Attacks on the
Messenger of Allah Muhammad

Weapons Used By
The Other Religions
To Wage War on Islam

This is a translation of the transcript of the interview on al-Jazeerah TV channel between the presenter and one of the most influential and senior scholars of Islam, Shaikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (hafidhahullah). This translation has been made available by the UK Charity Organisation, Jam'iat Ihyaa' Minhaaj al-Sunnah (JIMAS), due to the continued and increasingly virulent attacks now being directed against the honour and sanctity of the final messenger of God to mankind, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

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Download this interview as a Word document (239 kb).

1. Introduction
2. The importance of the crescent as a symbol in the life of the Muslims
3. Reply to accusations of violence against the Prophet (peace be upon him)
4. The Muslim, Jewish and Christian perspective on the Prophets
5. A comparison between the Prophets Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad (peace be upon them)
6. The Reality of Jihad in Islam
7. The role of the Muslims in responding to the insults directed at Islam
8. The role of the Arab Christians in responding to the Western priests who attack Islam

The topic for today's programme is the attacks that are launched from time to time on the ideology of Islam, and on the character of the Messenger of Islam, peace be upon him. Everyone becomes confused as to whether such attacks come from independent personalities - as was said about the American Reverend who attacked the character of the Messenger (peace be upon him) - or whether they are part of what has been termed a Crusade…the War on Terror, as was implied by the secretary-general for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Dr. al-'Iraqi - I'm sorry, Dr. Belkaziz, and as was also implied by the Iranian Foreign Minister, who considered that the remarks of the American Reverend were not spontaneous, but were rather part of a propaganda war against Islam. The Reverend apologised, for the sake of keeping the peace - or at least this is what has been reported on the well-known 'Islam Online' website - he apologised for the hurt he had caused to the feelings of the Muslims, and claimed that what he said was in his answer to a controversial question which was asked at the end of a long interview, and he did not think of the connotations of this question. But what has compelled us to speak about this topic, is that it has not been a lone comment. In addition to which, Jerry Falwell's apology as yet remains incomplete, for the man has a website which you see on the screen now, a website which is run by the Church that he heads. [On this website] the Church talks about a historical period, and the site which you see on the screen now - the site of the Reverend - contains many mistakes in the historical information it conveys about the Messenger (peace be upon him). And this is an established site, which bears no relation to both the latest interview and the latest apology. Not only does the site attack the character of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and distort a period of the history of some of the Companions, but also even [offers] distorted definitions of some of the terms specific to Islam. There is a section of the site which says: 'Definitions of some words related to Arabic and Islam' (Moslem Terms) - you can see it on the screen now. For example, it says that 'Allah' is an Eastern word which existed before Islam, and used to refer to the god of the moon to some Easterners, and it is due to this that the Muslims consider the crescent moon a symbol of Islam. This is an example of the untrue fabrications they propagate, which could possibly be due either to their ignorance, or to their secret hatred for Islam. This is what we will try and understand in today's programme.

I am delighted to welcome on your behalf, the respected scholar Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who is perhaps the best person to respond to falsities and distortions such as these. Welcome to you, sir.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Hello to you, brother Mahir.

Mahir 'Abdullah: If we can start with the issue of the crescent, is the crescent moon actually a religious symbol to the Muslims? Does the crescent moon hold any indicative importance, as the cross does to the Christians?

The importance of the crescent as a symbol in the life of the Muslims

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and on his family, companions, and all who followed him.

The issue of the crescent and the cross is a very late one, which was not known to the Prophet (peace be upon him), nor to the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, nor was it known to the Muslims in the Umayyad or 'Abbasid periods. It only became known in the time of the Turks and…and was [then] made a symbol. To us, the crescent is only as Allah the Almighty has said, "They ask you about the new moons. Say: These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage." To us, as we were told in the Qur'an, Allah the Mighty and Majestic - it is He Who created the sun and the moon, "He has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [it's course] for a term appointed." The Qur'an rebuked those who worshipped the stars, the sun or the moon, and spoke about the Queen of Sheba, "I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and has barred them from (Allah's) Way, so they have no guidance. So that they may prostrate before Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth". So these stars and these [other] things are all the creation of Allah, which have no sacred [importance] in Islam. In Islam, Allah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the Disposer of all Affairs. The Arabs used to know this, they even knew [the reality] of the idols that they worshipped - they did not believe that [the idols] were Creators, or Disposer of Affairs, or that they caused life and death, or granted sustenance, or were able to hear and see. Rather, their reply would be when asked, "Who created the heavens and the earth? They would surely say Allah", "The Almighty the All-Knowing", "We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah", "These are our intercessors with Allah." So whoever says that Allah is symbolized by the moon or the crescent, then this only shows their extreme, intense ignorance. We would have liked those who present such things, and teach them to their followers [to not do so], and we know that this Reverend Jerry Falwell has about 16 million Baptist Christian followers, and so of course understand his words to be an incontestable matter, and stemming from knowledge, but his words are not built on any foundations of knowledge, religion or logic.

