UIC | Assalamu Alaikum, ASAK for my Wahabi readers, Well, today was interesting. I returned to the UIC MSA. You guys didn't think I forgot about you did you? Of course I couldn't forget about you, you guys are the reason why I even started Khutbah Khaos. Thank you. If you recall, my last khutbah critique for this congregation was several months ago, and it was also REALLY good. I really enjoyed the last khutbah I attended there and was truly impressed and pleased. But, summer came, and summer went, as did any effect of my previous khutbah critiques. C'est la vie! |
Today's khutbah was conducted by a British brother by the name of Hamza Tzortzis. I initially got the impression that he is an Arab since he recited his Arabic words quite precisely, then again, he could just be well educated in that regard. But, for the sake of humor, I will categorize him as a loud Arab, he was in fact quite loud, and was pretty pumped up, moving every which way during his talk. [In reality he is a Greek convert, his full name is Hamza Andreas Tzortzis]
Anyway, his khutbah, or bayan I should say, was on discussing that crazy new movie everyone can't get enough of, "The Innocence of Muslims". Woooo!! Well, before I start my own commentary, please see a brief overview of Brother Hamza's talk below:
Anyway, his khutbah, or bayan I should say, was on discussing that crazy new movie everyone can't get enough of, "The Innocence of Muslims". Woooo!! Well, before I start my own commentary, please see a brief overview of Brother Hamza's talk below:
Can you feel the intensity? I can. It's intense.
Start bayan.
There is that stupid, filthy, vile movie that came out of California about our Prophet (S). We need to stand against this insult and humiliation.
We need to "go into the white atmosphere and show them our intellectual and religious tradition."
[Discussing the "Innocence of Muslims" movie. Loud Arab British person.]
There are so many restrictions in secular western law, you have laws against hate speech, against perjury, even corporations have protection from each other, such as Apple and Samsung who are currently fighting over patents. Freedom of speech is a myth.
John Stewart Mill - Can't yell bomb in a crowd since it can cause destruction or problems.
Look at European history, the Catholic church stifled open debate.
What is the objective of speech? Truth, accountability, and progress.
Islam has this same idea behind speech.
The iPad would not exist without Islam, tell Apple to trademark this. Muslim Spain is responsible "for the algorithm used to create the iPad and iPhone." "Can you go to the Apple store and tell them to append 'Alhamdulillahi Rabbi Alamin (Trademark)'?" "NO! You cannot!" We have to tell these people what we gave them. Make them grateful!
Incoherence of the idea.
We need to have an open dialog to inform people.
"We need to work together to bring back Islamic Spain, not for us or our egos, but to share with the world."
"We are good people."
The presumption of innocence came from Rasulullah (S). King Louis IX, met a monk versed in the Hadith, Qur'an, and the Bible. The monk shared the Traditions of the Prophet (S) which spoke about the idea of the presumption of innocence.
John Locke was influenced by 'Ibn Poko [I misheard the khatib, if you really want to know who this was, I am sure you can do research and find out], a Muslim guy. The concept of governance should be a vicegerency, which is the translation of khalipha. "Your founding fathers took that idea from Muslims!"
There are those Muslims who separate themselves from the Muslims that are blowing things up in Syria and Libya and killing people, that's shameful for our Islamic leaders to say that 'We are not from them'."
'Ibn Taymiyyah said that the Prophet (S) was the only one who could forgive, now that he's gone no one has that right. "No one can forgive anyone for insulting our Prophet (S)."
Its a disgrace to spend money on large domes and big mosques, we should spend money on important issues, on feeding the poor. [He's yelling now.] "Do you think the Prophet (S) would raise money for a dome?!"
90 years after the Prophet passed we were in Multan and Spain. In 92 A.H. the mosque was repaired. It was leaking this whole time.
You are dead if you are not inspired. "But you're not dead since you laughed at some of my jokes." [Chuckle chuckle]
They used the smokescreen of freedom of speech to insult our Prophet.
Sarkozy's son was protected in the media from his vile acts, this is a double standard.
Freedom to insult is counter to the freedom of speech. It goes against the objective of speech. We have a red line, don't insult our tradition. We want intellectual debate.
