3. “Mr. Azzi, I found in reading the Qur’an, one verse — 98:6 — that describes Unbelievers as ‘the most vile of created beings.’ And another — 3:110 — about how Muslims are ‘the best of peoples.’ Can you tell me if Muslims really believe that, and if so, what can or should be done about it?”
Again, Azzi cannot deny the existence of these verses. He can only offer something along these lines:
Well, I’m a Muslim, and I certainly don’t think you are “the most vile of created beings.” [Laughter.] Do you have Muslim co-workers, Muslim friends? Do your kids perhaps have Muslim school friends? Do you think, as the conspiratorial Islamophobes want you to believe, that all these Muslims are merely hiding a deep contempt for you, that they really consider all of you “vile”? Look, let’s be sensible. This is just the kind of verse the extremists, ISIS and Al-Qaeda, like to focus on. They’ll quote it, but they won’t tell you that no one except people like them take it seriously. They’re in the business of distorting our religion for the sake of their own hunger for power — they want to conquer the world, make no mistake about it, but it’s got nothing to do with Islam, except in the sense that they want to exploit Islam for their own, un-Islamic ends. They want to be famous, the way bin Laden was. It’s not a good idea to give them the publicity they want. Sure, ISIS wants you to get all hot and bothered about these verses, wants you to think that not just ISIS, but the vast majority of moderate Muslims, think that way. It’s utter nonsense.
Let me repeat what we all know. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims, maybe millions, are anxious to move to Europe. Hundreds drown each year in the Mediterranean making the attempt. You’ve heard these stories. Well, for heaven’s sake, why would hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Muslims want to live among those very people whom they supposedly believe to be the “most vile of created beings ”? [Laughter.] Why would they want their kids to go school with “the most vile of created beings”? [More laughter.] I rest my case.
You know, I always like to tell people that while we believe that the Qur’an is the literal Word of God, that it was not meant to be read literally. You have to understand more deeply. So don’t take that verse literally. What does it really mean? It’s a negative statement, greatly exaggerated for effect, against those particular people — the “Unbelievers” — whom the Muslims were fighting at the time. It’s not meant to apply to all non-Muslims, but only to those with whom Muhammad was then in a state of war. It’s swearing at the enemy. Do you know the kinds of things that were written in this country during World War II about the Germans and the Japanese? It was a lot worse than just being called “vile.” And now Germany and Japan are two of our closest allies.
In trying to understand the Qur’an, remember it’s a very difficult text in places, written in a classical Arabic quite different from modern Arabic, and the meaning is not always crystal clear. That shouldn’t surprise anyone — the text is 1400 years old. I always tell myself that when a verse goes against what, in its totality, Islam stands for, then I just don’t bother with that verse. If that verse says that Unbelievers are “vile,” I just ignore it. I know it’s not meant to apply outside its 1400-year-old context. That’s got nothing to do with the Islam I converted to as a young man or that I’ve been happily practicing for a half-century, and I think if you ask any Muslims you meet, they’ll tell you the exact same thing. Next question.
4. “It says in the Qur’an that a man can beat his wife if she is disobedient. Could you comment on that?”
Azzi:
Yes, I’m glad you asked that question, because islamophobes like to keep bringing that up. It’s true that some 1400 years ago, and not just in the Middle East but in Europe, men had far more control over their wives than they do today. I’m not excusing it, just putting it in its proper historical perspective. So yes, if a wife was considered disobedient, in those days, then a Muslim husband could first of all reprimand her. If that didn’t change her behavior, she would have to sleep in a separate bed. And if she still was disobedient, and only then, the husband could “beat” his wife but only very lightly, using an instrument as small as a “miswak” — a small natural toothbrush. It’s a symbolic, not a real beating. Try hurting someone with a toothbrush. I rest my case.
