محمد حجاب: الليبرالية والنسوية وكيف يعيش مسلمو الغرب | بودكاست فنجان

If young people followed these ideas, the problem here would be greater, since these ideas are found in schools and universities... in Western world views. And sectarian tensions could also be stronger here because of the diversity. of sects in this country In my opinion, as a Sunni Muslim, I believe that Islam is a true religion and I submit to the will of Allah. The challenge here is that Muslims here may be prone to adopt the Western view, which is probably incompatible with the vision of Islam, feminism. For example, second wave feminism sees that even though women and men are physically different, there should be absolute equality between them.

That contradicts what the Koran says. It is true that the Qur'an says that they are equal in the sight of Allah, as He says: "And the Lord of him answered them: "I will never allow the work of the worker to be lost among you, whether male or female; you are one another." Al Imran: 195 There are many verses that convey this message. Prophet Muhammad (PBUHS) said: Women are counterparts of men Even Sheikh Ibn Baz, who was a prominent scholar in Saudi Arabia said that counterparts meant equals. That is in general, but we Muslims have exceptions that are different from what feminism demands.

They say that both genders should be equal in everything. They reject marital custody and obedience. The second wave feminist says that a woman does herself a disservice if she becomes a mother. Since she will be the one who raises the children, not the man. She should not do that, because she will suffer Betty Friedan in her book The Feminine Mystique (1963) stated that women who adapt as housewives...are in a comfortable concentration camp. Such ideas would necessarily contradict Islamic principles. A woman in the West has teachings mentioned in the Holy Quran and those that distinguish between men and women.

Anyone can see the clear difference with second wave feminism. A woman chooses the Islamic path or the feminist path. The majority of Muslims, I would rather say many, not the majority, because there are no studies on the matter. Many Muslims are in the middle position and become skeptical about Islam. Let's say someone reads the Quran and says: Men are in charge of women because of what Allah has given them over each other and because of what they spend from their wealth." An-Nisa:34 He or she will be confused and stressed because they see different practices. Around them, at school, at university, on television or in movies.

They understand that this is inappropriate. Then they will suffer from a mental disorder. We should solve this problem. I try to do it at the center. How What feminists ask, despite biological differences between sexes Men and women should be equal I say: What is your proof? Aristotle said If x and y are identical, then each attribute of one is an attribute of another That means that different things have different attributes. I believe that men are different from women in many things that feminists reject considering these differences. There is an author who wrote a small book called the Feminist Manifesto.

She wrote in the first pages of this manifesto that we should do everything we Biology allows everything except breastfeeding. This is not possible biologically. But the most important question: What is your evidence? The premise here is false. How do you say there should be absolute equality between genders and then impose exceptions? There is no evidence to support her claim. Anyone who follows this must be captivated by the Western point of view. Let's be honest, the Arab countries were occupied in the past, but not the Saudi Mashalla. But it seems as if today we are enslaved. We feel inferior. towards the West We consider the West as the teacher As the psychoanalyst Karl Jung expressed it, the West is a giant in its technology, but a dwarf in its morals.

And what did we do? We followed their morals and ignored what they excelled at. That is the Arab problem. The streets here are better than those in Arab countries. The same can be said of buildings. I'm not talking about the Gulf counties, they are different. Anyone who sees that will be confused. This is the problem. When individuals try to adapt between Islamic and Western cultures they do contrasting things. Some might abandon Western civilization, but this is not right. And those who try to adapt, what will happen to them? Take Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, for example.

He says: You can be Muslim and Western. The values ​​of Islam do not contradict those of the West. First we have to define Western values. They appeared in the era of Enlightenment There are some historical facts that should be known First we have the Renaissance Then the scientific revolution in the 16th century The industrial revolution came later Along with the Enlightenment In the 16th and 17th centuries liberalism emerged and the founders were John Lock and Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan. John Locke wrote a lot about liberalism From the 17th century to today, liberalism became the main ideology in the West The dominant ethic, liberalism with a lowercase L Western politics is divided into left and right So leftists are liberals (in capital letters) That is why we distinguish liberalism in politics and liberalism in philosophy.