Reply to accusations against the Prophet (peace be upon him) of violence

Mahir 'Abdullah: The interview which caused the uproar - we will look at some of his other slanderous remarks - but what provoked the topic in the first place is that the interview came within the context of support for Israel. The Christian community that he leads…he was in a conference to support the policies of Sharon and to support Israel, and consequently, as part of…of the war against terror, he presented this characteristic of the Prophet of Islam, that he is -above all - a violent prophet, not a peaceful one like Jesus and Moses (peace be upon them), and that his religion is a religion of hatred, and one which incites hatred.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Firstly, I would like to say that what this Reverend said cannot be taken as an apology. All he said was "I did not mean to offend anyone and I respect all those who abide by the law", and such words. It was not a retraction of his accusation, he simply mentioned that he had not intended to cause offense. Ok, if you do not retract your accusation, then you have [still] offended all the Muslims. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Messenger of the Islamic Nation, which now consists of at least 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the worlds population are Muslims. He has offended them all, and in actual fact, his insult is not built on any [base of] knowledge. He says that Muhammad (peace be upon him) called for violence, and that he was violent or he was a terrorist, and did not call for peace like Jesus and Moses. This is not…not true; rather the reality is that Muhammad (peace be upon him) called the entire world to mutual understanding, "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another." All of mankind, "O mankind!" and perhaps the [only] book which explicitly calls to mankind in general is the Qur'an. We do not find the likes of this in the Torah nor…nor…nor in the Bible, [phrases such as] "O mankind!" - that is not found in the Torah. [The expression] "The Lord of the Worlds" is not in the Torah - [there] He is the Lord of Israel, not…not the Lord of the Worlds, or the Lord of the East and the West, or the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth - these are all Qur'anic expressions, and have a different meaning. Muhammad (peace be upon him), as cited in Ahmad and Abu Dawud, on the authority of Zayd ibn Arqam, used to say at the end of every…every prayer, "O Allah, our Lord and the Lord and Owner of all things, You are Allah, Alone, no partner have You. O Allah, our Lord and the Lord and Owner of all things, I bear witness that the slaves…I bear witness that Muhammad is Your slave and messenger. O Allah, our Lord and the Lord and Owner of all things, I bear witness that all the slaves are brothers." So he would firstly testify to the oneness of Allah, then that Muhammad was His slave and Prophet, and then that all the slaves are brothers, the slaves…slaves of Allah… all the slaves of Allah are brothers; Why? Because they are all descended from one father, and one Lord. They all partake in servitude to Allah, and descendent from Adam, and this is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in his farewell pilgrimage before a great assembly, "O people! Your Lord is one, and your father is one. You are all from Adam, and Adam [was created from] dust." So [the call of Muhammad (peace be upon him)] is a general call for [all of] humanity.

[Commercial break]

Mahir 'Abdullah: Before we continue, we would like to remind [our viewers] that you can participate with us in this programme on the following numbers: telephone number 4888873, fax number 4890865, or on the main page of our website at the following address: www.aljazeera.net

Sir, before I return to the topic of terrorism and hatred, [I will quote] a part of Falwell's justification [of his statement], before his apology [was made], when he was defending the interview. He said, "I do not want to hurt the Muslims, and I am not opposing the Muslims, I am opposing Islam, and the Prophet of Islam." Which is more serious though- that the Muslims have their feelings hurt, or that the heart of this message is attacked?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: By his attack on the Prophet of Islam, he has hurt the feelings of the Muslims in all parts of the world. Perhaps what he meant to say was, "I do not intend [to hurt] the Muslims of America", and in this instance he has offended [not only] the Muslims of America [but also] the Muslims of Europe and the Muslims of the East and the Muslims of the West, without a doubt. I would like to say that he is not the only person who has attacked the sanctities of the Muslims and Islam, which only confirms what has been said by the secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, and what has been said by the Iranian Foreign Minister, that this is [part of] a Crusade; in the past, last October, there was the other famous Reverend [called] Franklin Graham, one of the reverends close to Bush, and the son of the famous television presenter Billy Graham. This Reverend said words which were a lot worse; he said that Islam represents the religion of evil, which threatens to destroy the Christian world. He incited a fear of the spread of Islam etc, and this is what he said… in the past, [President] Regan used to say this about the Soviet Union: that it was a State of evil… and now this is what is being said about Islam: that is a religion of evil, and therefore this justifies what they have tried to justify in taking Islam as an enemy. The Soviet enemy has fallen, so we must have a new enemy, and this new enemy they have made…they have nominated Islam to be the new substitute, and they must justify this to the people. So regrettably, the men of religion have walked this path and have tried to kindle the feelings of the people against Islam, the prophet of Islam, the book of Islam, the creed of Islam, and the laws of Islam, and this is what draws them in. There was also the founder of the Christian Coalition called Pat Robertson; this is a religious and political pressure group. He said that Islam has invasive and hostile tendencies…etc. Unfortunately, the American Presidency and the American Administration gave him a 500,000 dollar donation to help the Religious Church Group that he heads. Even our brothers there [in America], in the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), protested against this. So Jerry Falwell is not the only one who has entered this battle against Islam and the Muslims.

The Muslim, Jewish and Christian perspective on the Prophets

Mahir 'Abdullah: To be fair, and to search for the largest amount of excuses [for him]: Jerry Falwell, since he is a Baptist, and in consequence a Protestant…the issue I take objection to is that there is a culture in the Western Church specifically, not necessarily the Eastern [Church], and even more specifically in the Protestant Church, which has introduced the notion of cursing the Prophets, in view of the fact that the Holy Book comprises the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is full of stories which scorn the Prophets and highlight their mistakes from…from Lot whose two daughters plotted against him and gave him wine to drink, so they could have sexual intercourse with him, to Solomon who used to kill the leaders of his army so that he could marry their women.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: David…David…

Mahir 'Abdullah: Rather David (peace be upon him), I mean this is the culture. So isn't it possible that this is not necessarily - I am referring to the cursing of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) - an attack on Islam, in that it stems from this culture which does not give great value to even the Prophets of Bani Isra'il whose descendents they claim to be.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Perhaps this is one aspect, but one of the principles they hold is that the Prophets have no special virtue. To us the Muslims, we have a creed which we believe in called the Virtues of the Prophets, which is based on definite principles [that we ourselves hold]; that Allah sent the Prophets to convey a message to mankind. If the Prophet is not trustworthy to convey the message, then how will the people accept it from him?! The Qur'an says, "And when the Lord of Abraham tried him with Commands, which he fulfilled. He (Allah) said (to him), 'Verily, I am going to make you a leader of mankind.' (Abraham) said, 'And of my offspring (to make leaders).' (Allah) said, 'My covenant includes not the polytheists and wrongdoers." Who strikes the eyes of the wolf has wronged without pardon. "Do you enjoin piety (and righteousness) on the people and you forget (to practice it) yourselves." Thus, we believe that the Prophets are sinless. If we look at these Prophets that they have described…David who you have just spoken about, that he would kill a man, that he would strike him [wanting] to kill him, in order to marry his wife. The way we view him is …"…remember Our slave David, endued with power. Verily, he was ever oft-returning in all matters and in repentance. Verily, We made the mountains to glorify Our Praises with him in this 'Ashi (after mid-day until sunset) and Ishraaq (After sunrise till mid-day). And [so did] the birds assembled, all obedient to him." etc, and Solomon "the best of slaves. Verily, he was obedient". This is how we view them…and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The most beloved of fasts to Allah is the fast of David - he used to fast one day and not fast the next.", "No-one eats anything better than that which he earns by his own hands. The Prophet of Allah David used to eat that which he earned by his own hands. And he was a king, who ate from…from [the earnings of making] coats of mail: "And we made the iron soft for him. Saying: Make you perfect coats of mail", "And We taught him the making of metal coats of mail (for battles), to protect you in your fighting." So we have our perspective on the Prophets. But unfortunately, they single out Muhammad (peace be upon him) with their slander and defamation, and regrettably, this is a matter which they inherited from the days of the Crusader wars, in which [the Crusaders] spread many fabricated lies about the character of Muhammad (peace be upon him), the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him). [That which they spread] was all legends which were not founded on any actual or established facts. They spread [these lies] and broadcast them among the people, and the sons inherited [the tales] from their fathers, and the grandsons from their grandfathers, and the later generations from the previous generations. Even today, they continue to have their effect [on peoples' perceptions of the Prophet (peace be upon him)]. We reject this defamation which has no foundation, and if we look for example at what Jerry Falwell has said, [we will see] it is a by-product of the issue of violence. He said that Jesus and Moses used to call for love and peace, and did not call for violence. Ok, this can be believed about Jesus, but about Moses, no. And in actual fact, Jesus came with an idealistic message which could not be [taken as] a general message for all of mankind. When he said, "Love thy enemy" - does man really possess the ability to love his enemy? This is more than what mankind has the power to do. Man can only be just to his enemy. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab once saw the man who killed his full-brother Zayd ibn al-Khattaab whom he loved. He was killed during the Apostasy war, and the man who killed Zayd repented to Allah and returned to Islam. Whenever 'Umar saw him, he would remember his brother Zayd, so he said to him, "It displeases me to see your face. Whenever I see you, I become displeased." So the man replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, will this infringe upon some of my rights?" 'Umar replied, "No, you will have all your rights." So the man replied, "Only women grieve over love. As long as I will get all my rights, it does not matter to me whether you love me or hate me, for all that man has power over is that he may be just. "And let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety." So this is what has been taught by Islam - all man is able to do is to be just towards, not love, his enemy.