And remember all that Muhammad did for women’s rights. I’ve heard it said that “Muhammad was the greatest champion of women’s rights the world has ever seen.” He didn’t want to force women to stay at home. His first wife Khadijah, who had a great influence on him, was no shrinking violet, but a successful businesswoman. The Qur’an provided women with explicit rights to inheritance, to property, gave them the right to testify in a court of law, and the right to divorce. It severely limited the use of violence against female children and women as well as on duress in marriage and community affairs. That isn’t gender equality in the modern sense, but it did give Muslim women greater rights than they had had in the pre-Islamic period. So I’d say that that verse about “beating a disobedient wife” should be seen in its proper context and given its intended meaning. It should read: “beat with a toothbrush.” [Laughter]
Next question. Yes, there, on the end of the third row.
mortimer says
PLEASE ASK ROBERT AZZI about Islam’s obligatory DOCTRINE OF HATE:
‘AL BARAA’ = Islamic Apartheid, Shunning, Cleansing from
‘Baraa’ is HATRED towards Kafirs ‘for the sake of Allah’…Al Bughoud or Al Mu’adaat (hatred) is the opposite of Al Muwalaat (love towards Muslims). Baraa is:
– To Hate
– To keep distance from
– To be enemy to
– To desert
– To decline to help
– To disrespect
– To put down
– Not to ally with
– Not to support
Allah ordered Muslims to have Baraa (to be cleansed) from the dirty kufaar and from kufr and shirk.
-Imam Abdul-Latif ibn Abdur-Rahman Rahimullah said, “It is not possible for someone to realize Tawheed (Islamic faith) and act upon it, and yet not be HOSTILE against the mushrikeen (i.e. wrong worshippers). So anyone who isn’t HOSTILE against the mushrikeen, then it cannot be said that he acts upon Tawheed nor that he realizes it.” [ad-Durar as-Saniyyah 8/167]
-“The doctrine of al Walaa wal Baraa is the REAL IMAGE for the actual practice of this faith.” – source “Al Walaa wal Baraa According to the Aqeedah of the Salaf”, by Sheikh Muhammad Saeed al Qatani, authoritative Saudi Sharia lawyer and imam at the Abu Bakr and Al Furqan Mosques in Mecca. – https://islamfuture.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/al-wala-wal-bara-according-to-the-aqeedah-of-the-salaf-parts-123/
-Shaykh Ahmad ibn ‘Atiq said:
“There isn’t in the Book of Allah the Exalted – after the issue concerning the obligation of tawheed and the forbiddance of its opposite (kufr=wrong belief)- any issue which has as so many proofs, nor so clearly explained, than the issue of al-walaa’ and al-baraa’.” (W-B is ‘Islamic apartheid’)
– Dr. Muhammad Saeed Al-Qahtaani said: “Thus, it is clear that Al-Wala’ Wal-Bara calls on Muslims to “love” their fellow Muslims and hate the non-Muslim (or Kafir).”
– from Sufi scholar Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624): “The honour of Islam lies in INSULTING kufr and kafirs. One who respects the kafirs dishonours the Muslims… The real purpose of levying jiziya on them is to HUMILIATE them to such an extent that they may not be able to dress well and to live in grandeur. They should constantly remain TERRIFIED and TREMBLING. It is intended to hold them under CONTEMPT and to uphold the honour and might of Islam.”
– from ibn Taymiyya, “Book of Emaan”: “… true believers show ANIMOSITY and HATRED towards disbelievers and NEVER support them.”
– from Umar Sulayman ‘Abd-Allaah al-Ashqar, “Belief in Allah”: “The Muslim should regard the Kuffaar as ENEMIES and HATE them because of their kufr (wrong belief), just as he hates their kufr (disbelief) itself.”
– from [Chap.iv] “The Islaamic Concept of al-Walaa’ wal-Baraa’” by Khalid El-Gharib: “… to SHOW ENMITY to those who show enmity to Allaah and His Messenger”.
(Note: Muslims are to visibly demonstrate their ENMITY or HATRED towards the kufaar)
– from a lecture given by Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal (H.A.): “The implication of al-Baraa is that one HATES for the sake of Allah (SWT)…Al-Baraa means to recognize who your enemies are and to HATE them and EXTERMINATE them in their Endeavour to get rid of your Deen, al-Islam…Al-Baraa is to HATE the people who propagate Baatil (falsehood)—the Muslim should HATE them and (at least desire to) KILL them when the time comes.”
(Note: not ‘if the time comes’, but ‘WHEN the time comes.)
– “Killing a Kafir who is fighting you is OK. Killing a Kafir for any reason (i.e. criticism of Islam), you can say, it is OK – even if there is NO REASON for it. You can poison, ambush and kill non-believers. You must have a stand with your heart, with your tongue, with your money, with your hand, with your sword, with your Kalashnikov. Don’t ask shall I do this, just do it.”Abu Hamza al-Masri (Egyptian born British Cleric)
– “As a Muslim, I must have hatred for anything non-Islam” – Anjem Choudary.
