International Holocaust Remembrace Day: AIFD remains committed to “never again”

We at AIFD would like to take this opportunity to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Berknau.

As we remember the six million lives lost – young men and women, elders, husbands, wives, children, grandchildren, loved ones and friends – may we not speak the words “never again” and allow them to prove hollow. May we vow to make “never again” a solemn and enduring vow, both to honor of the spirits of those lost during that most horrid time in history; and to inspire our continued commitment to combat oppression and tyranny.

Tragically, even seventy years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the world is not post-anti-Semitism. Please watch our most recent video blog on this issue here, read the transcript below, and join us in our commitment to combat anti-Semitism both within and outside of our community. Never again.

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Hello, and thank you for taking the time to let me speak to you on behalf of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, or AIFD.

AIFD is founded on the principle that freedom of conscience is an inalienable human right; and that we Muslims have an urgent responsibility to combat Islamism, an ideology responsible for the repression of religious freedom worldwide.

We also believe that we Muslims must admit to and address the uncomfortable but undeniable truth that anti-Semitism remains a rampant problem within our communities – both in Muslim majority societies and in the West.

It is outrageous, but it is true, that too many in our communities support groups like Hamas and their apologists. It is also true that we don’t do nearly enough to challenge anti-Semitic interpretations of our religion disseminated at dinner tables, in mosques, online, and on the street.

Even a quick perusal of Arab and Muslim media outlets reveals an avalanche of hatred and incitement against Jews. Leading Muslim politicians from countries the United States treats as allies, as well as religious leaders and even musicians echo one another in hatred: they call the Jewish people apes, spreaders of disease and perversion, and worse. Some outright call for the extermination of Jews and express their admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Unfortunately, it seems that too many people – both within and outside of our community – seem to think that we live in a world that is “post anti-Semitism,” and thus do not take seriously the vitriol so many spout against the Jewish people, failing even to see continued violence against Jews (including the recent stabbing in a New York synagogue and the attack on a visibly Jewish man also in New York City, just in the recent past) as part of a larger, alarming trend. Not only have Muslims not moved beyond anti-Semitism; society at large as not moved beyond this evil.

As we witness a rising tide of attacks on Jews worldwide – from anti-Semitic riots in Europe to attacks on Jews in Israel and even right here in the United States – we must be sure to take a vocal and uncompromising stand against anti-Semitism both when the perpetrators are from our community, and when they are not.
We at AIFD vow to stand with our Jewish friends against anti-Semitism, no matter the source and most especially within the Muslim community. We will continue to do so vigorously and without apology, recognizing that your freedom is tied to our own, and that it is our sacred duty to protect that freedom.
We invite both our Muslim brothers and sisters and our non-Muslim allies to join us in this fight. Please visit our website at www.aifdemocracy.org to learn more about our work, subscribe to our email list, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Thank you.

Comments on the Death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

We at AIFD will shed no tears for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who passed away yesterday, January 22nd.

As the head of a tyrranical, murderous and notoriously repressive government, King Abdullah is responsible for the execution of dissidents, the torture of minorities, and the exportation of the most malignant strain of politicized, radicalized Islam the world has known.

We do not share in the saccharine and morally bankrupt assessment of many in the media. King Abdullah was no “reformer,” and we grant him no credit for “nudging” the Kingdom forward. Under King Abdullah’s reign, Saudi Arabia remained the country where bloggers are sentenced to potentially fatal lashings, where writers are jailed for tweets , dissidents and “witches” are beheaded, and where the monarchy itself participates in child marriage and the religious establishment calls Jews “apes and pigs.” We have to question the integrity of those in the media and ruling classes who are now eulogizing King Abdullah as though he were worthy of admiration. Even Queen Elizabeth has ordered Britain’s flags to fly at half-mast today. While we do not revel in death, we also will not celebrate or participate in the fictional retelling of King Abdullah’s legacy.

The House of Saud, with the king at the helm, likes to refer to itself as the “Custodian of the two Holy Mosques” – that is, the owners and overseers of the holiest sites in Islam. We at AIFD reject not only this structure, but also the Saudi regime’s stranglehold on contemporary Islam. From the megalomania of the House of Saud to the cancer of Wahhabism, we at AIFD recognize that the real reformers of Saudi Arabia are languishing in its jails, dying by its sword, and living suffocated behind its walls; while those in power fuel the radicalization that brought us 9/11, the attack at Fort Hood, and even ISIS. The real human tragedy and loss is that today, the world sends condolences for King Abdullah while heroes like Raif Badawi remain in prison, the marks of severe lashes yet unhealed.

While we will not cry for King Abdullah, we are also not optimistic about his successor, King Salman – said to be even more repressive and problematic than King Abdullah, particularly with regard to women’s and minority rights.

In the wake of King Abdullah’s passing, we will not just pray for, but also continue to work tirelessly for the day when we Muslims and the world rid ourselves of the evils of theocracy and dictatorship. At a time when the movement to advance individual liberty and autonomy within the “house of Islam” is already challenging, we who stand for freedom and universal human rights must be more diligent than ever. Our hill just became steeper.