[news summary]

A comparison between the Prophets Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad (peace be upon them)

Mahir 'Abdullah: Sir, before the break was a section of…of…of your speech about Jesus (peace be upon him) and his message, and whether it was a universal one or not. What is strange though, is not the mention of Prophet Jesus, for this is the general impression of him [held] by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, but what was…the strange thing is for Prophet Moses to be mentioned in the same framework (peace be upon him) as Prophet Jesus was mentioned in (peace be upon him), when the character of Moses (peace be upon him) was closer to the character of Muhammad (peace be upon him); he was also a man of war, and a man who fought, with a history in…in Egypt. Yet despite the strong difference that the Qur'an has placed on how to understand the Prophets, it has been established that Prophet Moses made the mistake - if this expression is permitted - of killing a man. True, he made his statement in a Zionist gathering…in a Zionist conference to support…the state of Israel and to defend Sharon's policies, [but] does this not mean there is a significance to this connection, [that it was made] in a conference such as this?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: In the name of Allah the most Gracious the Most Merciful. Firstly: I would like to seize this opportunity to try to speak about the characters of these three great prophets. We consider them to be of the Messengers of strong will, as the Qur'an says, "Therefore be patient, as did the Messengers of strong will", and there are five such Messengers: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. They are mentioned in His saying, "He has ordained for you the same religion which He ordained for Noah, and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We ordained for Abraham, Moses and Jesus, saying you should establish religion and make no divisions in it." And He said, "And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you, and from Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus son of Mary. We took from them a strong covenant." As for Jesus, he is known in that he called to love and peace, and for his famous words in the Bible, "Love thy enemy, and pray for those who persecute you; If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also, and if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well…" etc. As we have said, this is an idealistic message, which in reality cannot work as a general principle on which Nations can be built and to which they can be called, and it is due to this that, the furthest people from implementing this were the Christians - especially the Western Christians, maybe the Christians of the East have some of the…the idealism of Jesus [in them], but as for the Christians of the West they are the furthest people from this call of forgiveness and patience, and to turn the other cheek…they are the ones who strike the faces first, rather they strike at the necks. Therefore, whoever reads the history of Christianity will find it a history replete with bloodshed amongst the Christians themselves, and between the Christians and others. The Egyptians embraced Christianity, but their school was one which opposed the school of the colonialist ruling Romans at that time, some were Jacobite and some were Melkite (Royalist); they differed regarding the nature of Jesus - whether he is one, or more than one…and this brought about much injustice to the Egyptians, [a period during which] much blood was shed and thousands of souls were killed. [It was] a period of history which was named the period of Martyrs…tens of thousands of Christians were martyred, one after the other. When the Protestant faith came about, and [also] Martin Luther, which was due to the influence of the Islamic da'wah, and the Islamic creed, ideals and pictures, these issues were once again stirred. What the Catholics did to the Protestants…[they caused] rivers of blood to flow; the blood flowed in rivers from these Catholic Christians…and when the Protestants were victorious…they retaliated doubly, and these things are mentioned in...in history, and I think history has not forgotten the two world wars in which tens of millions of Christian blood was shed by other Christians, and it actually occurred with these Europeans amongst each other.

As for those who the European Christians killed who were not themselves Christians, then speak about them with no shame…speak about what the Crusaders did when they entered Jerusalem, how many they killed and how the people were sunk in…in blood up to their knees.

Thus one of the Western writers said, disbelieving one of the prophecies of Jesus, when he said, "I did not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword." These were the famous words of his, "I did not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a brother against his brother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law…" etc, so [the writer] said: "This is the prophecy which has come true, and which the Christians have fulfilled." As for Moses (peace be upon him), then I…no of course to us Moses was not bloodthirsty, but whoever reads the distorted Torah of Moses - as the Jews and Christians of the world believe it to say - which is in the Bible of the Old Testament with the New Testament, and whoever reads the book of Deuteronomy…I can read you some verses from Deuteronomy…Deuteronomy Chapter 20 says, "When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it." Look at this and look at the Qur'an [in comparison], which some priests claim calls to killing the disbelievers; the Qur'an says, "So, when you meet (in Jihad) those who disbelieve, smite their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them" i.e. till you have weakened them and found that they have become weak, "then bind a bond firmly," then take them as captives, and leave the fighting, "Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (free them without ransom) , or ransom, until war lays down its burden." This is what the Qur'an says, but this [chapter] says No! Strike all the males with the blade of the sword "As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby" - that land they call the Promised Land - "However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes."- Look at this! 'Do not leave in it anything!' - "Completely destroy them-the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites-as the Lord your God has commanded you." Look! Do not even leave in it anything that breathes! An idea of eradication upon eradication, and unfortunately, this is an idea that the Christians have implemented; they took it from the Jews and the Holy Book, or from the pages of Deuteronomy, they implemented it in…on the Red Indians in America, they executed it on the original inhabitants of Afghanistan, they carried it out on the Muslims in Andalusia - they did not leave anything alive that breathes, from the millions of Muslims that lived in Andalusia for eight centuries, and established there a great civilization, where the Westerners learnt, and came to study in its institutes and universities, and learnt from it what they learnt…the time does not permit us to speak about this…but this is about the distorted Torah.

