France

North American Muslim leaders clarify the misunderstanding surrounding the free speech provocation in France

Are Muslims Permitted to Behead those who Insult Islam?

Are Muslims Permitted to Behead those who Insult Islam?

Eric Brazau

French Teacher Patty Beheading is it permissible? The answer could be yes. However, it must be contextualized. French teacher Samuel Patty’s beheading happened in the street of a Paris suburb. The Chechen refugee who beheaded him was shot to death by French police. This man did not attempt to escape. He sacrificed his life for Islam. He is a hero to some in the Muslim community.

Not all Muslims were pleased with the French Teacher Patty Beheading.

Some people were outraged by this act of beheading a teacher. Many labeled this to be a savage, barbarian act. Many were quick to denounce this act of beheading as unacceptable. It was condemned  for all the regularly stated reasons. Others said this act of beheading does not represent the TRUE Islam. Others said the Moscow-born Chechen refugee who beheaded the teacher was misunderstanding.  

Contextualizing the Islamic Perspective on Beheading those who Insult Islam or Prophet Mohammad PBUH.

Imam Shabbir Ally

(Biography) was interviewed on Let The Quran Speak

There are classical books written that explain the religion of Islam. And these classical interpretations of Islam make it so objectionable to criticize God or the prophet or the scriptures of Islam, to the extent that they prescribe the death penalty for the critic.

Question: Are you saying that this is part of Islamic law then?

There is a report saying that the prophet Muhammad PBUH validated the actions of a person who took the matter into his own hands and slaughtered the critic.

Imam Jawed Anwar

Muslims have requested that blasphemy, ridiculing, insulting and disgracing against Prophet Muhammad be made a punishment, crime felony. Muslims can tolerate anything… But whenever someone insults Prophet Muhammad, they always react, they get revenge. They cannot control their sentiments. The word tolerance doesn’t apply here. Enough will be enough. It has been proven in history again and again. Whenever someone dishonored and insulted Prophet Muhammad, Muslims always first try to convince them not to do that. But if they do not abstain and ignore the collective demands of the Muslims, some young blood comes forward to make a score. The non-Muslim world, the courts, convicted and hanged them, but in the eyes of Muslims they are martyrs.(heroes)

Muslim Community has given Repeated Warning that Perceived Insult Would be Severely Punished with Execution.

Imam Yasir Qadhi

Interviewer

We also have to conclude that there is a strain or narrative within the Muslim community that uses Islam to justify such actions? (beheading for insulting Islam) And our history is replete with such devotion towards the messenger.

Response

Like all discussions, we have to start with the revelation. How does Islam ask us to respond to such deliberate provocation against the messenger of Allah?… We have to acknowledge that we do have two sets of principles or paradigms depending on our context. There is indeed a Mecca phase and a Medina phase.

Because again, in Mecca, no Muslim committed any act of vigilante justice against those that persecuted him. Now, obviously in the Medina phase, Muslims have political power and there is a very different set of rules.

The Beheading was not actually Condemned but the Political Effect was seen as Unfavorable.

Imam Karim AbuZaid

Someone is insulting Mohammad and depicting him in cartoons. The whole Ummah is rising, saying we cannot take that! You see, I understand if a non-Muslim feels this way. Because they are not educated about the love, they are not informed about the love which Allah has placed into the hearts of every Muslim for the prophet Muhammad.

So, why are we blamed (for beheading French Teacher), rebuked, for showing this love?

Is the Perspective of Execution being Uncivilized a form of White Colonialist Islamophobia?
Saudi Arabia Leading Authority Provides References that Unequivocally Supports Execution for Perceived Insult to Islam

Islam Q&A is an academic, educational, da‘wah website that offers advice and academic answers based on evidence from religious texts. These answers are supervised by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid. 

Question

There is no one among us who is unaware of what the Christians say defaming the Prophet. What should be done?

Answer

Defaming the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is a kind of kufr. If that is done by a Muslim, then it is apostasy on his part, and the authorities have to defend the cause of Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by executing the one who defamed him. If the one who defamed him repents openly and is sincere, that will benefit him before Allaah, although his repentance does not waive the punishment for defaming the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is execution. 