 

AIFD and other Muslims Against Islamism in the New York Times: See the ad, Join the Movement

We at the American Islamic Forum for Democracy are always seeking new ways to expand our reach and impact. We were honored to be approached by the Gatestone Institute to place a full-page ad in the New York Times featuring text inspired by the writing of one of our fellows, Ahmed Vanya. Ahmed’s piece, “Beautifying Islam,” served as the basis for the ad.

The ad was finalized before the horrific attacks in Paris, but was published today, January 11, 2015. It is exactly the right moment for the ad’s renewed call to action. Please see the ad here, and read the full text below. Please also stay tuned to learn where we will take this movement from here, and for an opportunity to sign onto this document.

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What can Muslims do to reclaim their ‘Beautiful Religion’?

As people observe beheadings and savagery by ISIS, female genital mutilation and honor killings, the abduction of girls by Boko Haram, the execution of innocents in Iran, the slaughtering and enslaving of Christians in Egypt and Africa and Yazidis in Iraq, rampant anti-Semitism and other crimes against humanity committed by those who claim to represent Islam, many people are understandably asking:

  • What is the true nature of Islam?
  • Is it that although there are many peaceful Muslims, Islam itself is not peaceful?

If Islam is a religion that stands for justice and peaceful coexistence, then the quest for an Islamic state cannot be justified as sanctioned by a just and merciful Creator.

Neither jihadism nor Islamism permit the equality of all humans irrespective of their race or religion and should therefore be rejected. Our denial and our relative silence must stop!

It is the duty of us Muslims to actively and vigorously affirm and promote universal human rights, including gender equality and freedom of conscience.

As our Holy Qu’ran states (4:135):

“Believers! Conduct yourselves with justice, bearing true witness before God, even if it be against yourselves, your parents, or your kin.”

We must engage in and promote reforms where necessary, including an honest and critical reinterpretation of scripture and shariah law used by Islamists to justify violence and oppression.

We must also recognize and loudly proclaim that the quest for any and all “Islamic State(s)” has no place in modern times. Theocracy, particularly, Islamism, is a proven failure. The path to justice and reform is through liberty.

It is also our responsibility to reclaim the faith we love from these monsters, forcefully rejecting and combating all components of their ideology.

If we Muslims believe that “true” Islam, genuinely aligned with the will of the Creator, is fundamentally peaceful, comprehensively merciful and objectively just, then it is our duty to do what is necessary to live and promote an Islam that is based in liberty and worthy of being called a beautiful religion.

We must seek out necessary support from non-Muslim allies in order to be successful in our work.

We the undersigned are Muslims who embrace a pluralistic interpretation of Islam, rejecting all forms of oppression and abuses committed in the name of religion or culture and particularly Islamism.

We are joined by non-Muslim allies who sign here to affirm their commitment as Americans to support those Muslims and all people of conscience who courageously speak out against these abuses and who advance reforms within our community.

  • Sherkoh Abbas, Chair Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria, Washington, D.C.
  • Tarek Fatah, Founder, Muslim Canadian Congress, Toronto, Canada
  • Farid Ghadry, Reform Party of Syria, Washington, D.C.
  • Iftikhar A. Hai, President, United Muslims of America, San Francisco, CA
  • Dr. Tawfik Hamid, International Center for Countering Radicalism, Oakton, CA
  • Husain Haqqani, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to U.S., Washington, D.C.
  • Jamal Hassan, Council for Democracy and Tolerance, Baltimore, MD
  • Sheikh (Dr.) Usama Hassan, Quilliam Foundation, London, UK
  • Farzana Hassan, Director, Muslim Canadian Congress, Toronto, Canada
  • Arif Humayun, President, Circle of Peace, Portland, OR
  • Farahnaz Ispahani, Director, Americans for Pakistan, Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Phoenix, AZ
  • Naser Khader, Former Member of Danish Parliament, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Zainab Zain Khan, United Nations Association, Chicago, IL
  • Courtney Lonergan, Arizona Interfaith Movement, Phoenix, AZ
  • Hasan Mahmud, General Secretary, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
  • Salim Mansur, PhD., Professor, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
  • Maajid Nawaz, Co-Founder and Chairman, Quilliam Foundation, London, UK
  • Raheel Raza, President, Council of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
  • Munir Pervaiz, President, Muslim Canadian Congress, Mississauga, Canada
  • Oubai Shahbandar, Principle, Dragoman Partners, Washington, D.C.
  • Jalal Zuberi, MD, Associate Professor, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
  • Ahmad Vanya, Fellow, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, San Jose, CA

 

Event, September 23: Debate on “Understanding Islam: a Threat or a Faith?”

This coming Tuesday, September 23, at 6:00 p.m., Shane Krauser of www.freedomfires.com will be moderating a Lincoln-Douglas style debate between Dr. Jasser and Dr. Carl Goldberg, the Arizona chapter leader of ACT! For America.

Where: Burke Basic School, 131 E. Southern Avenue, Mesa, AZ.