– “The matter is clear on this issue. It is obligatory to disassociate and absolve oneself from the disbelievers and their religion. The issue of al-Walaa wal-Baraa is from among the greatest obligations in Islaam.” (Shaykh Salih Al-Fawzan, 2005, p. 308)
– Obligation to Hate Kufaar: “With regard to matters of love and hate in the heart, the Muslims’ attitude towards non-Muslims is based on the latter’s attitude towards Allaah. If they worship Allaah and do not associate anything in worship with Him, then they love them. If they associate others in worship with Him, or disbelieve in Him, or worship others alongside Him, or are hostile towards His religion and hate the truth, then it is obligatory to hate them in our hearts.” – Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
HOW CAN A MODERN PERSON ESPOUSE W-B … CLEARLY A DOCTRINE OF BIGOTED HATRED ???
kuriakose says
+1, mortimer.
mortimer says
The MOTIVE, SPIRIT and operating PRINCIPLE of Islam is the HATRED OF ALLAH directed against the dirty KUFAAR.
Anyone who doesn’t understand this ‘ESSENTIAL’ PRINCIPLE of Islam cannot understand Islam.
Muslims must ‘CLEANSE’ themselves from the filth and pollution of the dirty (najis) KUFAAR.
Unless Muslims HATE kafirs ‘for the sake of Allah’, they have become like the kafirs, they do not please Allah and cannot enter Islamic paradise.
1) ASK ROBERT AZZI: “What is the SUFFICIENT AMOUNT of ‘BARAA’ required in a Muslim to assure that he will enter Islamic paradise?”
2) ASK ROBERT AZZI: “How does a Muslim know that he hates KAFIRS ENOUGH? Should Muslims hate kafirs a) once a week, b) every day c) every 20 minutes d) join ISIS and fight the filthy kufaar 24/7 ???
3) Which Islamic country in the past or present implemented the hateful program of AL WALAA WAL BARAA in the way Robert Azzi approves?
Keys says
Ask why there is a death penalty for leaving Islam, if your “heart and soul” desire to do so ?
mortimer says
Keys, there is a death penalty for almost everything in Islam, since it is a DEATH CULT. Death is the solution to almost EVERY problem in Islam.
Mohammed imposed the DEATH PENALTY for leaving his CULT, because he was engaged in ROBBING, MURDERING, CHEATING and ENSLAVING people of his own race … Arabs.
Mohammad, like the Mafia, had no way out of his cult but feet first. It was a matter of KILL-OR-BE-KILLED.
Once Mohammed’s followers were implicated in crimes, they could not leave the gang. Anyone who left could become a deadly enemy to the cult, an informer or a counter-assassin, so they all had to be murdered if they attempted to leave. Just like in the Mafia.
Dave says
Mortimer you really know your stuff! Islam is a Diffi-Cult, or even an impossible cult.
How can anyone believe what what Robert Azzi says? He speaks like a snake. He is not behaving like a true muslim if he does not follow the words of the Koran literally without question or interpretation. Does that make him an apostate?
Imagine a ‘Holy’ book which contains the verses: 1:1 Love everyone. 1:2 Kill everyone. Then you can take your pick which one you choose to follow. This simply will not do. This is the Koran for you.
Keys says
Dave, also from mortimer:
“There are SIX DIFFERENT WAYS of deception that are permissible in Islam:
1•Taqiyya (Shia) or Muda’rat (Sunni): tactical deceit for the purposes of spreading Islam.
2•Kitman: deceit by omission.
3•Tawriya: deceit by ambiguity.
4•Taysir: deceit through facilitation (not having to observe all the tenets of Sharia).
5•Darura: deceit through necessity (to engage in something “Haram” or forbidden).
6•Muruna: the temporary suspension of Sharia to make Muslim migrants appear “moderate.”
Muslims imitate Allah ‘THE GREATEST OF DECEIVERS’.