Question

With regard to the Muslim who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in secret and conceals it, if he repents before he is executed, will Allah accept his repentance? Or does he have to announce what he did so that he will be executed before Allah will accept his return to Islam?

Answer

Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The majority of scholars are agreed that the one who impugns the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is to be executed. 

Al-Khattaabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

I do not know of any of the Muslims who differed concerning the obligation of executing him.

Ma‘aalim as-Sunan, 3/295 

Secondly: 

If the one who impugned the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) repents and regrets what he did, and he comes back to Islam, that repentance will benefit him in his relationship with Allah. So before Allah he will be a believing Muslim. But the obligation of executing him will not be waived.

French Teacher Patty Beheading

Conclusion

According to what we learn in this article, Muslim leaders and Islamic doctrine sanction execution for insult. Insult cannot easily be separated from annoyance or disagreement. Therefore, if a Muslim disagrees with a statement, he can feel insulted. Insult is not usually a fact, but an opinion based on perception; however, people can be hunted and executed because of a perception.

Imam Yasir Qadhi: “Islam will be Victorious”

Imam Yasir Qadhi: “Islam will be Victorious”

Eric Brazau

“Islam will be Victorious.” October 2020 Muslim Jihadist decapitated French teacher Samuel Paty. Muslim Jihadist also killed three other Catholics in Niece. Imam Yasir Qadhi, and world renown Islamic leader, is responding to the backlash in an interview on ‘The Thinking Muslim‘ Podcast: Difficult Questions About the Situation in France that premiered Nov 2, 2020

The following description is from Imam Yasir Qadhi’s you tube channel: Shaykh, Dr. Yasir Qadhi speaks about the French Policy towards Muslims, the potential for the ‘French model’ to be exported to other countries where Muslims are a minority. He also touches on the Islamic justifications for violence, how Muslim should defend the honour of the Messenger of Allah. (SAW) Below is an Excerpt of the Video.

Crisis, no. Islam is on the rise, Alhamdulillah. By in large, I think that is an undeniable fact… In Western lands our generation is more religious than the generation of our parents. Think about that. My parents came to this land in the late sixties and seventies. Hardly, in fact let me say I think nobody wore hijab… But to answer your question I don’t agree with the term crisis. But I do agree that we have a new set of challenges. And, Alhamdulillah [praise to Allah] the Ummah has always risen to its challenges. And the Ummah is always going to succeed in the long run. We firmly believe this because of the promise of the Quran. Alhamdulillah. [praise God]

Yasir Qadhi

In this malignant atmosphere, there is also the spectre of militancy. The provocations of Charlie Hebdo’s drawings of Rasullallah (saw) and its relentless campaign against the Islamic faith

Canadian Imam Said Regaeh a voices that echo the message of Yasir Qadhi. Said Regaeh is the founder of Sakinah Islamic Community Centre in Scarborough

With four, five [hundred] thousand Muslims you can create the most powerful lobby in Canada… with that number of Muslims you can create one of the strongest Muslim business in Toronto…”If you just put our resources, if we put our resources together, if we can work together as an Ummah [Muslim nation] we can change a lot…

The following are excerpt from Islam Q&A . They deal with the topic of execution for insult or blasphemy.

Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Bihaayah (10/111) 

It took the Muslims ten years to gain control over all the Iranian lands, because of their huge size and difficult terrain. 

One of the things that played a role in the spread of Islam in Iran was the migration of many Arab tribes to Iranians land in which they settled and mixed with the Iranians. 

The Muslims invaded India at the time of Mu‘aawiyah, in 44 AH. There occurred things which will be explained below. It was also invaded by the great ruler Mahmoud ibn Sabuktagin, the ruler of Ghaznah who conquered India around 400 AH. He invaded the land, where he killed, took prisoners, and captured booty. He entered Somnath where he broke the greatest idol that they used to worship, and he captured its swords and necklaces. Then he returned, safe and victorious.

Some will say this is Islamic colonialism. 

Al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah (6/223) Deception in war

Colorado Imam: You are in Crisis Macron Not Islam. Islam is Growing. “Islam will be Victorious.”