Mahir 'Abdullah: This is…this is one…one of the books, yes.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: One point remains…and then there are…other chapters, and in…the other prophets, prophecies and books, they mention the slaughters…the slaughters of David in the regions he captured, the slaughters of Joshua son of Nun as well…as well, the slaughters of Moses himself, tens of thousands, the slaughters of Solomon, slaughters…our honoured Shaykh 'Abdu'l-Mu'izz Abdu's-Satar has a book called, "The chosen people under scrutiny", in which he brought together the numbers mentioned with regard to these slaughters in their books, from you we shall draw proofs against you. What the Shaykh did was to even photocopy pages from the Torah directly - he wouldn't quote it...no he would photocopy it - and tell you to read it yourself. It was an astonishing thing; the Shaykh read it to us while we were in a convention in al-Azhar…an Islamic convention in al-Azhar, and the people were astonished at these things. So these people who accuse the Muslims of causing bloodshed...[from the Prophets] Muhammad (peace be upon him) remains, let us continue the comparison between the three…

Mahir 'Abdullah: [interrupts] Ok, but will you just permit me to delay it for a while. With me are three brothers on the phone, who have been waiting for a long time. We will return to…to Muhammad - peace be upon him - in the perspective of the Muslims. With me is brother Muhammad al-Khani from Syria, brother Muhammad welcome.

Muhammad al-Khani: Assalamu 'alaykum.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Salamun wa rahmatullah.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah.

Muhammad al-Khani: How are you brother Mahir?

Mahir 'Abdullah: Welcome, please…

Muhammad al-Khani: Firstly, we give greetings of peace to Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: May Allah keep you safe my brother, and bless you.

Muhammad al-Khani: How are you O Shaykh?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: May Allah love you my brother, may He honour you.

Muhammad al-Khani: May Allah bless you throughout your life.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: May Allah also bless you.

Muhammad al-Khani: Our sheikh…

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Go ahead…

Muhammad al-Khani: The attack is on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) Muhammad, because this attack has now occurred a number of times; not just one time, two times or even ten times - from America, from Israel, from the Jews…we want a fatwa - the Arab State is giving anything or doing anything. We want a fatwa against those who are attacking the Prophet - (peace be upon him). And Assalamu 'alaykum.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Thank you, brother Muhammad. With me is brother Muhammad an-Najjar from Egypt. Welcome, brother Muhammad.

Muhammad an-Najjar: Assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, brother Mahir.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah.

Muhammad an-Najjar: Greetings to Shaykh Yusuf.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: May Allah preserve you, my brother.

Muhammad an-Najjar: And I tell him that I love him for the sake of Allah.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: May He for Whose sake you love me, love you also. May He bless you.

Muhammad an-Najjar: Brother Mahir.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Go ahead.

Muhammad an-Najjar: Will you hear [me out]?

Mahir 'Abdullah: Yes, go ahead.

Muhammad an-Najjar: Firstly, I have an objection to some of what Shaykh Yusuf says - may Allah reward him and grant him a long life - so I ask you to not interrupt me, I won't take half a minute with the permission of Allah.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Go ahead.

Muhammad an-Najjar: We do not want to feel psychologically defeated when some of these disbelievers attack the Prophet (peace be upon him) and accuse him of terrorism, or inclinations to violence, because the evidence does actually say that the Prophet used to use force, and the evidence is what he did to the Jews of Khaybar when he confirmed the words of the Companion Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh - may Allah be pleased with him. He said, "You were granted wisdom from Allah from above the heavens, and the battle has been fought, and the women have been captured." Just as the religion has gentleness and mercy, so it has force with those who deserve the use of force. The brother who asked - and I am not issuing a fatwa here - but the brother who asked about the ruling of he who insults the Prophet: the Prophet declared lawful the blood of he who insulted Allah and insulted the Prophet, even if he was hanging from the cloth of the Ka'bah. This is from our religion. We are not ashamed to say it. This is Islam. Whoever wants to accept it how it is, then let him accept it. Whoever doesn't want to accept it, then let him say that he is not a Muslim, and there will be nothing more to say.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok, brother Muhammad thank you, thank you very much. With me is brother Khalid Safooree from Washington. Welcome, brother Khalid.

Khalid Safooree: Assalamu 'alaykum.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah..

Khalid Safooree: The reality of the Muslim who lives in the United States, is that he continuously witnesses the attack against Islam and the Muslims. This is really not the first attack; a few years ago, the American-Jewish Committee published a book called, "An introduction to Islam for Jews" which was an explanation of Islam. It was full of lies and insults to Islam. The problem here is that the American-Jewish Committee for example, is one of the main Jewish organisations in the united Sates, and [has made] visits to probably all the Arab States without exception, and most of the Arab Foreign Ministers have breakfast with this organization when they come to Washington in every visit, sometimes it even throws luncheon parties for them with the Jewish community. And these such representatives of the Arab States are not bold enough to speak about what has befallen Islam by the distribution of these books by this organisation in the United States - the American-Jewish Committee distributed thousands of copies of this book in the United States, and even in some Islamic communities. We even tried to contact them with regard withdrawing this book from circulation, and they flat out refused, the even refused to sit with us to discuss this issue. So this is one of the problems - that the insults occur with the knowledge and acceptance from the sides which should stand in opposition to it, or at least those who represent the Arab and Islamic States.

The second problem is also real, and has recently appeared, is that the American media now uses Arab Christian priests in its attack against Islam. We have seen many programmes on which Christian priests from Jordan or Egypt, speaking on CNN and the other channels, say that Islam is a religion of bloodshed, and Islam is a wicked religion. It has caused much damage in the area, and in general. I believe that it is also the task of the Christian priests in the Arab states to come and respond to these people, because I don't imagine that…that…that they are used in such a manner should be something acceptable to the Christian brothers in our countries.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok, Thank you very much brother Khalid.