When: Tuesday, September 23; 6:30-8:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Admission is open to the public and is $2.00. Seating is first come, first serve. A large audience is expected, so do try to arrive early.

The event is sponsored by www.freedomfires.com, where we hope a video will be posted afterward.

A note on Constitution Day

CONSTITUTION DAY: On September 17, 1787, thirty-nine brave men signed the United States Constitution.

As the world continues to face an ever-increasing threat from Islamism – most recently in its especially brutal form, that of ISIS – it is more important than ever that we hold fast to the values upon which our nation was founded.

Ongoing threats to liberty the world over – from Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to the sexual violence and other brutality of ISIS – continue to remind us how precious our freedoms are, how brave our founding fathers were in their fight to secure them, and how bold and diligent we must be to protect them. As liberty and reform-minded Muslims, we firmly believe that without the explicit separation of mosque and state, true liberty cannot prosper. In states where there is no real equivalent of America’s First Amendment and Establishment Clause, the tyranny of theocracy is sure to find fertile soil. We remain steadfast in our opposition not just to ISIS, but to all so-called “Islamic States” – that is, any state claiming to be ruled by Islam. As Muslims, we find no conflict between our personal faith and secular governance. Rather, it is America’s commitment to freedom of conscience for people of all faiths and none which allows us to have a dynamic and sincere relationship with our faith.

 

What did Imam Yaser Ali actually say on July 28, 2014 at the Eid Sermon?

AIFD STAFF NOTE:  

Locally, a recent controversy began when Imam Yaser Ali  called out AIFD President, Zuhdi Jasser’s work during his Eid Sermon of July 28, 2014 at the Islamic Center of the Northeast Valley. Though he didn’t mention Dr. Jasser’s name, the subject of his sermon was unmistakable. This necessitated a subsequent response from Dr. Jasser on the editorial pages of the Arizona Republic on August 24, 2014.

Since its publication, Mr. Ali’s allies with ICNEV are trying to rewrite history and advance the deception that Mr. Ali was not referring to Dr. Jasser at all. Subsequently, Syed Umar wrote in a letter to the editor, “the speech did not mention Zuhdi at all, but Zuhdi is assuming that he is among the people that do such things.”  They have also taken to trashing Dr. Jasser with name calling and ad hominem attacks available in the comments section of the piece and also in the letters to the editor. Omar Odeh of Scottsdale wrote in the Arizona Republic, “Not once did Yaser Ali mention Jasser’s name. Jasser is the one that made this about himself…Jasser for as long as I’ve known him comes off a pompous, arrogant, and self-righteous individual”.  Naser Ahmad, a past President of ICNEV made the laughable claim,  “I was present in the same gathering, and contrary to what Zuhdi Jasser states, the speech had nothing to do with him. As a matter of fact, after the prayer meeting, I commended Yaser Ali on tackling a topic that I, too, feel very strongly about — that Muslims needed to study their religion, understand its dictates and then define themselves rather than just complaining about their negative portrayal in the media due to the misguided actions of some Muslim groups.

We post the following facts and detailed analysis to shed more light on what Mr. Ali actually said for anyone who may have been swayed by the rush of Ali’s supporters running for cover under the shroud of deception. The facts should leave no doubt that Mr. Ali’s sermon did in fact target Dr. Jasser. His cowardice and calculus in avoiding Dr. Jasser’s name is proven in the rush of mosque leadership to deny what was an obvious attack upon Dr. Jasser in his sermon. The saddest element is the profound dishonesty exhibited by those who deny the reality of the bully pulpit and Ali’s message on July 28, 2014. For a prayer leader to exploit the bully pulpit to suffocate dissent is one thing, but then to see his community rush to lie and hide behind vagaries afterwards is even more shameful. We at AIFD believe that the first step necessary for genuine reform is honesty then followed by public debate and dissent.

TRANSCRIPT OF EXCERPT REFERRING TO DR JASSER

The following is transcribed from the 5 minute excerpt of Imam Yaser Ali’s sermon of July 28, 2014 at ICNEV which includes the portion relevant to his admonishments against Dr. Jasser and AIFD.

“But as we enjoy this day, let’s not forget our brothers and sisters who are struggling.  The prophet (pbuh) said that, he said [Arabic]. That the believers are like one body.  When the eye hurts, the whole body hurts.  When the head hurts the whole body hurts.  When you have a headache, you can’t just be chillin’.  You got a headache. Your whole body becomes unable to do anything, and this is the example the believers are like one body.

Those who aren’t concerned about our brothers and sisters. They are not from amongst us. Today there is an entire industry that is vilifying Islam and vilifying Muslims. And saying that Muslims are the aggressors, Muslims are the terrorists, well in fact, so many Muslims are the victims all across the world.  And we need to understand this. We need to make du’aa for this. There are people who are paid, even Muslims, who go on Fox News and speak ill against Muslims–who speak ill against our Muslim brothers and sisters.  And we need to ask ourselves, this is something that is really a problem, and we can’t just complain, but we need to ask ourselves, do we love Islam more than they hate it?

