Miami Imam: If You Love Jesus, Islam Is the Religion for You

My latest in PJ Media:

Dr. Fadi Yousef Kablawi, imam at the Masjid As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyyah in north Miami, struck a blow for interfaith harmony recently when he preached a sermon in which declared: “If you truly love Jesus, this [Islam] is the religion for you.” Kablawi’s sermon was an excellent illustration of why Muslim persecution of Christians continues unabated in Nigeria and elsewhere.

After declaring that Palestine is “the land of Islam – and we will take it back,” Kablawi began a lengthy expatiation on Islamic martyrdom. “Every true Muslim,” Kablawi asserted, “should talk to himself about dying as a martyr for the sake of Allah. The Prophet said whoever does not do that is a hypocrite. Can you imagine? There is nothing higher than to die for what you believe.”

Kablawi then struck the victimhood pose that is so very much in fashion nowadays among Islamic advocacy groups in the U.S.: “But they make people heroes because they die for what they believe. Only when it comes to Islam, our martyrs become terrorists. They come to talk to you about Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela didn’t die for that, but he fought his whole life, and he was imprisoned for years for his cause, for whatever he believed in… Even thought I have some reservations about what he believed… Gandhi, same story, [was considered] a hero because he died for what he believed in. The guy from Mexico [sic], Guevara, [Che] Guevara, or whatever, a big guy. Even Bob Marley died for his… You know what? [He is] a hero. Why do you praise these people? Because they died for what they believe in. So why is it forbidden for us, when we say that the greatest level that you can attain is to die for what you believe in – for Allah? Why? You have double standards, hypocrites, why?”

Recommended: Even Biden’s Handlers’ Recognition of Armenian Genocide Plays Into Iran’s Hands

The biggest example of this hypocrisy, as far as Kablawi was concerned, was Christians’ reverence for Jesus: “All day long you are bugging us that Jesus died for us… We don’t believe that Jesus died for us, we don’t even believe that Jesus died, period. Yet. But here, you are praising Jesus because he died for what he believed in, to save you from your sins. Why is it forbidden for us to die for our belief, why has it become a big deal?”

Well, one reason is because Jesus didn’t take anyone with him. By contrast, the Qur’an states: “Surely Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their belongings and in return has promised that they shall have Paradise. They fight in the way of Allah, and kill and are killed” (9:111).

Read the rest here.