[commercial break]

Mahir 'Abdullah: Sir, before returning to the character of the Prophet - peace be upon him - to continue the comparison, to support the words of sister Dina 'Abdur'r-Rahman Namaki from…from Egypt, she says: "One of the most blood-filled books in the Torah is the book of Joshua, which the Christians also believe in, and in it is that Joshua killed…Joshua killed all the enemies of Bani Isra'il amongst the Tribe of Canaan, and did not leave a single person, nor a single animal, nor a single plant but that he destroyed it."

Brother 'Isa Dona Tabib from Syria: Respected Shaykh, all of this attack on the religion of Islam originates from a fear of its message, it being the religion of Truth, but what are the weapons that we must use to confront these disbelievers who commit an injustice against their own religion too?

We will speak about the Prophet (peace be upon him) to complete the three that we have started with, then we will return to the questions of the brothers on the phone lines.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Our speech actually is a reply to some of the brothers who also understood the message of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a wrong manner. The brother who mentioned Bani Qurayzah, he mentioned Khaybar but he meant Bani Qurayzah, and he understood that this was a use of violence. No, he didn't mean violence in the way it is understood today. Islam legislated the Jihad, and legislated fighting; just as it was legislated with Moses, it was legislated with Muhammad (peace be upon him). But the fighting in Islam has conditions and principles, and has goals, and has regulations, and has manners, it is not an open war, no. In Islam, war is bound by moral constitutions, just as politics in Islam is bound by moral constitutions, just like economics is bound by moral constitutions…we do not separate between moral constitutions and these aspects. We have moral constitutions, and everything is governed by Islamic law; the law honours principles and virtues, thus Islam has said, "And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allah likes not the transgressors." And [it has] also said, "But if they incline to peace, you also incline to it, and trust in Allah. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. And if they intend to deceive you…" even if they want to incline to peace deceptively, "…then verily, Allah is All-Sufficient for you. He it is Who has supported you with His Help and with the believers." "…but if they seek your help in religion, it is your duty to help them except against a people with whom you have a treaty of mutual alliance," even to this extent. Islam respects alliances, and respects covenants, and if we were to look at the battles of the Prophet peace be upon him.. Mahir 'Abdullah: Peace be upon him.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: …he whom they call the bloodthirsty prophet - the Prophet (peace be upon him) fought 27 battles, and sent a number of battles which he himself did not partake in. They were to defend the Islamic presence, the Islamic da'wah, the freedom of the call, and to fight the Fitna , as the Qur'an says, "And fight them until there is no more Fitna…", and the Qur'an considers the Fitna to be more severe than killing, "And al-Fitna is worse than killing," it is stronger in manner, and stronger in amount, why? Because [physical] fighting is an attack on the material entities of man, but the Fitna is an attack on the spiritual and moral entities, so Islam wanted to...to defend the freedom of the people and the freedom of all the religions, it said, "Had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, wherein the Name of Allah is mentioned much, would surely have been pulled down." Some of them say that Islam was spread by the sword. Our Shaykh al-Ghazali - may Allah have mercy on him - used to say, "On the contrary, the Islam was not victorious by the sword, it was victorious over the sword, because the sword was raised to it, and it countered the sword with the sword, for force can only be defeated with force." And Shawqi - may Allah have mercy on him - has a few beautiful lines of poetry in Nahj al-Burdah in which he says,

They said the battles, and the Messengers of Allah were not sent
To kill a person, nor did they come with bloodshed,
Lies and misguidance, dreams and sophistry,
Conquests with the sword came after conquests with the pen.
If you meet evil with good, it cannot bear it,
And if you meet it with evil, it will be erased.

Evil is only stopped with evil, and the person who started is in a worse [position]. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) was compelled to fight to defend his call, his brothers and his presence, through these 27 battles, but how many were the victims of these battles? Some of the brothers calculated it…they were all in the hundreds, they never reached the thousands, and the biggest loss was this one in Bani Qurayzah, which was a specific circumstance, because they plotted with the attackers of Madinah to uproot Islam totally, to pull it out from its roots - total annihilation. If this plan of the attackers from without and the plotters from within was successful, Islam would have totally ended, so it was a big crime, it was…and then the Prophet…

Mahir 'Abdullah: Peace be upon him.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: They said we rule - who do you rule? They ruled Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh, and Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh ruled. This is a well-known international matter, that how many were killed in the battle of Uhud…in the battle of Badr? 14 Muslims and 70 polytheists, and in the battle of Uhud 70 Muslims and units of polytheists. The Qur'an says about the Battle of the Trench, "And Allah sufficed for the believers in the fighting", "And Allah drove back those who disbelieved in their rage, they gained no advantage. And Allah sufficed for the believers in the fighting." It is not possible that these are the words of a bloodthirsty religion. It says all praise is to Allah that it ended without any killing and without a fight and without blood and in…in the conquest of Makkah likewise, in which the [enemy] fought despite the Hudaybiyyah Treaty, it ended with peace, and the Qur'an called it a manifest victory, "Verily, We have given you a manifest victory." Even 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Is it really a victory, O messenger of Allah?!" He could not imagine that it was a victory without a war, a conquest without a sword? A victory? He said, "Yes, it is a victory." The battles - all of them - only collected people in the hundreds. If you looked at the battles of Moses and Joshua and David and these such battles, the sister who says Joshua who annihilated the enemies of Bani Isra'il in thousands, tens of thousands, and not a single thing remained - compare between this and that.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok, we will just take the comments of some of those who have participated via the internet before we return to the questions of the brothers on the phone lines. Brother Muhammad Ramadan from Egypt says, "I think that we are failing to present our problems and issues of our religion in a correct manner. And in consequence, the Western countries have all the right to believe what they hear from the likes of this Reverend."

Brother Ra'id Faruq Shahwan - a Palestinian Muslim from Sweden: "How can we respond when they are ignorant of our Prophet, while we acknowledge the Prophets Jesus and Moses? May Allah be with you in your response…in your response to them."

Brother Ahmad from Palestine says: "We, the Muslims, have grown accustomed to these slanders, which indicate the hatred of the speaker towards the Muslims, but don't you think that these statements are now [in aid of] supporting Bush and mobilizing the American people to attack Iraq?"

