Dawud Assad Quotes
People call us [Moslems] terrorists while ours is a religion of peace.
Dawud Assad, President, U.S. Council of Masajid [Mosques], Quoted in Time, May 23, 1988
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Nigeria was about equally divided into Muslims who dominated the North and Christians and Animists who dominated the South. The former were intent on making Sharia—Islamic Law—the law of the nation and the latter were equally passionate to avoid it. Muslim protests got very violent including murdering innocent civilians; the Christians threatened to retaliate.
In September of 2005 a Danish Newspaper published some political cartoons showing the hypocrisy of some Muslims who use Islam to justify murder of innocents and terrorism. Many in the Middle East protested vehemently because the Prophet Muhammad's visage was depicted against Islamic tradition. Many Muslim leaders claimed that insulting religion was an “abuse” of freedom of speech including those from nations which regularly publish material that is virulent against Christians and Jews. Momani reprinted the cartoons and wrote this editorial arguing that the cartoons insulted Islam far less than the terrorism and murder—especially a recent murder of Muslims in Amman attending an Islamic wedding ceremony, He was fired by the newspaper owners and then actually arrested by the Jordanian authorities for “Insulting Religion.”
One of the strong motivations of Islamic terrorists is the fact that they believe that a Muslim who dies fighting for Islam goes immediately to Paradise. However, terrorists create Hell for innocent civilians and people who have no desire to harm Islam—in many cases babies and young children who do not even know what religion is. While this statement represents the beliefs of most moderate Muslims, it was made after he was out of office. It is doubtful that an Iranian President—a position without much power in the Iranian theocracy where the religious leader rules—in office would dare say something like this when Iran supports Islamic terrorist organizations throughout the world.
The “People of the Book” were the Jews and Christians who received special status in Muslim lands and societies. Despite the enmity and Muslim fundamentalist terrorism of modern times, Jews have historically lived in relative harmony in Islamic lands, and with the exception of the Christians in the Crusades, Christians were also given a place in Muslim societies. The “Book” refers to the Bible.
Muslim clerics throughout the world had been relatively mild in their criticism of Islamic Extremists and Terrorists. Delic was one of those who urged stronger moral statements. Many of the Muslim clerics in the world actually were themselves holders of Wahhabi and other extremist views. However, many also opposed terrorism and felt that there was nothing in Islam that could justify the indiscriminate killing. However, a number of these were intimidated lest an extremist Muslim cleric issue a Fatwa calling for his death for heresy. Most of us did not then, and even today, do no really understand the extent and frequency of these threats in the Muslim world (and even in the West) and the very frequent assassination or serious wounding of those Muslims who publicly criticize the extremist terrorists. Delic had much more courage than most.
This is a particularly noteworthy quotation as Muslims are often accused of intolerance and here is a Muslim who argues that it is the responsibility of religious leaders to present religion in a tolerant manner.
After years of minority Sunni Muslim rule of Iraq, the U. S. invasion gave the majority Shiite Muslims political control. The Sunnis and Shiites have been at each others throats for centuries despite the fact that they are both Muslims. Saudi Arabia is the center of Sunni Islam and many of its religious extremists issue edicts advocating the suicide bombing of Shiite mosques and other facilities and assuring martyrdom for the suicide bombers.