Texas Imam “killing civilians and whatnot” “But we cannot ignore provocation”

Texas Imam “killing civilians and whatnot” “But we cannot ignore provocation”

Eric Brazau

Premiered Nov 2, 2020 Imam Yasir Qadhi is responding on, Thinking Muslim’ Podcast: Difficult Questions About the Situation in France, the increasing tensions in France, that has, in the last several days, been stricken with two jihadist attacks. French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded & 3 people in church in Niece were killed an elderly woman was decapitated.

The following description is from Imam Yasir Qadhi’s you tube channel: Shaykh, Dr. Yasir Qadhi speaks about the French Policy towards Muslims, the potential for the ‘French model’ to be exported to other countries where Muslims are a minority. He also touches on the Islamic justifications for violence, how we (Muslims) should defend the honour of the Messenger of Allah. (SAW) Below is an excerpt of this interview.

If you listen to my lectures throughout Al Qaeda and ISIS era I was always without exception bringing up American foreign policy as a primary cause of those jihadist movements. I gave a number of lectures that went viral. That once again, yes I criticize the beheading of journalists. I criticize a lot of the errant views that Al Qaeda and ISIS had and the killing civilians and whatnot. But I never stop speaking of the broad picture which is, these movements are, a reaction to your invasion

The same applies over here now. What we’re seeing now is wrong. What these people are doing is wrong. But we cannot ignore provocation. We cannot ignore…

This is what I call it asymmetric warfare. You have the state on one side, you have the media, you have the president, on one side that is prodding and poking and provoking and wanting to incite, continuously demonizing the entire faith. And on the other side you have a bunch of citizens like us expected to monitor each and every individual. That’s impossible… It is the government that should think about its future course of action. Not as a threat to – for a future attack but as a sensible policy. In this case secularism has become an excuse to be anti-Muslim. Therefore even when this one attack happened, or three attacks or two attacks, we criticize those attacks. But we always jump to the broader narrative. And Allah knows best this is what has been my philosophy pretty much from the beginning.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi is a Pakistani-American Islamic scholar, theologian and preacher. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Texas. He also taught in the Religious Studies department at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He is currently the resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center in Plano, Texas.

Qadhi has written numerous books and lectured widely on Islam and contemporary Muslim issues. A 2011 The New York Times Magazine essay by Andea Elliott described Qadhi as “one of the most influential conservative clerics in American Islam.

Qadhi was previously affiliated with the Salafi movement but has since left the movement and now identifies as a Sunni.

Texas Imam: France is blatantly Islamophobic & Xenophobic. Muslims say Enough is Enough

Texas Imam: France is blatantly Islamophobic & Xenophobic. Muslims say Enough is Enough

Eric Brazau

In the weeks prior to Nov 2, 2020, France has been stricken with two jihadist attacks. French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded and 3 people in a church were killed, including an elderly woman who was decapitated. American Imam Yasir Qadhi, a world renowned Islamic leader, is responding to the backlash.

Interview with ‘The Thinking Muslim’ Podcast: Difficult Questions About the Situation in France  Premiered Nov 2, 2020

The following description is from Imam Yasir Qadhi’s youtube channel:

Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi speaks about the French Policy towards Muslims, the potential for the ‘French model’ to be exported to other countries where Muslims are a minority. He also touches on the Islamic justifications for violence, how we should defend the honour of the Messenger of Allah. (SAW) Below is an excerpt of the lecture.

“Again I reiterate our loyalties are to our creator not to our nation state. As for France, I’ve only been three times, I think. I agree with you. And of course I have met many French Muslims. I agree with you the xenophobia, Islamophobia, I really don’t know of any other Western country in the world that is more blatantly Islamophobic than France. I do not know of any other country. Now that is frightening because France has the highest percentage of Muslims of any – the entire Western world. Those two facts together do not bode well for the future. That’s all I will say – do not bode well. If you study history, and the exacerbations going on, tit for tat, at what point do the Muslims say enough is enough?” Video Excerpt

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi is a Pakistani-American Islamic scholar, theologian and preacher. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Texas. He also taught in the Religious Studies department at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He is currently the resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center in Plano, Texas.

Qadhi has written numerous books and lectured widely on Islam and contemporary Muslim issues. A 2011 The New York Times Magazine essay by Andea Elliott described Qadhi as “one of the most influential conservative clerics in American Islam.