Brother Sayfu'd-Din Muhammad, office worker, from Sudan: "The Americans may as well insult the Prophet (peace be upon him) given the absence of the scholars and righteous judges in the Islamic World, and their next attack will be on the Haram in Makkah; they will occupy it and corrupt it and nobody will criticize them for it."

Of course there are many questions regarding which of the scholars and Muslim raised an objection and which didn't. To be fair, many of them did, the foremost of which was the Shaykh of al-Azhar who issued a statement and protested against the comments.

If we now return to the words of Muhammad an-Najjar, about the psychological defeat - and we don't need to reply to all, I mean you have heard the response to the issue of force - When we defend and when we respond to such things, should it stem from [feelings of] psychological defeat…?

The Reality of Jihad in Islam

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: We don't deny that there is Jihad in Islam; we do not say that Islam is all peace and there is no Jihad. No, there is Jihad in Islam, and there is fighting and there is war, and Islam raises the Muslim to have a sense of honour, not to accept injustice. Either we live honourably, or we die as martyrs. So Islam does not at all accept that its sanctities be violated, or its land be trampled on, while remaining quiet. No, we must do this [i.e. defend and fight back]. And thus the Muslim scholars agreed that if the land of Islam was invaded, then the Jihad becomes an individual obligation on those in the land, and on all the Muslims to help them - this is a matter to which there is no…no doubt. We believe that Islam is a religion of power, but power does not mean that while we are walking we kill the people on our right and our left, no. The Messenger of Islam, he is the one who said [we do not do this]; he forbade the killing of women, the youth, the old, the invalids and the sick, and Abu Bakr forbade killing the monks in their monasteries, and 'Umar forbade killing the plowers…the farmers and the cultivators of the land, and the traders - who we call the townsmen - who do not carry weapons. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw in one of the battles that a women had been killed, he became angry and said, "This woman was not fighting, so why was she killed?" This woman was not…so war in Islam is codified and disciplined, it does not mean that you follow your desire, as a result of your anger, and you kill who you want. No, this is Islam.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok, before we reply to brother Khalid Safuri, we will hear from brother 'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i, also from America. 'Abdu'l-Karim, welcome.

'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i: Assalamu 'alaykum.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah.

'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i: I think Dr. al-Qaradawi remembers me, I was once with him on one of the Arab Muslim Youth gatherings in Detroit, and took a picture with him, does he remember me?

Mahir 'Abdullah: Please go ahead…go ahead.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: The brother…the name of the brother?

Mahir 'Abdullah: 'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Aah, yes actually…yes…yes, may Allah reward you with good.

'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i: You haven't forgotten me Dr.?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: The memory has grown weaker my brother, may Allah bless you.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Go ahead…go ahead.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: But the name…the name…rings a bell.

'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i: Dr., we have…we have an ayah which says, "And they give food, in spite of their love for it, to the poor, the orphan, and the captive."

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Yes, "(Saying): 'We feed you seeking Allah's Countenance only. We wish for no reward, nor thanks from you."

'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i: "(Saying): 'We feed you seeking Allaah's Countenance only. We wish for no reward, nor thanks from you." Who was this ayah revealed about?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Yes.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Is this your question brother, Abdu'l-Kareem?

'Abdu'l-Karim Rabi'i: Thank you…yes.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Thank you very much, sir. Do you have a brief answer for it?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: It was [about] the prisoner at that time, who was from the polytheists, so this indicates that Islam - in acts of good - does not distinguish between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. Some of the Muslims had relatives amongst the polytheists, and would refuse to be compassionate to them, so Allah revealed the verse: "Not upon you is their guidance, but Allah guides whom He wills. And whatever you spend in good, it is for yourselves, when you spend not except seeking Allah's countenance," And the mother of Asma' bint Abi Bakr came, and she was a polytheist, and Asma' said, "O Messenger of Allah, my mother has come to me and she is a polytheist, and she wants, she desires to…or she has brought something from me. Shall I accept it?" He said to her, "Keep your ties," and they said that then Allah revealed the verse: "Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity. It is only as regards those who fought against you on account of religion, and have driven you out of your homes, and helped to drive you out…", and He distinguished between the Muslim and the non-Muslim.

Mahir 'Abdullah: But this if…if you permit me to divert the topic briefly, this topic I think is important and serious these days. I mean, this is what the question of brother 'Abdu'l-Karim suggested: There are Islamists, there are scholars, there are group that call to a different understanding, they want to disassociate with the polytheists. We always speak about the efforts of the missionaries, the missionary donates a hospital to the Muslim. Yes, he has a hidden agenda that he wants to proselytize him, but we want to…we don't want them to enter Islam, nor do we want to help them, we don't want to do any charity work, we don't…we don't want to serve them, and some [even] say that this is forbidden, "Only a god-fearing person should eat from your food", "Only a believer should enter your house". What you have said from the story of Asma', and what the brother has said…and you mentioned in…in the course of your answer to him about the polytheist captive.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Yes.

Mahir 'Abdullah: From the qualities of the believer is that they feed their polytheist prisoners.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Yes.

Mahir 'Abdullah: How did we come to think [then]…that it is not permissible to be good to them, nor to….?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Without a doubt, all of the religions have extremists and moderates, they have literalists and non-literalists and different schools of thought. I am talking [from the point of view of] the middle school, which takes all the texts and links them together…and weighs up the allegorical verses with the clear ones, and the branches [of knowledge] to the fundamentals [of knowledge], and the parts to the wholes, and looks at the general aims of the Islamic law; it doesn't take a single verse and then say to you, "This has abrogated all the other verses", like some of them say [about] the verse of the sword. This verse of the sword is as though it has cut the necks of 140 or 200 verses in the Qur'an. But this isn't so. If you say, "Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better", some of them will say, "This has been abrogated by the verse of the sword." "The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better," "This has been abrogated by the verse of the sword." "Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish," "This has been abrogated by the verse of the sword." "So be patient with a good patience," has been abrogated…this kind of speech has been examined by the researchers in Islam.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Continue.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: I speak in the name of the middle way of Islam, which takes Islam from the pure fountains, and takes the texts altogether. This doesn't mean that we surrender to our enemies. No, we must fight for our rights, and maybe I am accused of being in this…in this way, because I support the Intifada, and I support the resistance, and I support the martyrdom operations - these are all needed. But at the same time, we call for making peace, we keep peace with those who keep peace with us, and we have enmity with those who show us enmity, and we fight those who fight us. We do not bow our heads to those who want to trample on our necks, nor to those who take our souls, or shed our blood - this is what we believe in and call to. There is an Arab poet who says,

If I am in need of insight, then at times
I am more in need of ignorance.
I have a horse for insight, bridled for insight,
And I have a horse for ignorance, bridled for ignorance.
Who wants to straighten me, then I am straightened,
And who wants to bend me , then I am bent.
I accept not ignorance as a friend and companion,
But I accept it when I am forced to.