We should ask ourselves this question.  Do we love Islam more than they hate it?  People have spent their careers attacking Islam. The Islamophobia industry is huge today.  And their whole job is to vilify Muslims–make them look bad.  Make the masajid, look bad.  Well, in fact, how do we respond? Not just by complaining, but by taking proactive steps. By learning our deen (religion), right?  If we are not able to articulate and respond points to these people, we need to learn our deen. We need to study our Qur’an.  We need– there are so many– we need to come to the Mosque, we need to build positive Muslim communities. Invite our colleagues, our neighbors and say: “they don’t represent us”.  “They don’t represent us”. We, the Muslim community represent one another.

And we care for our brothers and sisters in Palestine deeply.  And that is why we have these petitions for you. That’s why we have these petitions because we care about our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed in Syria and Palestine in different parts of the world.  We ask Allah SWT to have mercy on them. We need to pool our communal resources to do better responses against this Islamophobia industry that main stream media.  We have people who are very eloquent.  We have people who are good writers.  We need to use these things.  You know, write up opeds to the newspaper instead of just posting Facebook statuses, right?  We need to engage, interact with our communities and inshallah engage our representatives, and most importantly we need to learn our deen.  The most important thing is we need to learn our Qur’an.  We don’t know what our Qur’an says.  So when they mis-quote our Qur’an, we are not able to respond.  So inshallah let’s all make that niyah (intention). Let’s all make that intention that I am going to study my religion. I am going to make my children and teach them my religion and then use whatever gifts Allah SWT has given, me for the sake of deen.

Everyone has that intention inshallah? (audience responds “inshallah”). So let’s make that our intention.  And if you can’t do it, but Allah blessed you with wealth, then support these institutions.  Support these institutions, these masajid, those advocacy organizations like CAIR and others who are supporting Muslims and Muslim civil rights around the country.  We need to support these groups.”

 

TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT WITH AIFD EXPLANATION

The following is again the above 5 minute excerpt however with inserted comments from AIFD highlighting and explaining the obvious suggestions which Mr. Ali was making.

[ALI] “But as we enjoy this day, let’s not forget our brothers and sisters who are struggling.  The prophet (pbuh) said that, he said [Arabic]. That the believers are like one body.  When the eye hurts, the whole body hurts.  When the head hurts the whole body hurts.  When you have a headache, you can’t just be chillin’.  You got a headache. Your whole body becomes unable to do anything, and this is the example the believers are like one body.”

[AIFD] This is a reference to the Islamic concept of the Ummah,, or faith community. The word (absent any reform) also means nation state. Any Muslim who deviates from the ummah (or nation) leadership in dissent is considered a traitor. In order to make claims of treason (riddah) or hypocrisy (munafiq). Religious leaders often refer to this hadith (saying of the Prophet Muhammad) which compares the ummah to one body. The implication is that anyone who deviates from the ummah leadership is sickening the body. He follows this with more clarity about whom he is referring.

[ALI] “Those who aren’t concerned about our brothers and sisters. They are not from amongst us. Today there is an entire industry that is vilifying Islam and vilifying Muslims. And saying that Muslims are the aggressors, Muslims are the terrorists, well in fact, so many Muslims are the victims all across the world. And we need to understand this. We need to make du’aa for this.”

[AIFD] In the past several days, members of the mosque have written letters to the editor and exchanged communications asserting that Dr. Jasser “listened to a different sermon,” and that it was irrational for him to say Yaser Ali was referencing him in his sermon. The attempts at trying to make Dr. Jasser look dishonest reveal their panicked hypocrisy. He first discussed the ummah. Then clearly states that “they are not from amongst us”. The ‘they’ are obviously Muslims who are ‘not concerned’. The ‘us’ is necessary to make it clear that the Muslim he is referencing is part of the ummah  but is ‘not from amongst us’ (or a hypocrite). If Mr. Ali was not referring to the local Dr. Jasser who happened to be in the audience, then he and his supporters should provide a few names of other obvious Muslims to whom he may be referring. Remember, the names should be so obvious that the audience would all know about whom he is referring. The other question is if he was not referring to Dr. Jasser, how did this topic become such an important one for the Scottsdale Mosque? Was Scottsdale experiencing a groundswell of other rebellious Muslims trying to divide the community in a fitna (division) so they needed this admonishment during the widely attended family oriented holiday sermon?

For additional context regarding Mr. Ali’s comment about ‘those who aren’t concerned about our brothers and sisters’: during the week preceding this sermon,  groundwork had been laid in local social media (of many attendees of the mosque) that Dr. Jasser’s appearance 4 days earlier on a Fox News program did not demonstrate adequate concern for Palestinians due to his scathing critique of Hamas. Supporters of Yaser Ali had directly confronted Dr. Jasser’s family and friends about his so-called ‘bias and abandonment of Palestinians’ during that interview. The truth was that I had started my comments on Fox speaking to the fact that the profound suffering of the Palestinian people was real and was primarily the fault of Hamas. The unmistakable conclusion is that criticism of Hamas equates to antipathy towards Palestinians and all Muslims—such is the mantra of Muslim Brotherhood type ideologues. 