Qadhi was previously affiliated with the Salafi movement but has since left the movement and now identifies as a Sunni.

The following are excerpts from Islam Q&A academic, educational and da‘wah website supervised by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid, dealing with the topic of execution for insult or blasphemy.

Defaming the Prophet PBUH is a kind of kufr. If that is done by a Muslim then it is apostasy on his part, and the authorities have to defend the cause of Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by executing the one who defamed him.

If a Muslim hears a Christian or anyone else defaming the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) he has to denounce him in strong terms. It is permissible to insult that person because he is the one who started it. How can we not stand up the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? It is also obligatory to report him to the authorities who can carry out the punishment on him. If there is no one who can carry out the hadd punishment of Allaah and stand up for the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) then the Muslim has to do whatever he can.

That is because there is no room for compromise with regard to the rights of Allaah but there is room for compromise when it comes to the rights of human beings. 

from al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah (1/237-238) 

The ruling of execution because of a word that somebody utters is what the Muslim scholars call al-riddah (apostasy). What is apostasy and what constitutes apostasy? What is the ruling on the apostate (al-murtadd)? 

Texas Imam: Islamic Terror attacks Fuel Islamophobia Taking a Toll on the Muslim Community

Texas Imam: Islamic Terror attacks Fuel Islamophobia Taking a Toll on the Muslim Community

Eric Brazau

Premiered Nov 2, 2020, Interview with Imam Yasir Qadhi on ‘The Thinking Muslim’ Podcast: Difficult Questions About the Situation in France.

Question

But I think it would be remiss of me not to mention the events currently unfolding in Niece. Yet again, France is subject to another set of murders. Initially, reports suggest that Muslims may be involved. You said that after the killing of Samuel Paty, that Muslims should stop condemning. Yet after today’s attack you did condemn these crimes. But doesn’t that condemnation imply some level of culpability on behalf of the Muslim community? Can you explain your thinking behind this, Sheikh?

Yasir Qadhi: To be precise it wasn’t that I said we should stop condemning unconditionally. I was contextualizing and saying that we need to understand where that anger is stemming from.  And that the onslaught of terror that France & Europe – and I did, even in the hutba (sermon). I explicitly said that what that individual did was wrong. So we need to be a little bit more careful because we have so many different demographics that we’re dealing with. It’s well nigh impossible to say something that’s not going to offend one demographic. Which means we need to forget about offending or not, and we need to think a little bit more to speaking the truth, speaking the reality. So we are now caught between a rock and a hard place. We have, on the one side, our own Muslim community that has been burnt and scarred. That Our Prophet PBUH has been ridiculed and threatened… They have just been completely rinsed out for the last decade and a half. Always having to condemn, always having to be on the defensive, and they are simply tired. They really are tired and they have every right to be tired. For how long are we going to be expected to, as you said, condemn or apologize on behalf of somebody that has nothing to do with us?  The narrative of radical Islam, the narrative of Muslims and Islam has an inherent problem with violence. And even the more broad-minded amongst them, even the more tolerant amongst them, are saying “okay, the majority of Muslims are not terrorists but the majority of terrorists are Muslims”. They have bought that narrative. And we need to work to challenge that narrative of the mainstream. We need to understand their narrative and then work to change it.  The way that’s going to happen is by getting out of our safety zone and bubble from within our own community and to acknowledge that, you know what, they have been miss-fed a series of lies and narratives that is incorrect. In order to battle that we are going to have to say things that – I don’t like to apologize for what happened. I don’t. It’s not my business to do that.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi is a Pakistani-American Islamic scholar, theologian and preacher. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Texas. He also taught in the Religious Studies department at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He is currently the resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center in Plano, Texas.

Qadhi has written numerous books and lectured widely on Islam and contemporary Muslim issues. A 2011 The New York Times Magazine essay by Andea Elliott described Qadhi as “one of the most influential conservative clerics in American Islam. Qadhi was previously affiliated with the Salafi movement but has since left the movement and now identifies as a Sunni.

  • Yasir Qadhi Picture: screengrab from YouTube Yasir Qadhi