Allahu khayrul-makireena – Koran. 3:54; cf. 8:30”
gravenimage says
Good posts.
balam says
How could one expect SATAN to love NON-MUSLIMS? He loves only his own people.
mortimer says
Box of Islam by Hamed Abdel Samad (English) – Islam & Mafia Pt. 1 – Ep 01 (1-2)
Deprogramming Jihadists Using Historical-Ethical Argument
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YQoPhBgDD0&list=PLVgxTVb0qbJO4VF7CXROHvZcqDftk5TQV
gravenimage says
Good posts, Mortimer.
mortimer says
gi, you are welcome. If everyone of us posted such explanations on the internet regularly, we could reach many THOUSANDS of influential people within a few months.
JW-readers should all SYSTEMATICALLY gather together answers to tough questions and then post them in various places on the internet where it is appropriate in internet discussions.
YOU ARE ALL ON THE FRONT LINE.
gravenimage says
Agreed, Mortimer. I do think more people are learning about the threat of Islam.
Michael Copeland says
Azzi may use the argument that the Koran can be understood only after years of study, in the original Arabic, with all the commentary by learned scholars, and so on….
If so, remind him that the penalty for denying any verse in the Koran is death. He cannot deny this.
Then point out that he himself has denied several verses:
“A Book whose verses are set clear.” s.11:1
“And we have set down on thee a Book making clear everything, as a guidance and mercy” s.16:89
“A Book whereof the verses are explained in detail.” 41:3
“We have made the Qur’an easy to understand” 54:17
He must not deny the Koran.
mortimer says
Agree with MC, but the point will be lost on most people who will merely shrug. They cannot falsify or validate the claim having NO KNOWLEDGE of Islam except for Bob Hope ‘road’ movies with Arabs in them.
Muslims who deny verses or hadiths are valid today are given a ‘ho-hum’ by most Muslims. Muslims are actually seeing these textual inconsistencies more and more, but they have mostly not reached their cognitive dissonance breaking point.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Michael Copeland writes, “the penalty for denying any verse in the Koran is death.” Citation, please.
b.a. freeman says
sahih al bukhari book 52:260:
muhammed said, “whoever changes his islamic religion, then kill him.
and U must also understand that sahih al bukhari is the most respected of the kutub alsittah, the 6 authentic hadith collections, which form the part of the trilogy of islam which puts the quran into context. only the quran is more authoritative.
gravenimage says
True, b.a. freeman.
Michael Copeland says
Reliance of the Traveller o8.7(7)
Westman says
Sahih al-Bukhari 5825: Narrated Ikrima: Rifaa divorced his wife whereupon Abdur-Rahman married her. Aisha said that the lady came wearing a green veil and complained to her (Aisha) and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating. It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah’s messenger came, Aisha said, “I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!” When Abdur-Rahman heard that his wife had gone to the prophet, he came with his two sons from another wife. She said, “By Allah! I have done no wrong to him, but he is impotent and is as useless to me as this,” holding and showing the fringe of her garment. Abdur-Rahman said, “By Allah, O Allah’s messenger! She has told a lie. I am very strong and can satisfy her, but she is disobedient and wants to go back to Rifaa.”/b> Allah’s messenger said to her, “If that is your intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifaa unless Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you.” The prophet saw two boys with Abdur-Rahman and asked (him), “Are these your sons?” On that Abdur-Rahman said, “Yes.” The prophet said, “You claim what you claim (that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow resembles a crow.”
This woman was beaten with more than a toothbrush and Muhammad had absolutely no concern about it because she was “disobedient”. The problem with apologists like Azzi is that he only represents minority of Muslims who arefree to re-interpret the Quran to Western values.
Let’s try a mental experiment – those Pakistani Muslims who demanded the death of Asia Bibi, would they beat a disobedient wife with more than a toothbrush? Would Saudis? Would Iranians? Would ISIS? Do you think there is a run on toothbrushes in the OIC?
One can envision a Muslin man beating his wife with an electric toothbrush, in the manner of Robert Azzi, which inadvertently turns on and the wife says, “That feels good! Could you do that to my back, over there on the left where it’s itching?” Absurd? Quite…
mortimer says
Absurd? Yes. But all Robert Azzi has to do is soft-soap Islam for itchy ears who want to believe there are ‘nice’ Muslims.
‘See?’ they will say, ‘There are LOTS of nice Muslims like Robert Azzi.’
This operation is public relations, rather than education.