So, the great ideology in the West is liberalism. In the 1960s, second wave feminism became a major ideology here as well. You have a problem with feminism. I wrote some books about it, while I was at university, in the Department of Gender Studies, in graduate school. So I know what I'm talking about when I talk about feminism. Most people don't know anything about it. I went to the Middle East and asked someone who claimed to be a feminist to name feminist writers. She could not. I daresay most of them won't be able to do it. Is that important?

Definitely. Why is that? Of course it is important. If someone says that he is a Muslim, but he has not read the Quran or the Sunna, what is he called? ignorant The same can be said of those who say they are feminists, but know nothing about it. I think they are not right. Can anyone align Islam with Western values? I gave you a look at Western history The sources of Islam are the Quran, the Sunnah, consensus and analogical reason The four schools of jurisprudence Some Western values ​​correspond to Islamic ones Islam defends freedom of religion for non-Muslims Allah says : "Let there be no coercion in religion, because truth is clearly distinguished from falsehood.

So whoever renounces false gods and believes in Allah, has certainly grasped the firmest and most infallible grip." Al-Baqarah: 256 This is in line with Western values, which is liberalism. The Quran says not to force a Christian to convert to Islam. And liberalism says the same thing, so this is compatible. Here it is possible to reconcile them. But talking about the rule "you are free as long as you don't hurt anyone else" Which is considered the main rule of social liberalism J. S. Mill wrote many books on social liberalism, such as Utilitarianism This is incompatible with Islam I am not saying this is definitive We have to be precise The rule: You are free, as long as you don't hurt anyone else.

It means that you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't make others suffer. Do what you want unless you hurt someone. I went to Alexandria, Egypt. By the way, I have Egyptian roots. I spoke to a taxi driver. He told me the same thing. The same rule literally. I asked him: Where did he get this from? I didn't know its source. I told him it was a quote from one of J. S. Mill's books. He didn't know that. Where did he get it from? He heard it in the movies, and I tell the secularists in Egypt, and I tell it to anyone who adopts this in the Arab world.

This same rule J. S. Mill, who made that rule, admitted that it is very difficult to prove. all the philosophers said his rule was wrong. The crucial question would be: How would you prove that this rule is moral? I mean, since you say two plus two equals four, this is a fact. Is the rule: you are free as long as you don't hurt anyone, like the fact that 2+2=4? Not quite. He tried to prove it because J. S. Mill depended on Jeremy Bentham at the beginning. Who said that actions are morally correct if they tend to promote the well-being of the majority?

How would you define well-being? He literally said There are two lords, I read it somewhere, The lord of pain and the lord of pleasure. watch this! The lord of pain and the lord of pleasure. The goal of your life then should be to increase the sum total of pleasure and decrease the sum total of pain. This agrees with what Allah says: "Have you seen the one whom he took as his god?" the he desire of him, and Allah has led him astray because of the knowledge, "Al-Jathya: 23 Or what the Prophet (PBUHS) said: Let him be miserable, the worshiper of the dinar and the dirham." All of this leads us to say that the origin of liberalism is hedonism.

I'm not saying it on my own, they said it. In fact, John Locke had said it in his book The meaning of liberalism is to pursue more pleasures and avoid pain This is the only goal of our lives But we Muslims do not believe in this. We believe that the purpose of life is to worship Allah. "And I did not create jinn or men except that they might worship Me (alone)." Adh-Dhāriyāt: 56 That is the main difference between Islamic and Western values ​​We Muslims have our own rule of harm. The Prophet said: "There should be no harm or reciprocal harm." And Islamic rule is more universal than liberal rule, because it includes self-harm.

Allah says: "and do not throw yourselves into destruction", Al-Baqara:195 Self-harm is prohibited in Islam. Because of this rule: There must be no harm or reciprocal harm. This does not apply to liberalism. So we have our rule which is very different from theirs. In my conversations with them, I ask them: How about a brother and sister? If they use contraceptive methods. Condoms and staff. If you use them, do you consider it appropriate for them to have sexual relations? You can see their reaction, the conversations are available online Liberals ignore their government whenever they want That doesn't make anyone happy, by the way Western research...

