Wherever Muhammad Bayoudh Al-Tamimi is located, he should expect a knock on his door, and Barack Obama, David Cameron, Philip Hammond, Yvette Cooper, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Rev. Professor David Thomas, and a host of other non-Muslims to walk in and explain to him that he is misunderstanding Islam, and that the Islamic State has nothing whatsoever to do with the genuine article.
Muhammad Bayoudh Al-Tamimi also faces a good deal of opposition on this from Muslims as well. How has it come about that Egypt’s Grand Mufti can say that the Islamic State is “far from Islam” while Muhammad Bayoudh Al-Tamimi affirms just the opposite, that “there is no such thing as ‘ISIS ideology’ – it’s Islam”? There needs to be a public discussion about this dichotomy and how it came about, and whose position is better represented among Muslim populations worldwide, as well as in light of Islamic tradition, theology and law. But that would require some honesty and balance in the public square, which doesn’t appear to be on the horizon.
“Jordanian-Palestinian Politician: There Is No ISIS Ideology – It’s Islam; Syrian Soldiers Deserved to Be Slaughtered,” MEMRI, August 31, 2014 (thanks to Michael):
Palestinian-Jordanian politician Muhammad Bayoudh Al-Tamimi recently defended ISIS, saying that its doctrine “stems from the Quran and the Sunna.” The Syrian soldiers recently killed at the Tabqa airbase “deserved to be slaughtered 100,000 times over,” said Al-Tamimi, a member of the Jordanian Umma movement. According to Internet reports, the show was not broadcast by the Jordanian ANB TV channel that had produced it, but it was posted on the Internet by ANB TV on August 31, 2014.
Interviewer: What is our position, here in Jordan, with regard to ISIS and the ISIS ideology?
[…]
Muhammad Bayoudh Al-Tamimi: I reject the use of the terms “ISIS” and “ISIS ideology.” It sounds like you are talking about a Satanic weed or a Satanic ideology, which has come from out of nowhere.
Interviewer: But isn’t that true?
Muhammad Bayoudh Al-Tamimi: No, it is not. The problem with the analysts and the TV commentators who talk about the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is that what they say is completely off-track. They have accused ISIS of being an Iranian product, an American product, the product of the Syrian regime, the product of all the world’s devils…But it has become evident that ISIS is waging an all-out war against each and every one of these players. It is waging war in Iraq against Iran. Yesterday, it made incursions into Iranian territory in the province of Azerbaijan, where it took over seven towns. Now it is crushing the Nusayri Alawite regime in Syria, shattering the backbone of its military forces: the 17th Division, the 93rd Brigade, and the Tabqa military airbase. ISIS is on the march against the Nusayri Alawite regime in Syria, and against Iranian influence in Iraq. The ISIS doctrine stems from the Quran and the Sunna. The Quran and the Sunna constitute their ideology, doctrine, and conduct. If we want to tell the truth, we must cross the t’s and dot the i’s, and analyze this phenomenon…it is no longer just a phenomenon, but a fact on the ground…Today, the whole world is divided into two camps – one led by America and its satellites and the other led by the Islamic State. The war is raging between these two camps and everybody leans towards one camp or the other. This is true especially of the Muslims of the world. They support the U.S. and its collaborators and Iran and its Safavid agenda, or else they support (ISIS)…There is no such thing as “ISIS ideology” – it’s Islam.
[…]
The (Syrian soldiers) who were slaughtered yesterday at the Tabqa airbase deserved to be slaughtered 100,000 times over. They had killed tens of thousands of Muslims. They would drop 100 barrel bombs on Aleppo every day. They killed women and children. They destroyed Syrian cities. The Taqba airbase was where the barrel bombs were manufactured. These bombs were used to kill all the Syrian people. If these Muslims are terrorists – I salute those terrorists! I salute the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria! Blessed be your hands! March on!