What they have done shows they have lost the debate, when you lose you start swearing.
To quickly recap:
"We don't want to harm anybody we just want to show people the truth. Is there any harm in that? If you stay silent you are with shaytan (satan). If you keep silent over the insults on the Prophet what are you saying? You're saying that it's permitted."
End bayan.
There is that stupid, filthy, vile movie that came out of California about our Prophet (S). We need to stand against this insult and humiliation.
We need to "go into the white atmosphere and show them our intellectual and religious tradition."
[Discussing the "Innocence of Muslims" movie. Loud Arab British person.]
There are so many restrictions in secular western law, you have laws against hate speech, against perjury, even corporations have protection from each other, such as Apple and Samsung who are currently fighting over patents. Freedom of speech is a myth.
John Stewart Mill - Can't yell bomb in a crowd since it can cause destruction or problems.
Look at European history, the Catholic church stifled open debate.
What is the objective of speech? Truth, accountability, and progress.
Islam has this same idea behind speech.
The iPad would not exist without Islam, tell Apple to trademark this. Muslim Spain is responsible "for the algorithm used to create the iPad and iPhone." "Can you go to the Apple store and tell them to append 'Alhamdulillahi Rabbi Alamin (Trademark)'?" "NO! You cannot!" We have to tell these people what we gave them. Make them grateful!
Incoherence of the idea.
We need to have an open dialog to inform people.
"We need to work together to bring back Islamic Spain, not for us or our egos, but to share with the world."
"We are good people."
The presumption of innocence came from Rasulullah (S). King Louis IX, met a monk versed in the Hadith, Qur'an, and the Bible. The monk shared the Traditions of the Prophet (S) which spoke about the idea of the presumption of innocence.
John Locke was influenced by 'Ibn Poko [I misheard the khatib, if you really want to know who this was, I am sure you can do research and find out], a Muslim guy. The concept of governance should be a vicegerency, which is the translation of khalipha. "Your founding fathers took that idea from Muslims!"
There are those Muslims who separate themselves from the Muslims that are blowing things up in Syria and Libya and killing people, that's shameful for our Islamic leaders to say that 'We are not from them'."
'Ibn Taymiyyah said that the Prophet (S) was the only one who could forgive, now that he's gone no one has that right. "No one can forgive anyone for insulting our Prophet (S)."
Its a disgrace to spend money on large domes and big mosques, we should spend money on important issues, on feeding the poor. [He's yelling now.] "Do you think the Prophet (S) would raise money for a dome?!"
90 years after the Prophet passed we were in Multan and Spain. In 92 A.H. the mosque was repaired. It was leaking this whole time.
You are dead if you are not inspired. "But you're not dead since you laughed at some of my jokes." [Chuckle chuckle]
They used the smokescreen of freedom of speech to insult our Prophet.
Sarkozy's son was protected in the media from his vile acts, this is a double standard.
Freedom to insult is counter to the freedom of speech. It goes against the objective of speech. We have a red line, don't insult our tradition. We want intellectual debate.
What they have done shows they have lost the debate, when you lose you start swearing.
To quickly recap:
- Thomas Arnold gives Muslim Spain credit for the scientific revolution.
- King Louis IX brought back the idea of the presumption of innocence (i.e. Guilty until proven innocent in a court of law) from a Hadith of our Prophet (S).
- John Locke on tolerance.
"We don't want to harm anybody we just want to show people the truth. Is there any harm in that? If you stay silent you are with shaytan (satan). If you keep silent over the insults on the Prophet what are you saying? You're saying that it's permitted."
End bayan.
Wow... I am really glad he ended his talk by saying he didn't want to harm anyone, because up until that point I kept thinking, "This brother is militant!"
So, let's break this down. The khatib seems like a rational fellow, but he was frightening me with his militancy at certain points. I must debunk several statements he made.
First of all, Sarkozy's son, Jean Sarkozy, was not spared the ridicule of his vile actions by the media, the mere fact that you know he performed these acts means that he was not spared. Nor was his younger son of 15, Louis Sarkozy, for pelting a police woman right outside of the Elysee Palace back in March. Enough said.