Take Pew Research The Center's 2019 survey comparing religious people with the non-religious, he found that religious people were happier than their non-religious peers because of the rules of "Do what you want" or "you are free as long as there is no harm." "to others" makes one depressed. So Forbes magazine and the WHO (World Health Organization) published a list of the most depressed countries, and most of them were Western. Because this lifestyle and this "open" liberalism destroys families. It ruins the body and soul. Because Depression and anxiety Today there are anti-anxiety medications to treat anxiety and depression, which are widespread in these countries.

That doesn't necessarily mean there are more cases than we have. But they have numbers or statistics, and we don't. Maybe you are right. But in Pew surveys they have methodology, that is, they take into account the way in which the survey is carried out. No sociologist should claim any result unless they cover it in the Let Me Tell You Something Weird method. John Locke, who founded liberalism, spoke about apostasy. It is possible in liberalism. This is another thing to equate with Islam. We have the social contract. Which is a contract made between the governed and their ruler.

It is made by the citizens. Like me, me. I was born and raised here. So I became a British citizen by virtue of my birth within British territory. That means there is a contract between me and the opposing ruler, and therefore I am obligated to obey his rules. Compliance with the law. It is mandatory, not optional. Which is good, I'm not saying it isn't. We Muslims believe in the same thing. As we say, people must obey the ruler. Otherwise, chaos will ensue. The social contract is central to liberalism. That is consistent with Islamic understanding. That's what John Locke said about apostasy, but his example was a Jewish country. , not an Islamic If there were a Jewish state Who apostatizes their faith, he says And because the religious contract is bound by the political It is considered high treason Therefore, they can be killed We can find a social contract in both liberal ideology and in Islam If one is Muslim, that does not necessarily make one liberal.

But, on the other hand, liberalism adopts the values ​​of Islam. The opposite also is true. If one lives in a country governed by Islamic laws and another who is a liberal non-Muslim wants to do whatever he wants... Qurtubi explained the verse "Fight against those who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day... until let them give jizyah voluntarily while they are humiliated." At-Tawbah: 29 He said that if non-Muslims wanted to drink wine in Muslim countries, and they did, they were allowed. They had their own traditions and beliefs. That applies to liberals, they can live a normal life in a Muslim country.

That is a Western discourse, which says that Muslims can live under a liberal government and do whatever they want. But the opposite is not true. I don't. I don't deny it, and here we live in Britain. But I say the opposite is true. In fact it worked in theory, and in practice too.It happened in Spain and the Ottoman Empire. It takes place today in some Muslim countries. Secondly, there were many liberal countries that colonized some nations. They imposed their rules on those nations. See, for example, what France did during her campaign in Egypt at the end of the 18th century.

It was as if Napoleon was reaching out. liberalism with the sword (by force) There is an outstanding writer, it was not Voltaire He wrote in his book Democracy in America, I do not remember the name of the author How many martyrs were there because of liberalism? Colonization aligned with liberalism What happened when the United States was founded in the late 18th century The American constitution and laws were written In the constitution There was slavery and colonization Even the American Civil War (1861-1865) After that, it was done the thirteenth amendment, why slavery was prohibited Slavery, colonization and liberalism can be congruent He who says liberalism gives you the opportunity to do this or that I tell him this is not historically accurate Look what happened in Algeria France killed millions of people because he tried to impose liberalism on the nation.

Whoever says that liberalism is the only ideology under which people can live peacefully, I say it incorrectly, neither in practice nor in history. How well do Muslims and non-Muslims coexist in Britain? I will not deny that they coexist, since they come from different cultures and different countries. London is one of the most ethnically diverse cities. Pew research reports that cities inhabited by different ethnicities show less racism. A white man, for example, could be racial with a black man if he met for the first time, but if they lived in the same place. Instead, they would communicate with tolerance and openness, the openness of Islam, not that of liberals.

We experience this in the Western world, and it is very good. What is the difference between Islamic and liberal openness? The liberal has things like homosexuality, the Islamic does not. Definitely, if two men had sex in a Muslim society and they did it publicly, I mean, they put the video clip on the Internet. That is prohibited in Islam, but allowed in liberalism. Islam prohibits. I would like to know a few things about this type of liberal openness. Most Muslims here are immigrants who came here after World War I, as you explained. Being a Muslim migrant affects both the individual and the family.

