Field Guide #53 - Interview with Khalim Massoud
By Duane Lester • Oct 10th, 2007 |
Live on Talkshoe: Mon, Wed, & Fri at 10:00pm Eastern Call in: (724) 444-7444 • Talkcast ID: 25742 |
On tonight’s Field Guide, we played our exclusive interview with Khalim Massoud of the Muslims Against Sharia weblog. The interview is an interesting look behind the scenes at one of the more controversial blogs in 2007.
Here is the transcript for the interview, and the follow-up comments from Mr. Massoud are posted here.
All American Blogger (AAB):
I’d like to start with a question concerning your memberships. A website called The Free Thinker poses the question that there may not actually be any Muslims in Muslims Against Sharia, and they’re wondering why Pamela Geller, the author of Atlas Shrugs [blog], also a conservative Jew, is doing in a group called Muslims Against Sharia. Perhaps you could explain your membership a little bit to the listners.Khalim massoud (KM):
Andrew, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present our views in your program.Our membership is limited to Muslims only, but we would be happy to work with anyone who agrees with our goals. Pamela Geller is a contributor to our blog, not a member of our group. So-called “Freethinker” Dave McKeegan has the same posting privileges as Ms. Geller, but it doesn’t make him a member of “Muslims Against Sharia,” either.
AAB:
Muslims Against Sharia has been up and running since September 11. So far, what’s the response been like from the blogosphere and from Muslims outside the blogosphere?KM:
Blogosphere response has been mixed. In general, we get more praises than complaints. Muslim response is the opposite. We get a few praises from Muslims, but mostly it’s allegations of being a neocon conspiracy. That proves our theory that most moderate Muslims have to work for a living, but many radical Muslims are financed by oil revenues and spend all their time trolling the Internet.AAB:
What is your response to critics who say that Muslims Against Sharia isn’t really a group of Muslims agains sharia, but rather a group of neo-conservatives trying to reform Islam from the inside out?KM:
Islam is not a race, gender, or skin color; it is a set of beliefs. How can you prove something intangible? Islamic knowledge? Any non-Muslim can learn what Islam is. Robert Spencer knows more about Islam than 99% of Muslims. Besides, none of us claim to be an Islamic scholar. All we have is our word to go on. What if I claimed that Osama bin Laden is not a Muslim? How can you prove me wrong? Besides, people who support our goals do not question our faith. People who do question our faith do not support our goals, so why should we care whether they believe us or not? Muslims who feel the same way that Islam needs to be reformed know that we are Muslim and that is all that matters. We are not trying to convert religious fanatics; that would be a waste of time. We are trying to give voice to those Muslims who are sick and tired of people being murdered in the name of Islam.AAB:
I’m going to read from a post from September 25th titled “Islamophobia in the blogosphere”. The first sentance reads: It has been less than a month since Muslims Against Sharia published the manifesto, and we discovered to our dismay that Islamaphobia is alive and well in the blogosphere. Supposedly the more open minded part in humanity. What exactly are you talking about when you say that Islamaphobia is alive and well in the blogosphere?KM:
Many bloggers reacted to us with various degrees of mistrust. As if when the car bomb goes off and an Islamic terrorist group takes responsibility, nobody ever questions Muslim involvement, but when something good happens, it cannot possibly be done by Muslims, hence allegations of fraud that I addressed earlier. Ignorance and bigotry go hand-in-hand. Many people do not understand the difference between radical and moderate Muslims, hence allegations of Taqiyya, a concept of lying to advance the cause of Islam. It doesn’t matter how many times we condemn terrorism, we still are terrorists just because we are Muslim. But the most reviled feedback we received was from fundamentalist Muslims themselves. We are apostates and frauds; whatever we do is blasphemous, no self-respecting Muslim would do what we do, etc. If altering the Koran is a blasphemy, and murder is a blasphemy, but the Koran commands me to commit murder, I’d rather commit a blasphemy of altering the Koran than kill in the name of Islam. Besides, the Koran has so many inconsistencies that the only logical explanation is that it has been altered over the centuries. All we want to do is to restore it as close to the original as possible. Removing evil passages from the Koran is just an added bonus. So to sum up, Islamophobia is not only hatred of Muslims by non-Muslims, but also an Islamic self-hatred.AAB:
One of your stated goals on your website is to educate Muslims about dangers presented by Islamic religious texts and why Islam must be reformed. Why must Islam be reformed?KM:
Islam in its present form, either perceived or real, is incompatible with the norms of modern society. There are many outdated traditions and practices that are inhumane or plain barbaric. Unfortunately, Islamic fundamentalists use those traditions to wage war with the non-Islamic world. We believe that, if we purify Islam form its medieval practices and remove the theological basis of modern terrorism, the clash of civilizations will be averted and Islam could become a part of the free and democratic world.AAB:
Your second goal is to educate non-Muslims about the differences between moderate Muslims and Islamsts. Perhaps you’d like to go into detail about that.KM:
Many Westerners see the Islamic world as a monolith. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Just as Christian fundamentalists do not represent Christianity as a whole, Muslim fundamentalists or Islamists do not represent all Muslims. While very few Christian fundamentalists are running around blowing up innocent people, Muslim fundamentalists represent a much larger proportion in the Muslim world. Since the majority of terrorist acts are perpetrated by Muslims and most of the Muslims that you see on American TV are Islamists like Osama bin Laden who threatens terrorism or Islamists like Nihad Awad who try to whitewash or justify terrorism, the perception of an average American is that all Muslims are terrorists and moderate Muslims do not exist. The real problem is that moderate Muslims in America have no voice. Everybody has heard of CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, because this organization receives millions of dollars from the Middle East and is embraced by American government officials, proven terrorist ties notwithstanding. But nobody knows about the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a moderate Muslim group that has offered assistance to the John Does in the US Airways incident. Those of us who dare to speak up against terrorism are being run out of mosques, because most of the American mosques are controlled by the Wahhabis. Those of us who believe that we are American first are being labeled as apostates.AAB:
Your manifesto states that Sharia law must be abolished because it is incompatable with norms of modern society. Please explain what Sharia law is and how is it incompatible?KM:
Sharia is an Islamic religious law. It is based on the set of medieval beliefs, which include honor killings, stoning, cutting off limbs and other practices that are not compatible with modern norms. Let me give you just one example how barbaric Sharia is. There was a fire in one of the Saudi Arabian schools and girls were running out trying to escape the fire. Some of them weren’t properly dressed, that is, their hair or some body parts weren’t covered. Saudi religious police prevented those improperly dressed girls from escaping, and they were burned alive. Would you imagine anything resembling that atrocity happening under a Western law?AAB:
Is sharia law a growing problem in America? If it is, where exactly in America is it growing?KM:
Sharia is not really a problem in America, yet. But it could be very soon, if it is not stopped now. American Islamists make no secret of their desire to replace the Constitution with the Koran, but the American public and government are asleep at the wheel. We already see footbaths popping up at the airports, Muslim drivers refusing to transport alcohol, and presidents of terrorist-sponsoring countries invited to prestigious American educational institutions and churches. And up in Canada , they are actually talking about establishing Sharia courts. All of this is done under a banner of diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance, and free speech. But is it really? There are two kinds of people who come to America: the ones who are attracted by American values and the ones who want to change America to become more like their home country. The former assimilate and become Americans. The latter should be sent back. America is America. It is not Saudi Arabia, Russia, Mexico or China. If you want America to be more like Saudi Arabia, why don’t you just go to Saudi Arabia? As for the free speech argument, this is just silly. Providing a public forum for a government official of a hostile regime may be an exercise in Free Speech, but it is also providing aid and comfort to the enemy, which, the last time I checked, is a criminal offense. But who cares about the rule of law, right? Did the ACLU sue the airports for taxpayer funded religious ritualistic devices, footbaths? No. When you celebrate Christmas, which is not only religious but also a secular tradition, that is a blatant violation of the constitution, but when you install a footbath, which has no secular meaning, that apparently is not a big deal.AAB:
What are a few things about sharia law that someone who is completely ignorant about Islam needs to know?KM:
If you let Sharia law rule the country, say good-bye to democracy, and say hello to theocracy. You will be living in a Taliban-style society.AAB:
Are there any countries that practice sharia law, and if so, what is the quality of life like for the citizens of those countries?KM:
Saudi Arabia is a good example of a country ruled by Sharia. Due to the fact that Saudi Arabia sits on top of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, the quality of life, in financial terms, is not that bad, but women are treated like slaves, and practices of religions other than Islam are punishable by death. A good example of a Sharia-ruled country that has no oil is Afghanistan under the Taliban. When women are prohibited from going to school, and when men cannot look at women not covered by burqas, what kind of medical attention can a woman receive and what kind of quality of life would she have? Unless, of course, Afghani doctors are so good, they can perform any medical procedure with their eyes closed.AAB:
What is your advice to moderate Muslims who agree with your goals and your manifesto?KM:
Speak up. Organize. Create your own group or join an existing group. Albert Einstein said that “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” Do something before it is too late.AAB:
Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you feel is important and would like to talk about?KM:
How much time do you have? :) We can discuss how the West is supporting both sides in the war on terror; how the American government embraces radical Muslims and ignores moderate Muslims; how the people who are charged with protecting us from terrorists are actually in bed with terrorist fronts; how American media is being skillfully manipulated by Islamists; how the American educational system teaches Islamist views; how Islamist regimes exercise control over US foreign policy; how political correctness, not common sense, rules politics; how the Christians and Jews are scared of their own shadows and are walking on eggshells, while dealing with Muslims; or how anyone who utters the word Islamofascism is automatically labeled as a racist. The topics are endless. Islamism infiltrated almost every aspect of Western life, because it is well organized and well financed. Moderate Islam is the best antidote to Islamist venom, but instead of using it, the West prefers to ignore the problem. We saw this seventy years ago. German Nazis had millions of supporters and less than ten years to prepare. Tens of millions of innocents died. Islamonazis have hundreds of millions of supporters and almost an eighty-year head start. How big will the toll be this time?
Thanks to our friends around the blogosphere who helped us promote tonight’s interview.