When we have no choice, when our honour is trampled on, when our rights are lost, when our honour is violated, we must defend ourselves with force and violence, and here violence is legislated.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Yes, ok. Let us now hear from brother Fakhri Hijazayn from Jordan. Brother Fakhri, welcome.

Fakhri Hijazayn: Assalamu 'alaykum…Assalamu 'alaykum.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: 'Alaykum as salam.… 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah..

Fakhri Hijazayn: Sir, Shaykh Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi, I would like to comment.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Please do.

Fakhri Hijazayn: Regarding prophet David, and these stories of his…I personally regard them to be unrealistic and untrue, they [the Jews and Christians] wrote them with their own hands. Even Prophet David - they accuse him of being a terrorist. When he stood on the roof of his house and saw a woman bathing, so he called her and raped her, and she became pregnant, and he sent someone to kill her husband in the war, and then he sent a message to the leader, and said to him that you should place this person in the midst of the battle so he would die. Is this not the description of a terrorist that is being attributed to this prophet? Even most of the prophets…

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: But…but I think that these are myths and legends.

Fakhri Hijazayn: Correct, correct…I believe that the stories which are in the Torah or in the olden days are all stories they wrote with their own hands for themselves, but what I am saying is: Is the Arab and Islamic Nation asleep? If it is asleep, it will awaken, as the saying goes, "Sleep is the spring of women, and the coming men", but if it is dead, then there is no power and no might except with Allah, and indeed to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok brother…brother Fakhri, I think that your point is very clear. With me is brother Salih al-'Amri from Saudi Arabia. Brother Salih, welcome.

Salih al-'Amri: Assalamu 'alaykum

Mahir 'Abdullah: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Wa 'alaykum as salam wa rahmatullah..

Salih al-'Amri: Good evening to you, honourable Shaykh.

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Good evening to you my brother, may Allah bless you.

Salih al-'Amri: How are you brother Abu 'Abdullah?

Mahir 'Abdullah: Welcome, please go ahead brother.

Salih al-'Amri: My honoured brother, Islam has been built on Faith, and what is Faith? We are a people who believe in Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and the pillars of Faith are that we believe in His book which is the Qur'an, and His Prophets which are His Messengers, and the Final Day, the good and the bad of it. The likes of this person who speak about the Prophet (peace be upon him) I believe that we do not want to give him more importance than is necessary, because all praise is to Allah, we are believers, and we believe in what Allah has revealed, and what He has sent with the Messengers. I request the Muslim brothers, and I am not a da'i, but the correct thing, with all due respect to the honourable Shaykh, is that we should not give them more than they are due.

The role of the Muslims in responding to the insults directed at Islam

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok brother Salih, the point is also clear, and insha'Allah listen to the comments of the Shaykh on it. If we repeat the question of brother Khalid Sidi, from the Jewish Committee, and I know that some active brothers in the Political Islamic sphere in…in America are very annoyed at this American-Jewish committee which has been spoken about, and what disturbs them the most is not only what has been spread through books like 'A Introduction to Islam for Jews'. What disturbs them more is that these close relationships which tie this Committee restricts many Arab ministers, for we can recall what was stated that many Arab Ministers do not visit Washington without meeting this Committee, and if they desire to meet the Jewish community, they must choose to meet it only through this committee, whereas when they [the Committee] enter the Arab capitals, they enter as honoured and respected [guests]. Yes they still refuse, with a surprising stubbornness, to withdraw this book from sale. What is your advice to Dr. 'Abdu'l-Wahid Belkaziz, as secretary-general…

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Sorry?

Mahir 'Abdullah: What is your advice to someone like Dr. 'Abdu'l- Wahid Belkaziz the secretary-general…in his capacity (as secretary-general to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference)? How can we criticize at a time when those who spread ideas, like Falwell - we have to deal with them politically, as though they are a necessary prerequisite to Washington?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: This is the reality, which points us to something. I mean, there is a shortcoming, and there are failures from the Islamic regard, and in the Islamic sphere, in that we do not have strong tools by which to respond to these factors; that of knowledge before all else. If there is a book, then we must respond to it with a book. If there is the internet, we must respond to it via the internet. If it is judicial, we respond to it in a similar fashion… and unfortunately, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which represents the Islamic Nation, is not able to fulfill the role that it has been entrusted with…even its very name indicates its weakness, for when the Muslim leaders gathered after the fire in Masjid al-Aqsa, and wanted to establish an organisation which would represent the Islamic world, and would give expression to the conscience of the Islamic Nation, they said, "Ok we will call it the League of Islamic States." Some people said, "No, we are not Islamic States, we are secular states, we are states"… "Ok, then what shall we call it?" So they were confused as to what they should call it, so they said. "We are now in an Islamic conference, let us call it the Organisation of the Islamic Conference." In Arabic, they call it 'a possessive construction for the furthest association.' So the Global Islamic organization which represents the Muslims is needed by many people to undertake its duty of defending the Islam…and the Islamic Nation.

The ministers and ambassadors and people who go to Washington are unfortunately not those who carry within them the concern for Islam, and the spirit of Islam and the Islamic thought, such that they are clear about the concept of love and hate for the sake of Allah, and to know the enemy from the friend, and know the peaceful from the hostile, no…no…no…this problem no longer worries them, so the problem needs to be re-defined, the Nation needs to be rebuilt for us to confront our enemies.

We believe that these things cannot be confronted with one speech, or with one programme, or with…it can only be confronted with planning, planning for an Islamic Nation which needs to defend its existence and presence, and its message, and this planning has to be built on knowledge and information and statistics and figures, and we need to mobilize men for this who believe in it and who are able to bear its burdens. This is what must be done.

As for only responding to an insult with an insult…no…no…this is not what is needed.