Let's start with the individual. There are some consequences of immigration. There is a study done in the United States that says: Many Muslims who were raised in the United States as Muslims changed their religion. 55% of them became atheists. In reality it is 24%. I read this study, wrote a book about it, and did a webinar on the Sapience Institute. Both have the name: The scientific deception of the new atheists. Finish your idea and then I'll get back to you. That is my idea. The challenges faced by Muslims, both those who abandon their religion and those who convert to Islam, in the Western world The Western world does not mean the United States.

I said earlier that the British Social Attitudes Surveys, which are second only to the census, say that those leaving their faith were less than 5% or 3%. This survey is more accurate than the Pew research I just talked about Only 5% of Do Muslims apostatize? Even less than that. Linda Woodhead mentioned that in her book What's the Difference Between America and Britain? I'll tell you what. First, Pew's research method is wrong. The sample size of the survey was 1000 subjects, most of whom were from Iran. They said translation was needed. I mean, their native language wasn't English, which means they didn't grow up in the country. country The Iranian subjects in this study made up 40% of the sample Iranians have their own context In 1979, when the Islamic revolution broke out and Khomeini took power People there apostatized much more than those who did the same in other Middle East countries East There is a network called Arab Barometer It published a report in Arabic that said Arab countries became more conservative and religious.

That was the opposite of what they reported in 2019. People became more religious in two years. The Arab Barometer previously reported that one of the main reasons people became less religious was that they lost trust in the leaders of Islam. That's according to the Arab Barometer. But this loss of trust is stronger in Iran than in any other Middle Eastern country. Because? The Iranian people do not like their country's politics. Later, the number of those who became apostates was greater in Iran. We have two focal problems. First, the method used in the Pew research in 2019 or 2018 was generalizing and the sample was very small.

Most of the subjects were from Iran. Iran had its special status. So we can't take this study to say that Muslims in America change their religion, as they reported. However, we cannot apply this to other Western countries because if we get to what British Social Attitudes, Linda Woodhead and census data said we will find that the question What is your religion is asked of all people? We see no results that support that assumption. Finally, I should say that this is not true. In fact, many people convert to Islam. In large numbers, that raised the right concerns.

Because people become Muslims. Christians in 2001 were 75% of the British population. The 2021 census results have not yet been released, but it is expected to be 50 or 40% of Christians. So this is an apostasy. Of millions of people in a way unprecedented in the history of Christianity. This is not the case for Muslims in either the West or the Middle East. Muslims cling to their religion more than Christians in Western countries. If Christians decrease, it does not mean that they become Muslims. No. They will be non-religious, they will say that they do not belong to any religion. Let's talk about family.

I say this even though I live in a Muslim country, in a Muslim neighborhood, surrounded by Muslim families and society. But when I imagine raising children and starting a family in the West I see challenges How to manage raising children, their questions, their different upbringing, their peers, the neighborhood I would like to know about all these challenges that the Muslim family faces. They can be fruitful, Ibn. al-Qayyim explained that in his book The Sickness and the Cure of It (Cure the Sick) Without evil, we would not be able to strengthen our faith to face it. I see the same thing here.

There is a positive side to Muslims being in the West. To maintain their faith, people have to learn it first, resorting to the Kitab (Quran) and the Sunnah. That challenge can lead to a stronger belief. It's quite the opposite. Some may become non-religious. Allah says: "There are some among men who serve Allah, so to speak, to the limit: if something good happens to them, they are happy with it; but if a trial comes to them, they turn away: they lose this world and the Hereafter. : that's loss. for everyone to see!" Al-Haj:11 That is, some people have weak faith.

When faced with these challenges, they return to disbelief and lose both this world and the Hereafter. We see both types. But I would say that people in general are in the middle, between each other. Many people today defend Islam because they had to. The Arabs say: Necessity is the mother of invention. We have the same expression here. Most of what we see of today's technology appeared after World War I and World War II. That's again because necessity is the mother of invention. Everyone has to strengthen their faith to be able to deal. with these problems Or return to disbelief while worshiping Allah with uncertainty Most people live in their Muslim communities, practice Islam The problems that Muslims have to deal with here are no different from those faced by Muslims in Middle East They are different Look at the illicit issues, addiction whether to alcohol or drugs that became widely available...