[ALI] “There are people who are paid, even Muslims, who go on Fox News and speak ill against Muslims–who speak ill against our Muslim brothers and sisters.”

[AIFD] Now just in case anyone missed his point or had any doubt about whom exactly he was talking, he further underscores the fact he is particularly talking about a Muslim who is not part of the ummah, (a Muslim who goes on enemy media). He states,“even Muslims who go on Fox News”. Especially in Scottsdale Arizona that doesn’t leave much room for guessing. Fox has few if any commentators who are Muslim besides Dr. Jasser due to the rarity of conservative Muslim voices of reform.He also makes a false assertion with no evidence that the said Muslim is paid, which is typical rhetoric for Islamists who wish to harm the reputation of Muslims who dissent – they assert we are paid agents (I am not a paid Fox News contributor). He then continues, “and speak ill against Muslims—who speak ill against our brothers and sisters”. ‘Speak ill’ obviously implies that Dr. Jasser is tarring the community—more implications about deviating from the ummah.

[ALI] “And we need to ask ourselves, this is something that is really a problem, and we can’t just complain, but we need to ask ourselves, do we love Islam more than they hate it?”

[AIFD] Now after Mr. Ali has made it clear that he is speaking about Dr. Jasser, he asks the question, “do we love Islam more than they hate it?” drawing the obvious conclusion from the statement he just made about Muslims who speak ill of other Muslims — that Dr. Jasser must hate Islam and his listeners in this holiday audience must love it. Ali draws the line: Dr. Jasser (the hater) is one of “them,” and not one of “us” (the we).

[ALI] “People have spent their careers attacking Islam. The Islamophobia industry is huge today. And their whole job is to vilify Muslims–make them look bad.  Make the masajid, look bad.  Well, in fact, how do we respond? Not just by complaining, but by taking proactive steps. By learning our deen (religion), right?  If we are not able to articulate and respond points to these people, we need to learn our deen. We need to study our Qur’an. “

[AIFD] The obvious implication here is that the Muslim he was speaking about does not know his religion and if anyone is going to refute him and the “Islamophobia industry” then they just need to learn their religion and Qur’an. CAIR’s constant libelous mantra against Dr. Jasser is that he is part of the so-called “Islamophobia industry. Again, no other Muslim is identified by CAIR as part of this Islamophobia industry. So when Mr. Ali refers to a Muslim within the ummah who is not one of us and then to the Islamophobia industry he’s obviously participating in CAIR’s campaign against Dr. Jasser. Any denial of that is laughable. Again, if Mr. Ali denies this, he needs to identify other Muslims known to the Scottsdale community to whom this may apply.

[ALI]“We need– there are so many– we need to come to the Mosque, we need to build positive Muslim communities. Invite our colleagues, our neighbors and say: “they don’t represent us”.  “They don’t represent us”. We, the Muslim community represent one another.”

[AIFD] This is the crux of the argument he is making against “those Muslims who speak ill of the community”. He implores the community to tell everyone that “they don’t represent us” – “they don’t represent us’ (said twice) Once again, he is defining “the Muslim community” as a separate entity of which Dr. Jasser has no part.

Further context: to those who still believe these comments do not or may not refer to Dr. Jasser. Let us look at the response of known local antagonists to the AIFD. Very shortly after the sermon concluded later that day on the Eid holiday itself, Dr. Matt Masalkhi (a local anesthesiologist) started a Whatsapp (mobile chat) session in which he included over 50 local Muslims. The group was entitled “No to the Zionists within,” and he opened the discussion with: “Hello everyone, I heard about what transpired at ICNEV yesterday. Kudos to the imam for his comments about the last appearance of Dr. Jasser on Fox Channel. Enough is enough and somebody should have the guts to say it as it is. He is a Zionist by definition. And we should not be pacifiers or practice silence of the lambs. Please stop supporting him.” Another Muslim from ICNEV, Mr. Tarif Jaber, also on the heels of the related sermon called for “what we can do is  make sure he does (not sic) identify himself as a representative of the Muslim community in Phoenix and/or Arizona when he appears on Fox News or similar media channels. As suggested earlier by Imam Yaser Ali, an official petition should be signed by members of all mosques in Phoenix indicating that he does not represent anyone but himself. The petitions can also be posted in official local news papers and other media.” He later added, “action, action, action,”  A Sam Alnajjar wrote, “I think you need the masjids of Phoenix to write that he doesn’t represent the Muslim community in general and just his organization” Further, participants planned actions against me, such as leaving tables when I would approach at a social function, ostracizing my family and so on. The conversation was hostile and mentioned me several times. We provide two screenshots, below. (Note: it appears Mr. Jaber meant to say “make sure he does not”, not “make sure he does”, in reference to Dr. Jasser representing Phoenix-area Muslims.

whatsapp excerpt

[ALI] “And we care for our brothers and sisters in Palestine deeply.  And that is why we have these petitions for you. That’s why we have these petitions because we care about our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed in Syria and Palestine in different parts of the world.  We ask Allah SWT to have mercy on them. We need to pool our communal resources to do better responses against this Islamophobia industry that main stream media.  We have people who are very eloquent.  We have people who are good writers.  We need to use these things.  You know, write up opeds to the newspaper instead of just posting Facebook statuses, right?  We need to engage, interact with our communities and inshallah engage our representatives, and most importantly we need to learn our deen.  The most important thing is we need to learn our Qur’an.  We don’t know what our Qur’an says.  So when they mis-quote our Qur’an, we are not able to respond.  So inshallah let’s all make that niyah (intention). Let’s all make that intention that I am going to study my religion. I am going to make my children and teach them my religion and then use whatever gifts Allah SWT has given, me for the sake of deen.”