To issue a fatwa, the brother says we should issue a fatwa, a fatwa to whom? We have Ibn Taymiyyah who has written a book on 'Defaming the Messenger.' So, if he was a Muslim, this would be considered apostasy and he would be killed…he should not even be asked to repent first, for attacking the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not…is not accepted from a Muslim. As for the non-Muslim, then you have no control over him, especially in a situation of weakness, degradation and servility in which we live in this difficult and weak period of our days.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok, just permit me to inform the brothers of the site belonging to the Reverend Jerry Falwell, which has much distorted information. I think you will see it on your screens shortly. Some of what can be done - and many brothers have asked via internet about what can be done - at least as a start, we can write to the Reverend or to those who upload the information to his site, at: www.falwell.com/historical-data.html

The historical part, it is of course part of the main site, even (.com) is the main site for the Reverend, and whatever else is added to it is related to Islam. This brings us again to the question of brother Khalid…many questions - what can we do on the internet? The role of the religious Arab Christians? And what is the difference between the Western Church and the Eastern Church, and the Zionist synagogue in...in the West, and specifically in…in America? Is the Organisation of the Islamic Conference not able, despite its weakness, to send a group of letters from Arab Christian priests, due to the fact that they do not start off from a point of difference as do us and them, [so that] at least they participate in…can they play a positive role?

The role of the Arab Christians in responding to the Western priests who attack Islam

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: In reality, there are some Arab Christian priests who deserve respect, for example Father Hanna 'Ata Allah, the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church and the Chief Spokesman for the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem. He visited us here in Qatar, and I also met him in Abu Dhabi, and in other places too. He was recently accused of having attacked the other Churches, or...or...or being against Israel etc, and so he was taken and interrogated, and then they set him free. This is a respectable man. I met some brothers in the Conference in Rome, and we held dialogues with the Christians in Rome in the Christianity and Islam Summit that was held last October. Some Arab brothers came, including a brother from Aleppo whose name I have forgotten. He was also respectable. There was also Father Shnoda in…in...in Egypt, and brother Rafiq Habib, and other Christian brothers, George Ishaq and…there were a number of…and brother…I have also forgotten his name, but he gifted me a book in…in…in Egypt actually. There are many Christian brothers in Egypt, and in Palestine, and in Lebanon, and in other places, who deal with Islam justly, and who defend the existence of the Arab Nation in a general sense, and defend the Arab right in face of the Israeli oppression, and the American bias towards Israel, so such people do exist.

Perhaps the Organisation of the Islamic Conference should try and take benefit from such people, and perhaps…I believe that there are many others who can be benefited from. Also, in November last year, we were invited to a Conference for Christian-Muslim dialogue, with specific emphasis on the Arab Christians, the Arab Christians who represent the various Churches…

Mahir 'Abdullah: The Arab [churches].

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: And it was actually a very good conference, in which al-Azhar, and the Shaykh of al-Azhar took part, and many of the important men from Egypt, and the various Arab countries.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Brother Muhammad Ibrahim, a teacher from Saudi Arabia, says: Wouldn't it be better for us to respond to those who insult the Prophet (peace be upon him) from our own people, before responding to outsiders…

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: [interrupts] Who what?

Mahir 'Abdullah: Who insult the Prophet (peace be upon him) - from our own people, some of the writers who dishonour...some of the Arab writers who dishonour him - before looking further and responding to the outsiders who insult the Prophet (peace be upon him)?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Certainly, this is our duty. I mean, if we respond to those who are strangers, then what about those from within who attack the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)? This would be strange coming from a Muslim, or even from an Arab, for the Arab Christians, even in our country, are ashamed to attack the character of Muhammad (peace be upon him. Many of them - even Michel Aflaq spoke about Muhammad as an important Arab genius. Even those who do not believe in Muhammad as a Messenger from Allah, believe in him as one of the greatest figures of the Arab Nation who played a significant role in history. One of the Americans wrote about the greatest 100 figures in history, and at the top of the list of these 100 figures, he put Muhammad (peace be upon him), yes.

Mahir 'Abdullah: In all fairness to the American Muslim Council (AMC)…in one of its open newsletters…the latest newsletters on the Internet which they distribute to their subscribers, they mentioned a group of writers and scholars who can be quoted, they quote for example Thomas Carlyle in a book he wrote about Heroism…

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: The Heroes…

Mahir 'Abdullah: Heroes and hero-worship, he says some beautiful words…to summarize, the most important message is that "…all that we have written about Muhammad … about this man, is shameful to us, and the lies we have fabricated against him is an embarrassing and shameful matter to us and to our culture."

Also the Irish philosopher and satirist Bernard Shaw - they quote from his book 'The genuine Islam', in which he says: "I would not be surprised if I were today to see Islam ruling England, and not just England alone, but all of Europe. It is the only religion, which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence, which can make itself appeal to every age. I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today" - this was published in 1936.

They mention a large number of western scholars and thinkers. In brief, as we only have two more minutes, try and answer these two questions, brother Muhammad 'Ali Hasan…or…or one minute, "The Jews and the Christians will never be pleased with you until you follow their way", and brother 'Abdullah az-Zahrani from Saudi Arabia objects to the issue of love, "Have you forgotten the saying of Allah the Almighty, "Repel (the evil) with one which is better, then Verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend." by way of objection and…I said…

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: The issue of love what?

Mahir 'Abdullah: That it is strange that Jesus would call to loving the enemy, doesn't…didn't it say in the Qur'an "he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend"?

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Yes, but you weren't told to love him, you were told to repel it, with that which is better, so we…He said, "Repel (the evil) with one which is better" - treat them in the best way, even if your heart does not like it, because love is a matter which you do not possess. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was just to his wives in the evident matters, and then he would say, "O Allah, this is how I have divided in what You have given me the power to control, so do not blame me for what You have not given me the power to control," meaning the affairs of the heart, the affairs of the hearts, the hearts…these hearts - I cannot love my enemy, but what I can do is be just to my enemy, and this is what Islam has taught.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Okay, Thank you, sir…

Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi: "And let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice", meaning the intense anger, whether from them to us or from us to them. "And let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety": Justice with the friend and the enemy is what Islam has ordered.

Mahir 'Abdullah: Ok, May Allah reward you sir. Thank you, and thank you the viewers also. We apologise to all those whose questions we could not find time to answer. Till we meet you again next week, greetings from us, and Assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.