Are you trying to tell me that you don't see these things in the Middle East? No. But they are allowed here, not there. If you can find them on the supermarket shelves is one thing, and secretly getting your hands on them is another thing. You're right. Ibn Al-Qayyim The disease and the cure says something good He says: What is forbidden is desirable So you say that everything should be allowed in Islamic countries? Let me like you, as a person living in the GCC. I'm just asking because I really don't know. Are these things common among young people in Muslim societies?

Let's say homosexuality. Secretly? Yes. I want to know because it's really difficult, or impossible, to examine what is the percentage in the Middle East of people who do these things compared to the West? I don't have an answer for that. But I said earlier that GCC and Middle Eastern societies are not holy. There you will find all the bad actions, challenges and problems that you will find here. But since things are prohibited and society is conservative, this makes them one more... Parents. Therefore, they have difficulties raising their children, especially teenagers. If you watch some TV shows on HBO, like Euphoria, for example, which depicts the life of American teenagers.

They are not Muslims and they are different from us. But their problems will not be different from those of Muslims. Children Your child will be in contact with them, whether he likes it or not. How do you see that? I feel that this raises the concern of Muslims. You're right. That's what Muslim communities go through here. The upper class tends to experience this more than the working class. Because? Because wealthy Muslims in their jobs are forced to adapt very well to the environment around them. We said this at the beginning, but returning to a point we did not discuss in depth, about European authorities taking children from their families.

So lower class families can experience that, if they beat their children or raise them with different values. of the West In our country for a long time it was allowed to hit children or slap them. I don't know exactly when they banned it. This is not exclusive only for Muslims. I went to school here. My white friends used to say that their parents put shoes on them, slapped them, or punched them. That was very common. Statistics say that domestic violence accidents occur frequently. There is no evidence that it is more common among Muslims than in other communities.

Then yes. I agree that that is difficult. But even if the child is at her parents' house, the challenge now lies on the phone. The child may have Facebook, TikTok and similar things. In this country, the child can call a pimp to send someone to him. so everything is accessible here. I don't think it's the same in the Middle East. Let me be honest with you. Young Muslims do these things, I won't say most of them, but many of them. Then they feel depressed, regretting what they did. made. then it comes back Then they solve the dilemma "the forbidden is desirable" illicitly They say they would try this life Many of my friends did that, they call it jahiliyyah period (age of ignorance) They would say I did this, I did that In my jahiliyyah they would try this life and find out that didn't suit them.

They would then retreat to Islam. Their faith would be stronger, because they found Islam to govern their life. After this bad experience. They crave self-control and self-discipline. This does not happen in Middle Eastern countries. Young people still think about Western customs. of life, as long as they don't try Maybe this will cause more problems, I'm not sure I'm not suggesting anything here, I'm just saying this may be the case. I understood that you visit Arab countries like Egypt, is that true? Yes, many times. What differences do you see between Muslims in Arab countries and Muslims in the West?

Or Britain are essentially different. The people in Egypt are mostly Egyptians. Egyptians... A race... When I go there, I don't feel any different. The only difference is that I am extremely tall, 200 cm tall. That's the only thing that makes people stare. In England we live in big cities. In London, Muslims number more than 1 million people. 50 or 60 per cent of Bradford's population are Muslim, most of them are Pakistani, they have a queer, or rather ugly accent, people don't like it. 30 percent of Birmingham's population are Muslim. There, one in three women wears a hijab or puts on a niqab (face covering) That applies to Manchester and Leads The majority of Grimsby's population is white They will probably look at you with indignation or nervousness So this is the difference I don't see this when I visit Egypt.