[AIFD] Again here he is still speaking about the same issue and now moving from activism toward community resources stating“pooling resources to do better responses against the Islamophobia industry. Everyone has that intention inshallah? (audience responds “inshallah”). Their group promise of inshallah (God willing) is confirming their intent to dedicate resources and activism toward combating the “Islamophobia industry” as defined by CAIR.  Quite telling is that he then made the link abdundantly clear giving the highest endorsement of CAIR’s work in this field by giving a direct fundraising pitch for CAIR an organization known to be at odds with Dr. Jasser over the very issue of Islamophobia. It is quite telling that Ali’s only fundraising pitch is for CAIR, an organization hatched from Hamas in 1994 and remains persona non-grata with the FBI due to its position on Hamas. CAIR, in fact recently refused to debate Dr. Jasser at Georgetown in an open letter. CAIR named Dr. Jasser as a key leader of the “Islamophobia Industry” in their last report. Contrary to Mr. Ali’s cowardly denials, no other Muslims were identified in that report.

[ALI] So let’s make that our intention. And if you can’t do it, but Allah blessed you with wealth, then support these institutions.  Support these institutions, these masajid (mosques), those advocacy organizations like CAIR and others who are supporting Muslims and Muslim civil rights around the country. We need to support these groups.

[AIFD] His transition from a discussion about Dr. Jasser to fundraising for CAIR, an organization which has put out countless press releases and reports libeling Dr. Jasser also speaks to the evidence that Dr. Jasser is the target of this sermon. Imam Shqeirat in Tempe had a poster up in his mosque produced by CAIR identifying the “inner core” of the Islamophobia network and it had a photo of Dr. Jasser featured. When asked by prominent Muslims to remove it last April, Shqeirat refused. The oped notes that the Tempe mosque had a similar sermon in May, attacking Dr. Jasser given by Hussam Ayloush, executive director of CAIR-LA. Mr. Ali’s endorsement and fundraising for CAIR directly links this sermon and his political activism to CAIR’s work against Dr. Jasser.

After the above analysis any denial about what Mr. Ali was really talking about would be laughable from anyone whether antagonists or neutral toward AIFD or Mr. Ali.

Eid 2014 Yaser Ali khutbah

Eid al-Fitr (Holiday of the Feast) Khutbah (sermon) for July 29, 2014

AUDIO FILE LINK

Sermon given by  Yaser Ali 

At the  Islamic Center of the Northeast Valley (ICNEV)

Scottsdale, Arizona

..[Arabic].. That he guided you on the guidance of his “rahmah” (mercy) on the month of Ramadan.   [Arabic].  And that you may be thankful.  That you may be grateful for his bounties upon us.  Allah (SWT: Glorified and Exalted One) has given us so much in this month of Ramadan.  This is the day that is known as [Arabic]: the day of prize giving.  Because in the month of Ramadan, you planted the seeds of goodness. You planted the seeds by fasting in the long hot days of the Arizona summer. You stood in Qiyam, in Taraweeh, you recited Qur’an.  You made du’aa (supplication). You paid zakat. You gave charity. You were good to those around you. We avoided that which was haram (sinful). So for that, Allah SWT promises the reward today. Allah SWT promises us an abundance of reward. That’s why they say. [Arabic] That the Eid isn’t just for the person who wears new and nice clothes, but the Eid is a celebration for that person who in the month of Ramadan increases their good deeds.

 

For that we thank Allah SWT. We praise Him. We say Allahu Akbar (God is great), Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. [Arabic] The Prophet (pbuh: Peace be upon him) of Allah SWT where he said when he said [Arabic] that the fasting person has two delights. Two delights. The first is at the time he or she breaks his fast.  Now each day, when we were thirsty, we were tired. We were hungry. At the end of the day, when we had that first date. When we had that first sip of water, how much it quenched our thirst.  How much we appreciated it.  That’s that “farha” (joy). But the important point isn’t just that it was a momentary delight, but that it made you forget all the difficulties that preceded it. And so this day of Eid, is supposed to be a celebration. The fatigue, the exhaustion, the exertion that we made and put forth to Allah SWT, that part is gone.  The reward sustains.  The reward remains.  So this, [Arabic] that delight when they break their fast, here today is a community when we collectively break our fast on this day of Eid [Arabic], and the delight when that person meets their Lord.