Walter Sieruk says
Yes, a person who is a non- Muslim may ask a Muslim anything about or regarding his religion. The thing is about the question which asked . The Muslim will only answer with truth is it suites or fits the Islamic agenda of the stealth jihad. If the, by contrast, the question had the true answer that will hinder the goal of the jihad the Muslim will answer by speaking lies and engaging is deception, Islamic deception. This the based on the Islamic dogma called Taqiyya .This is the Islamic doctrine the deception is a good thing to do as long as it’s done for the advancement of Islam. In strong contrast to this practice of Taqiyya is the teachings found in the Bible . For the Bible informs its readers in Proverbs 11:18. “The wicked worketh a deceitful work…” Likewise, the very next chapter[12] of the same book of Proverbs it reads in verse 5 “The counsels of the wicked are deceit .” Also further on verse 20 it instructs “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil…” [K.J.V.]
mortimer says
Walter, the people who listen to Robert Azzi don’t have the scholarship in the Islamic source texts, so they cannot know when he is using taqiyya … which is much of what he is doing.
I don’t understand someone who enjoys mendacity like Robert Azzi.
What satisfaction could there be in promoting something by lying about it so people will buy it.
Robert Azzi’s whole routine is FALSE ADVERTISING.
Hudson says
Ask a Muslim anything? OK, thanks for the opportunity.
I ask that you pack all your stuff, round up all your family, friends and fellow Death Cult member, and move to some patch of sand in a desert far, far away.
Marty says
On the wife beating part: Here in the West, men are taught at a very early age that it is not right to physically abuse a woman/girl even with a toothbrush. It is unmanly and just plain wrong.
Wellington says
Defending evil, as Azzi does, is ordinarily easier than defending good. I would here opine that a major reason for this is that truth is more elusive than falsehood because truth is dependent on accurate knowledge, common sense and wisdom while falsehood needs none of these, only a superficial cleverness.
End PC says
What nonsense. “So don’t take that verse literally. What does it really mean? ”
Then why did Allah not say clearly what he meant? Oh, the Quran asserts that it’s clear. Either Allah is lying or Azzi is.
Michael Copeland says
A man in Iran who held Koran study sessions in his home put forward his suggestion that the story of Jonah and the whale be not taken literally, but figuratively.
He was hanged.
http://www.newser.com/story/196582/iran-hangs-heretic-for-insulting-jonah.html
The story is also on Jihadwatch, but Google skews the search away.
wamps says
This guy is quoting classical Taqiyya…lying to further the goals of islam.
gravenimage says
Hugh Fitzgerald: Robert Azzi, Still With His “Ask-A-Muslim Anything” Shtick (Part Two)
…………………..
Yes–this is likely how this Taqiyya artist would answer these questions.
Of course, there really is no historical context in how Muslims look at the Qur’an–it is considered “uncreated”, and good for all time. Nothing in it ever becomes outdated–in fact, so much as suggesting it does is “blasphemous” and will get you killed in many parts of Dar-al-Islam.
Renton Maclachlan says
In contrast to Mortimer’s great listing of Islam’s view of unbelievers, is the Apostle Paul’s comment in Galatians 6:10, ‘Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’
gravenimage says
Yes–compare and contrast.
Charles Martel says
Fascists + Nazis + Communists = Muslims
The United West says
This is a fantastic series on how expert Dawah works in public settings.
A good Dawah artist loves these types of questions because it wins over the audience and he/she can freely lie and innovate those Qur’an verses by not answering the question but instead giving a false moral equivalence arguments. i.e. I just forget about these verses I don’t like, for the Western mind that is a logical response. Islamic doctrine has big problem with that type of innovation (but that fact is irrelevant)
In these situations there is rarely any dialogue – You ask and the Muslim apologist gets the last word.
Sadly many in the counter Jihad movement without realizing it, are handing the victim card to the followers of Islam at these types of events.
I hope there are plans to publish – the 5 best questions to ask at a Dawah Q & A, and how to word them.
Keep up the great work
Mike says
how can anyone be leave this person. Woman just elected to the government office in Minnesota has on record death the Israel. Woman is Michigan pushing the same tone. Muslims changing local laws to Sharia Law. I don’t see this guy as a branch of a peaceful religion. I see this as a smoke screen. until more Muslin start to speak out against the hate groups. I refuse to drink the kool-aid until something changes
mortimer says
Robert Azzi = DISINFORMATIONIST.
MOTTO: “Whitewashing and Sanitizing Islam to deceive the FILTHY KUFAAR”
Dave says
I would like to hear this stupid devious old man questioned by Robert Spencer.