We are all equal. This is the race. Secondly, do you speak the Egyptian accent fluently? Or they may say you're not from there. I visited Egypt five years ago and spoke with their accent. But I always forgot some Arabic words. He then spoke a mixture of an Egyptian accent and a formal Arabic accent. They said you're not Egyptian. . You're a Saudi trying to copy us, but in your talk about Muslim numbers, I got the feeling that if I were in yourplace, I would get angry, I would get angry. You can't imagine how racist that would be!

There is someone who said that within thirty years Muslims would rule France, because they would constitute a majority there. If I were from there, I would feel uncomfortable, so I would make laws to restrict their presence. We are not equal Let me ask you this: Do you feel the same when white people come to Saudi Arabia? If they become a threat, or come to change my laws to align with their values, no one is asking for that. I will do everything possible to expel me from my land. I agree. No Muslim is calling on the British government to change the rules or become an Islamic state.

No. I know that Islam is a religion that offers guidance in all aspects of daily life, and not just in people's worship. This is only for Muslims. We do not ask the Western government to rule according to Sharia law. Because you are the weakest link. But if you had the advantage, things would be different. We are a minority here, with around four million Muslims. What is the population of the country? Of 77 million. We Muslims here, since we came to this land, have never, ever asked the government to change the laws or the constitution. Let's ask a question.

If Muslims represent more than 50% and want to change through elections, then this is compatible with democracy. Anyone refuses. then he rejects democracy. If Muslims were more than 40 million, which is impossible. According to Pew research, Islam will have the largest number of followers in the world in 2100, and in 2050, even if Europe stops accepting refugees, Muslims will represent only 5% of the population, while Christians. in Egypt they represent 10%. That means that by 2050, according to Pew research, Muslims will make up 5% of the British population, which is half the rate of Christians in Egypt (10%). Egypt is one of the most populous Arab and Islamic countries.

The comparison here is illogical. You can see this in Lebanon and Egypt. And here I speak from my experience, since I was in Egypt several times and lived for a few years, I saw Christians treated with respect and decency. Their churches are protected by the Egyptian police. and there are some districts that have the highest concentration of Christians like Shubra And the mayor of London, the British capital, is Muslim There is no difference I tell you this because you say: If you took his place, you would be angry We already did that. We are not bothered by the presence of Christians in Egypt.

But Christians are Egyptians, not foreigners. This is from a religious point of view. I gave you two examples. The first is about religion and the second is about race or nationality. If a white man came. to Saudi Arabia, I am 100% sure the Saudis would treat him with respect. My white friends had been to Saudi Arabia and were surprised at the hospitality to find that non-Muslims or Europeans are treated very well in Arab countries. Otherwise, why would he travel to Egypt on vacation? To Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and Cairo? Would they not go because they knew that the Muslims and Arabs would send them there? what happens is the opposite.

We Arabs are generous by intrinsic nature, aren't we? When they come to us, we like to show them our hospitality. I don't deny that there are some problems We have racism, we have tribal intolerance But I want to compare between the West and the Middle East If it were the other way around, Muslims and Arabs wouldn't bother Do you understand that you are Saying that Arabs and Muslims are more tolerant of others and more hostile? I don't like to generalize. Let's talk about static. Pew Research says that among Western, or rather European, countries, the most racist countries are Eastern European countries, such as Poland.

It ranked first in racism, not just against Muslims, but against any "other", such as black people, even if they are Christians. You can see this at football games. If there is a black player, they will shower him with banana peels and abusive words like calling him a monkey. Needless to say, that is racism. Poland is different from England. And in England itself, the situation is not the same in all cities. Grimsby is not like Birmingham. If someone tries to do something, Muslims will be alert. I told them I went to Holland. Some women reported that there were some gangs. , in Egypt we call them Baltagiyah (thugs) They are Moroccans There is someone who covers their face with a niqab while outside A lady said that when she walks down the street, and those racists see her They do not harm her, because they are afraid of the Moroccan gangsters .

Things like this happen. What I mean is that it is something associated with the geographical environment. Edward Said had a well-known book titled Orientalism. His main idea is that the West generalizes the Middle East and the East. East On the other hand, we do not want to generalize the West in turn. Therefore, I try to be precise in my answers. Because the Western world is large, with large populations and things vary from place to place. My last question is this: How do you describe the impact of Eastern Muslims on Western Muslims? Historically? No, currently The impact of Saudi Arabia is very powerful.