 

Imagine all the difficulties of this world when that moment we get to meet Allah SWT, all of them are forgotten.  Everything becomes worth it. Like a woman when she gives birth, all the pains of labor, of pregnancy, all of them are gone, because the result is there, and she has that tremendous love.  So, Allah SWT promises us, the people that fasted and took advantage of Ramadan, that for them is true ‘farha’(joy).  This day, today, and the day when we inshallah will meet our lord.  And Ramadan, my respected brothers and sisters and elders taught us how to enjoy worshiping Allah.  Look to subhanallah (the glory of God), we treat our religious duties outside of Ramadan as obligations.  (Oh, I gotta pray, I gotta do this, I gotta do this, I didn’t do this), but in the month of Ramadan we treated them with excitement.  I looked forward to going to the Mosque.  I look forward to fasting tomorrow.  So, Ramadan taught us how we can enjoy the ibadah (acts of worship) of Allah SWT. And this is something that I want you guys to remember here today. That Ramadan is over, but we can still enjoy the worship of Allah SWT. In Ramadan we fasted, the whole month. Your colleagues all thought you were crazy.  And yet, every single day you fasted, from the morning to the evening, from food and drink in the middle of the summer of Arizona, and we enjoyed it. So Prophet SWT promises us that the one who follows Ramadan with six days in Shawal, they get the reward as if the entire year they were fasting.  So we should resolve, because every deed is x 10, so 30 + 6 x 10 is 360, so the entire year of reward is given to us for fasting six days of this year, this month inshallah.  We prayed taraweeh, inshallah, we were punctual with our salah (prayer).  Let’s not give up on our salah, after the month of Ramadan.  We came in for fajr. We shouldn’t make it that we came and prayed and now we don’t get up for fajr. But we should be punctual with our salah.  We should populate the Mosque, just like you see it today. The spirit of Ramadan of community worship should be in existence all the time. And if we mutually support one another, “let’s go to the Mosque”, “let’s have these classes”, we will see that it will become easier. Just like it was easy in the month or Ramadan.  We gave charity, we should continue to do so [Arabic]. The most beloved deeds to Allah SWT are those done on a regular basis, even if they are small.  That one dollar a day to charity is worth so much to Allah.  We made du’aa for our brothers and sisters, for ourselves, to our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Syria, around the world, today, and now is the day we follow that up with effort.

 

The prophet, one of the companions of the Prophet [Arabic], he was in the service of the Prophet PBUH, and the Prophet (pbuh) asked him, asked for something.  Now imagine, imagine if we had one wish, what would we wish for? We all have these desires, what did he wish for? He didn’t wish for, you know, the best mansion, and the best car, and all this money, and good health. He didn’t even wish for Jenna (heaven). He was higher than that. He was a high level thinker.  He said [Arabic]. The Prophet of Allah, oh Prophet of Allah, I want your companionship in paradise. He was a high level thinker, and the Prophet PBUH could have said, “sure, I will make du’aa”. But he said something to him, and I want you all to remember this point. He said [Arabic], assist me by doing lots of sajdahs (prostrations). So we made our du’aa for guidance, but we have to follow them up with effort.  We made du’aa for guidance. We need to strive and struggle and make it a point to come to the masjid.  We made du’aa for our brothers and sisters.  We need to support them with our wealth by signing these pledge forms, by contacting our representatives.  This is the follow up that is required. A person, if they sat home and they made du’aa for a job, didn’t submit their resume anywhere, didn’t apply, they wouldn’t get the job.  So, similarly, the du’aas in Ramadan, they are not enough.  They need to be followed up with actions and this is the time when we do those actions.

 

Ramadan was about Qur’an and in inshallah in this masjid we are going to start classes for tajweed.  The sheikh and I will start classes on Hifz (memorization) for the children to memorize Qur’an, for adults to learn to read properly, and inshallah all of these things will take place.  So stay in touch with the masjid, come and attend these classes.  They will start very soon inshallah for your children, so that in a few years we will be producing young hifaz in this community inshallah. And this is the desire that everyone has in Ramadan. These good emotions, don’t let them die out after Ramadan, but let’s start immediately following it up. And in the month of Ramadan we avoided that which was haram.  Listening to, speaking to, looking at, so let’s not waist it. Allah SWT says what [Arabic].  Don’t be like the woman who unravels the thread after she has already spun it. Right, so we put forth, we put a lot of effort.  But let’s not waist it right after Ramadan. Shaytan (satan) was locked up for 30 days and he is coming back with a vengeance.  He is coming back with a vengeance. It is much harder to come to the Mosque.  It is much harder to wake up for fajr.  It is much harder to read Qur’an now.  But that’s the struggle.  That’s the beauty that Allah SWT charged us up in this month of Ramadan. And if we continue and work for the sake of Allah SWT the deeds will become easy.  The community will flourish and we will find tremendous good. [Arabic]. If you are grateful, I will surely increase my bounty upon you.  May Allah SWT accept from us all and give us the honor after Ramadan. [Arabic]

 

Respected brothers and sisters, and elders in Islam.  This is the day of celebration. This is the day of our Eid. You should take the day off of work.  You should tell your boss that I have to celebrate Eid today. You should take your kids and buy them gifts, take them to Toys R’ Us. Buy them some gifts. Take them go-karting. Have fun with them. Tell your spouse that you love them.  Have dinner with your family. Smile to one another.  The sahaba (friends of the Prophet) after this Eid, they would embrace one another. They would say [Arabic], that may Allah forgive you and me.  May Allah accept you and me. till after this salah and inshallah. Brothers, embrace the brothers, and sisters, embrace the sisters. Inshallah, meet new people.  In the spirit of community, go up to 20 people that you don’t know today, give them a hug, say my name is this, what is your name? May Allah SWT accept from both of us.  Such a beautiful thing in our religion.

