by MEMRI
If we do not reform ourselves – our moral values and our conduct – and curb the high rate of extremism in our midst... We accuse everybody of heresy. Do we represent 'a mercy for Mankind' or are we the enemies of Mankind?
French-Tunisian Imam Hassen Chalghoumi
explained his interest in the Holocaust by saying that Islam "denounces
violence and killing" and that the Prophet Muhammad instructed Muslims
"to stand by the oppressed." In an interview with Al-Mouwatin !
Radio from Belgium, Chalghoumi, who is the imam of the Drancy mosque in
Seine-Saint-Denis, said that he fears another holocaust, this time
against Muslims. Chalghoumi fended off accusations of treason by
contending that he was helping the Palestinian cause the way he saw fit.
He denounced the "rhetoric of victimhood" and said that he was proud of
his country, France. A video of the interview was posted on Al-Mouwatin
Radio's YouTube channel on June 2.
Imam Hassen Chalghoumi:
"As an imam, when I examine the Holocaust, I say that what fas!
cist Nazism did to the Jews is condemned by religion and by humanity.
Why can't I say this? Does my religion prevent me from doing so?
Absolutely not. My religion denounces violence and killing. The religion
in which I believe is the religion of peace and submission, the
religion of the last prophet, sent by Allah as a mercy for Mankind. It
was He who told me to stand by the oppressed. Besides, why mix Gaza
with... Am I responsible for Gaza? In 2009, I traveled to Gaza, Allah be
praised. I was in Gaza when all the troubles occurred. We are men of
peace. We call for peace.
"In addition,
by talking about the Holocaust, am I not protecting the Muslims at the
same time? Racism and hatred of Muslims are on the rise, and with !
all the extreme right-wing parties... This should motivate us to talk
[about the Holocaust]. I have said time and again that I fear a
holocaust against the Muslims. Indeed, a Muslim Shoa.
It is in the works now, primarily because of a small bunch of people
among us, who have tarnished the image of Islam and the Muslims, and
have led people to hate us.
"Take a look
at the moral values of the Muslims today. Why can't we talk about the
moral values of Muslims living in common neighborhoods? Must I have bad
moral values just because I'm poor? Absolutely not. I've traveled to
Bangladesh, where the!
poverty rates are extremely high, yet their moral values are the best.
Have all the people of Bangladesh followed bin Laden and Al-Qaeda?
Absolutely not. It's not about poverty.
[...]
"The Lord
made Islam perfect, but we have defects. If we do not reform ourselves –
our moral values and our conduct – and curb the high rate of extremism
in our midst... We accuse everybody of heresy. Do we represent 'a mercy
for Mankind' or are we the enemies of Mankind?
"I'm somewhat
against the rhetoric of victimhood. Enough with it. We are always the
victims... When will this end? When will we say: 'We too are
responsible?'
[...]
[...]
"In what way
exactly are the Westerners hostile to us? Medical care is mostly free.
Education is free. Knowledge is free. Okay, so there is a problem of
imbalance, there is some racism. This is the nature of man. I am of
Tunisian decent, and some people there were racist against the people of
south!
Tunisia. The people of the north don't want the people of the south.
This is the nature of man, created by Allah. But isn't it our duty to
persevere?
[...]
"People
sometimes call me a 'traitor.' What have I betrayed? I am not 90 years
old, but some people blame me for the establishment of Israel. How
stupid and ignorant they are. We must release ourselves from the
confines of conspiracy theory. Enough! People say that they have done
more than me for the Palestinian cause. I have gone to Gaza. I have
prayed several times at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is my opinion. Respect
it. This is my way of supporting the Palestinian cause, and you can
support it in a different way. Must we all have the same opinion? They
talk about freedom for the peoples. They can't even afford to allow
freedom of other opinions. If they could restr!
ain me, they would. They would kill me if they could."
MEMRI
Source: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/5518.htm
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