I explained before that Muslims in this country follow different Islamic schools, but the largest is Salafi. The mosques here are mostly Salafi or Athari (a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors"). Muslims here know Sheikh Ibn Baz and Sheikh Ibn Othaymeen, and all those prominent scholars, even if they are not Salafi. Consequently, many of his books and fatwas were translated into English. This has pros and cons. The pros are strengthening your faith, and understanding correct doctrine. The disadvantages they tried to practice do not align with the West because the context is different. Exactly. Fundamentalists say don't judge anything before you visualize it.

They explained this in their Fiqh books. That means you can't judge something unless you know it very well. When one tries to bring fatwas to the West, serious problems will occur. For example, conflicts between Salafists. They look for a solution with a sheikh in Saudi Arabia who has no idea what is going on here. That gives a distorted image of the Arabs, the Saudis, and Islam. When you want to do something inapplicable... What solution do you have to avoid it? To create awareness that these fatwas cannot be applied here. But I think the right thing is the Salafis, particularly those...

I won't say moderates, but sheikhs who know very well how things are going. In Britain, if you go to the mosque and then accuse it of disbelief or condemnable innovation and associate yourself with Saudi sheikhs, that will give a distorted image of Saudi Arabia. This is inappropriate. I always say that the Saudis don't believe in that. Most people in the Arab world are moderate. Tell me if I'm wrong. you are welcome. They take fatwa from this sheikh or that one, like Sheikh Rabee al-Madkhali. Then they come to apply it here, separating families or accusing people I know, families in which the son does not talk to his mother.

He abandons his mother. Why is that? He accuses her of innovation. So we have to, I don't know why it wasn't done before, that those voices that corrupt the image of Muslims... to silence them, to not allow those voices to be the voice of Arabs and Muslims in the West, that blacken names or images. Easier People will see the Saudis as those who accuse people of apostasy. They would call him "Wahabi". This image harms Muslim communities. They give an example of the old Saudi law that does not allow women to drive cars. Even non-Muslims would say they still use it even after changing the law because they believe it expresses the vision of Islam around the world.

What happens in the Middle East resonates more than what happens in another country, as large as Saudi Arabia. , but it lacks its weight. We have to start with the Middle East. We must make the moderate Islamic conception leave aside these extremist voices. They are extremists. We have groups in Britain that are really misbehaving, some say we follow that Saudi sheikh and we will do what he says because he is the one everyone should follow. We have Takfiri groups that are linked to Mohammed Abdul-Wahhab, so they show a false image to the Arabs. and the Saudis say that we should stick to the Quran and Sunnah and not follow statutory laws.

All the nonsense that no one would accept. Neither Muslims nor others. These voices must be silenced. I do not support persecution. I'm just saying that they should not be allowed to speak on behalf of Muslims. Did you finish your bachelor's, master's, and PhD here? Yes. What is the topic of your doctoral thesis? Philosophy of religion Religion in general. About the proof of the existence of the Creator. and the Masters? I have three master's degrees, all from British universities. What are your themes? The first was in history. In second place were Islamic studies. the third was in theology or comparative religious studies.

But how to study Islam in a non-Muslim country? We have some institutions here. I mentioned earlier that Deobandi established educational centers here. They have Hanafi centers. Didn't you think about going to Egypt and studying there? I study online at Azhar University, but we have centers here. Are good? Yes. The British come to them. I go to one of them where I learn the Quran, the Hadith and Arabic. Thank you so much. It was an honor to have you. The honor is mine. I know that speaking Arabic was a great effort. It's good for me. If I don't speak the language often, I will forget it.

Thanks again. May Allah give you strength. Thank you very much for accepting my invitation. Thank you all. Thanks to the producer, Ayman Al-Hammadi, editor, Anas Khalil, sound engineer, Mohammad Al-Hassun, cameraman, Lucas Production, Saleh Ba Salamah and Hanadi Al-Huthali and Sahar Suliman, vice president of audio production. This is Fnjan, Thmanyah for publishing and distribution. We create with love, from Riyadh until we return after Eid, Eid Mubarak.