 

Look at the diversity within the room. This is something, the day of celebration that we should make sure that our children enjoy this day.  Don’t be like the people who say, you know, “ok we gotta go to Eid”, “we gotta go to Eid, and then I gotta go to work”.  No, but celebrate it with your family inshallah, so that the children remember and enjoy this day.

 

But as we enjoy this day, let’s not forget our brothers and sisters who are struggling.  The prophet (pbuh) said that, he said [Arabic]. That the believers are like one body.  When the eye hurts, the whole body hurts.  When the head hurts the whole body hurts.  When you have a headache, you can’t just be chillin’.  You got a headache. Your whole body becomes unable to do anything, and this is the example the believers are like one body.

 

Those who aren’t concerned about our brothers and sisters. They are not from amongst us. Today there is an entire industry that is vilifying Islam and vilifying Muslims. And saying that Muslims are the aggressors, Muslims are the terrorists, well in fact, so many Muslims are the victims all across the world.  And we need to understand this. We need to make du’aa for this. There are people who are paid, even Muslims, who go on Fox News and speak ill against Muslims–who speak ill against our Muslim brothers and sisters.  And we need to ask ourselves, this is something that is really a problem, and we can’t just complain, but we need to ask ourselves, do we love Islam more than they hate it?

 

We should ask ourselves this question.  Do we love Islam more than they hate it?  People have spent their careers attacking Islam. The Islamophobia industry is huge today.  And their whole job is to vilify Muslims–make them look bad.  Make the masajid, look bad.  Well, in fact, how do we respond? Not just by complaining, but by taking proactive steps. By learning our deen (religion), right?  If we are not able to articulate and respond points to these people, we need to learn our deen. We need to study our Qur’an.  We need– there are so many– we need to come to the Mosque, we need to build positive Muslim communities. Invite our colleagues, our neighbors and say: “they don’t represent us”.  “They don’t represent us”. We, the Muslim community represent one another.

 

And we care for our brothers and sisters in Palestine deeply.  And that is why we have these petitions for you. That’s why we have these petitions because we care about our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed in Syria and Palestine in different parts of the world.  We ask Allah SWT to have mercy on them. We need to pool our communal resources to do better responses against this Islamophobia industry that main stream media.  We have people who are very eloquent.  We have people who are good writers.  We need to use these things.  You know, write up opeds to the newspaper instead of just posting Facebook statuses, right?  We need to engage, interact with our communities and inshallah engage our representatives, and most importantly we need to learn our deen.  The most important thing is we need to learn our Qur’an.  We don’t know what our Qur’an says.  So when they mis-quote our Qur’an, we are not able to respond.  So inshallah let’s all make that niyah (intention). Let’s all make that intention that I am going to study my religion. I am going to make my children and teach them my religion and then use whatever gifts Allah SWT has given, me for the sake of deen.

 

Everyone has that intention inshallah? (audience responds “inshallah”). So let’s make that our intention.  And if you can’t do it, but Allah blessed you with wealth, then support these institutions.  Support these institutions, these masajid, those advocacy organizations like CAIR and others who are supporting Muslims and Muslim civil rights around the country.  We need to support these groups.

 

So inshallah, this is the opportunity. We leave with this high in the month of Ramadan. Let’s not let it die down, but lets keep engaged. Let’s engage and fasting six days and come to the mosque and stay, like this beautiful community that we have established. Lets not let it fall apart after Ramadan.  So inshallah, this is the day like I said, as we finish this the khutbah (sermon), after the khutbah, make sure you embrace 20 people you don’t know here today.  Introduce yourself to them, introduce yourself to them and say may Allah SWT forgive you. May Allah SWT have mercy on you.  And may Allah SWT accept our deeds.  We ask that Allah SWT that all the efforts we made in this month, that Allah SWT accept them from us.  Whatever fasting we did that ya Allah, it was hot in this month of Ramadan. It was Arizona summer, but I fasted for you Allah, so accept it from me. Make it a means, a protection from the hell fire for us.  May Allah SWT make us a community of Qur’an. May Allah SWT make us a community that loves one another, that is a positive example for the community outside of us for our neighbors, for our friends, for our colleagues.  May Allah SWT bless each and every one of you. And like I said before: enjoy this Eid with your family. Buy them some gifts and say I love you to your spouse and to your family.  Call on your relatives that you haven’t called in awhile and smile at one another. Eid Mubara