplified by the prophet,” he said.
He advised Muslims to hold unto the Islamic morality. He said democracy as advocated in many countries today allows for majority view, saying however that since the majority decide what is acceptable, morals tend to change based on the view of the people at any given time.
He said morality is law now which leads to moral chaos in the world. On the other hand, he said Islam stands by the moral principles set by the prophet.
The scholar gave example with the ongoing debate about homosexuality and how views about it have changed over time. He said homosexuality was considered a sickness by psychiatrist in the west.
“40 years ago, the average westerner would have told you that homosexuality is nasty, evil, and that even the Holy Bible consider it an abomination unto The Lord.
“By late 70s, the tables have turned and the concept was removed from the psychiatrist bible, homosexuality is now considered an alternative lifestyle, and whoever oppose it is the one now described as being sick,” he said.
He said homosexuality is now replaced with homophobia, adding that in many countries of the west today, fornication, adultery and even incest are decriminalized and they are not considered as crime.
He added that morality has now become subjected to democracy.
“Democracy has a lot of benefit because it allows for majority views, but when it infringes on what is right or wrong, it becomes a problem,” he said.
In other words, you can vote on anything you want, as long as you vote for Sharia.
Mr. Philips said the message of Islam as propounded by the prophet is fundamentally a moral message. He stated that the message of Islam is that whoever killed a human being must be killed in order to avoid further killing, adding however that Islam forbids killing of animals for sport.
“Whoever killed a human being must be killed in order to avoid further killing” sounds like a mangled version of Qur’an 5:32: “Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely….” But then follows Qur’an 5:33: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land.”
The scholar advised Muslims to be open. He said the five pillars of Islam- shahadah, salat, fasting, hajj and zakat- we’re [sic] essentially for the benefit of human kind.
It’s a cookbook!
…Mr. Philips called on Muslims not to “feel bad, give up hope or despair” he said the apparent on going media war against the religion is a sign that Islam is on the rise….
Ongoing media war against Islam? Who is he trying to kid? Niraj Warikoo, Bob Smietana, Christiane Amanpour, Lisa Wangeness — call Bilal Philips! He needs some love!
Chabuco says
“According to the National Post, he also “defends child marriages, wife beating… “—
Don’t kill schoolchildren… rape them and beat them instead!
mariam rove says
Yes exactly. Well said. Bunch of duplicitous bastards they are. M
King Dave says
Their real name spells out their true intentions.
The Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad
This is a direct reference and threat to Christians as Boko Haram views them as invaders brought on by British colonialism
The western media will not even cover genocide caused by Islamist in Nigeria, 42 killed yesterday in Iraq, a mere footnote..Very little is said about Islamist separatist in Thailand
The US policy towards Islamic violence seems to be Ignorance is bliss
eib says
Therefore, we revile them, we despise them, and we will fight them wherever possible.
I would be proud to be called a Crusader.
Jay Boo says
But who determines who is innocent or guilty, ——-
“You cannot kill innocent Christians at churches,” as Boko Haram has done frequently,
—————————————-
UN-ISLAMIC
Translation:
When the killing becomes bad PR for Islam issue a statement of disassociation by calling it un-Islamic.
If that fails then plan be is to chance the subject to Islamophobia and play the victim.
Meanwhile the children are still dead while the western MSM become preoccupied with perfecting their dance around the ‘word’ Islamophobia.
mortimer says
Thanks JayBoo! A brilliant and accurate observation!
I call this ‘moving the goalposts’. That way Islamists ALWAYS win.
Islamic Victimology 101 is taught at all madrassas: “TAMASKAN, TATAMAKAN”… play the victim and you will win.
Unfortunately for the Islamists, the Victimology is believed less and less.
If Bilal Phillips is too outspoken, he will soon be on Boko Haram’s hit list. The real problem, not being discussed (!), is that church growth in Nigeria is so rapid that new churches are built every week and filled with former Muslims. The Muslims are losing the battle for Nigeria. This is a last ditch desperate counterattack similar to the Battle of the Bulge.
Reality Check says
That was brilliant, Jay Boo! Thank you so much!
Bradamante says
“It’s a cookbook!” ROFL I wonder how many people remember the old Twilight Zone episode, in which the aliens bring a mysterious book titled “To Serve Man”…
eib says
To claim to know the difference between the “innocent” and the “guilty” is to claim transcendent knowledge, it is to practice gnostic indifference to the value of life, the life God only creates.
Boko Haram refer to traditional Islam, but they owe more to modern populism and gnosticism than anything else. They claim the knowledge of God, yet they are only human beings.
The only human being who ever had the knowledge of God was Jesus Christ. And this is the truth Muslims cannot stomach, because it tears down their arrogance and the arrogance of their so-called “prophet.”
