Always On Watch Two: The Ground Zero Mosque's Imam

(Hat tip to Infidel Bloggers Alliance)

From Walid Shoebat. who is fluent in Arabic:

Just who is ‘moderate’ Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf? He’s no moderate at all. He’s the funder of the controversial Ground Zero Mosque in New York and a financier of the Turkish Flotilla, along with the Turkish government that funded the terrorist group IHH which has ties to al Qaida and Hamas in Gaza.

What’s more, Iman Rauf is calling for a worldwide return to the most radical form of Islam in history, turning the hands of time back to an era when Muslims ruled much of the known world. See eye-opening article below that was translated by Walid.

The following is a translation of an Arabic language interview conducted by Iman Rauf that should put shivers up your spine as to what the world will look like if he gets his way: Islamic world domination, death and enslavement to anyone who gets in his way.

Read for yourself his views and his desire as translated verbatim from the Arabic language. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s goal is to change the secular laws in the current Muslim world to reflect the original Islamic state established in Arabia in Medina and here is another caveat—this is not only restricted for the Muslim World, but for the U.S. as well. His view laments the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of secular laws after its fall.

Separation of Religion From State

(Translated verbatim, From his interview on Hadielislam.com)

Question: What does it mean to separate religion from state in Islam?

Abdul Rauf: The general understating in the west is that religious institutions have no influence in decision making in the state. In Europe religion is weak while in the United States the majority is religious and believe in God. With this, the understanding of the term “separation of religion from state” is also to separate the arm of the government from pressuring religious freedoms. So in a general sense they respect religious freedoms. In America the state does not interfere in religious regulations, their details, construction or how they are managed.

What is happing in the Muslim world after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the secular state, that the traditional relationship between state and religious institutions were subject to a separation, which resulted in a reaction that generated Islamic movements wanting to erect an Islamic state in the Islamic world. So if we watch history that after Rashidun Caliphate (Rightly Guided Caliphate) there was a form of separation between government and religious institutions that was represented by [Muslim] jurisprudence and since the Muslims on a personal level are required to follow the prophet (peace be upon him) on all aspects of life and conduct as permissible through a societal level as well. For that, we collectively believe that the state that was erected by the prophet in Medina was the ideal model for an Islamic state. The challenge today in the Islamic world is how do we accomplish this in our current era.

Question: Many of the political Jihadist Islamic movements are talking about an Islamic Caliphate based on the prophet’s approach. Can we accomplish this today?

Abdul Rauf: The challenge I was referring to is this; how do we call for the principles and standards that the prophet (peace be upon him) used to build the Islamic state in Medina. The challenge we have today is how do we accomplish this while keeping the prophet’s methodology in our current changing times. This challenge was an issue that the scholars and Caliphs had to face throughout the Islamic history, which resulted in the creation of several Islamic schools of thought with multiple views that are viewed equally.

So the question in our era throughout my discussions with contemporary Muslim theologians that an Islamic state can be established in more than just in a single form or mold; it can be established through a kingdom or a democracy. The important issue is to establish the general fundamentals of [Islamic] Shariah that are required to govern. It is known that there are sets of standards that are accepted by [Muslim] scholars to organize the relationships between government and the governed.

Question: So we understand that separation of religion from state, that is, it depends on the Muslim governors that so long they were spreading Islam and justice… but when the rulers are ruling under traditional laws contrary to Islamic laws, what then should the Islamic institutions do?

Abdul Rauf: A time after the prophet (peace be upon him) arose certain new conditions that required the governors to institute new laws so long they do not conflict with the Quran and the Sunna that were Shariah compliant as such followed in traditional customs. So in our modern era, governments that want to ensure the new laws as to not contradict Shariah rules—so they create institutions to ensure Islamic law and remove any that contradict with Shariah.

So we advise that when there is a problem in the relationship between state and religious institutions in the form of the question you just asked, that people need to use peaceful means to advise the governors and government institutions and use peaceful means that are available to send their message out to the masses.

And we also suggest to the governors and political institutions to consult [Muslim] religious institutions and [Muslim] personalities in the field as to assure their decision making to reflect the spirit of Shariah.

Question: No doubt that there are disastrous results if the Islamic world kept going under the principles that are used with religious issues and state, but what do we do on a personal level while in the midst of this low class system that is established in our Muslim states?

Abdul Rauf: First and foremost, we need to understand what Shariah requires from us. Second, we need to be a part of a larger group that is capable to give advise [to the government] as is done by lobbies in the West. Thirdly: We become an institutional group to provide benevolent needs in the society.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is the chief executive of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Sunday, December 9th, 2007, 10:08 A.M.