Salah says
‘ …Mr. Philips called on Muslims not to “feel bad, give up hope or despair” he said the apparent on going media war against the religion is a sign that Islam is on the rise….’
Islam is not on the rise, Islamic violence is, and it’s a sign that Islam is dying.
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2010/05/dying-islam-lislam-mourant.html
Another sign that Islam is dying…
http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/01/egyptian-muslims-tear-up-quran.html
Peter Buckley says
Nigerian convert to Christianity tells the truth about Islam:
mortimer says
Bilal Philips: “the moral message of the Prophet has been greatly undermined.”
Yah…like pedophilia, plunder, rape, theocracy, censorship, misogyny, supremacism, slavery…why would anyone in the modern world object.
Bilal Philips is DELUSIONAL. Enablers let him go without criticism. He’s an apologist for enslavement.
voegelinian says
It’s more reasonable to assume that he knows exactly what Islam and Muhammad were — and are — about. Therefore, the explanation for his apparent contradiction of Islam must be located elsewhere: His addled exegesis, which Islam cultivates in its cultural schizophrenia whereby every concept of morality is turned inside-out and upside-down in Orwellian Alice-in-Wonderland fashion; and otherwise, the inclination of any and every Muslim to practice Jihad of Deceit.
Champ says
islam = religion of hypocrites and double-standards
and the religion of murder and mayhem, too!
mariam rove says
OT: Hi Champ! I have not seen our friend George in a while here, do you know anything? M
mortimer says
What does he say about SLAVERY?
Ayatrollah says
I just heard a new story on NPR. It made it sound like in Nigeria Muslim and Christian are equally responsible for the violence there. All the problems there can be explained by both Muslim and Christian violence.
gravenimage says
Islamic scholar who advocates killing gays says Boko Haram un-Islamic for killing schoolchildren
“You cannot kill innocent kids at school and claim to be Muslims, this has driven you out of Islam because your action is an act of disbelief in itself.”
…………………………………
Like most here, I’m not impressed. Whenever something becomes an embarrassment for Islam, it’s time to declare the Jihadists “un-Islamic”. This seldom means anything.
As noted, this “scholar” is perfectly fine with slaughtering Christians, killing gays, and raping children. And why not? He has made it clear that he is for the imposition of Shari’ah, and all of these horrors and more are Halal under Islamic law.
And what is “innocent”? He characterized the barbaric Taliban as “innocent”, which for pious Muslims is simply a synonym for “very Islamic”.
Here he is, focusing on Da’wa while whitewashing and sidestepping the barbarism of Jihad terrorism:
http://news.intelwire.com/2011/04/interview-with-bilal-philips-about.html
This interview is from 2011, and he claims—laughably—that violent Jihad is diminishing around the world (to be overtaken with Da’wa, Hijira, and “lawfare” to impose Shari’ah—although he may not always use these terms).
But this is absurd in any case, given the hideous explosion—pun intended—of violent Jihad in so many parts of the world in the past three years.
More:
The word Haram is an Arabic word for “forbidden”, and Boko Haram which has killed thousands mainly in northern Nigeria since 2009…
…………………………………
And a good number of the victims were “insufficiently Islamic” Muslims. This is one of the few genuine areas of disagreement you will find among pious Muslims—where to draw the line on declaring “Takfir”, where other Muslims are regarded as “apostates” or “Infidels”, and thus rendered lawful to butcher.
No devout Muslim actually has a problem with the concept—and still less with killing non-Muslims.
More:
Mr. Philips, who delivered a lecture Sunday in Abuja under the theme: The Prophet; the ideal role model for all time, stated that members of the sect are ignorant of Islam.
…………………………………
Grimly hilarious, since ol’ Mo hasn’t been around for almost 1400 years. But in Islam, everything gains legitimacy if reference to the “Prophet”.
More:
Mr. Philips called on Muslims not to “feel bad, give up hope or despair” he said the apparent on going media war against the religion is a sign that Islam is on the rise….
…………………………………
Yup—as noted, his only real problem is that Boko Haram “makes Islam look bad”, which is still a problem until Islam is able to subdue the “filthy Kuffar” globally.
More:
Ongoing media war against Islam? Who is he trying to kid?
…………………………………
I take Mr. Spencer’s point, given the regular whitewash Islam receive in the MSM. But for pious Muslim like Philips, merely daring to report on the unending Islamic violence around the world—even if it is not often explicitly identified as such—is enough to qualify as a “media war on Islam”.
gravenimage says
The scholar advised Muslims to be open. He said the five pillars of Islam- shahadah, salat, fasting, hajj and zakat- we’re [sic] essentially for the benefit of human kind.
It’s a cookbook!
………………………….
Now *that’s* hilarious!
For anyone not familiar, check out the reference here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)