Secondly. What is this guy talking about? That the Prophet (S)'s mosque was not repaired for a simple leak in the roof until 92 years after the Hijrah? Is this guy an idiot? Or is he just lying in an attempt to edify his point? He told us to simply go out there and wiki information to corroborate what he said regarding John Locke, King Louis IX and about what Thomas Arnold said regarding Muslim Spain. Well, I took his advice and Wiki'd some of his statements, not the ones he asked us to Wiki however.
First of all... He's totally incorrect for saying and also implying that the Prophet's mosque was untouched for 92 years after it's erection.
It was refurnished and rehabbed many times. At least once during each of the reigns of the Four Rightly Guided Khaliphas, and then it underwent a major renovation under the Ummayyad's who came to power less than 80 years after the mosque was built. So... Umm... what the heck are you talking about?
Since he likes Wiki so much, here is a snippet from Wiki:
(The bolded section hits the point home, but read the entire snippet if it interests you.)
So, let's break this down. The khatib seems like a rational fellow, but he was frightening me with his militancy at certain points. I must debunk several statements he made.
First of all, Sarkozy's son, Jean Sarkozy, was not spared the ridicule of his vile actions by the media, the mere fact that you know he performed these acts means that he was not spared. Nor was his younger son of 15, Louis Sarkozy, for pelting a police woman right outside of the Elysee Palace back in March. Enough said.
Secondly. What is this guy talking about? That the Prophet (S)'s mosque was not repaired for a simple leak in the roof until 92 years after the Hijrah? Is this guy an idiot? Or is he just lying in an attempt to edify his point? He told us to simply go out there and wiki information to corroborate what he said regarding John Locke, King Louis IX and about what Thomas Arnold said regarding Muslim Spain. Well, I took his advice and Wiki'd some of his statements, not the ones he asked us to Wiki however.
First of all... He's totally incorrect for saying and also implying that the Prophet's mosque was untouched for 92 years after it's erection.
It was refurnished and rehabbed many times. At least once during each of the reigns of the Four Rightly Guided Khaliphas, and then it underwent a major renovation under the Ummayyad's who came to power less than 80 years after the mosque was built. So... Umm... what the heck are you talking about?
Since he likes Wiki so much, here is a snippet from Wiki:
(The bolded section hits the point home, but read the entire snippet if it interests you.)
"The original mosque was built by Muhammad and his companions next to the house where he settled after his journey to Medina in 622 CE. The original mosque was an open-air building (covered by palm fronds) with a raised platform for the reading of the Quran. It was a rectangular enclosure of 30 m × 35 m (98 ft × 115 ft) at a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wall which was built with palm trunks and mud walls. It was accessed through three doors: Bab Rahmah (Door of Mercy) to the south, Bab Jibril (Door of Gabriel) to the west and Bab al-Nisa' (Door of the Women) to the east. The basic plan of the building has since been adopted in the building of most mosques throughout the world.
Inside, Muhammad created a shaded area to the south called the suffah and aligned the prayer space facing north towards Jerusalem. When the qibla (prayer direction) was changed to face the Kaaba in Mecca, the mosque was re-oriented to the south. The mosque also served as a community center, a court, and a religious school.
Seven years later (629 AD/7 AH), the mosque was doubled in size to accommodate the increasing number of Muslims. The area of the mosque was enlarged by 20 m × 15 m (66 ft × 49 ft) and became almost a square 50 m × 49.5 m (160 ft × 162.4 ft). The height increased to became 3.5 m (11 ft) and the mosque encompassed 35 columns.
The mosque remained like that during the caliphate of Abu Bakr until the caliphate of 'Umar bin al-Khattab, who enlarged the area of the mosque to 3575 m2 and built more wooden columns.
During the Uthman ibn Affan an arcade of stone and plaster was added to he mosque and the columns were remolded and built of stone
Subsequent Islamic rulers continued to enlarge and embellish the mosque over the centuries. In 707, Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik (705-715) replaced the old structure and built a larger one in its place, incorporating the tomb of Muhammad. This mosque was 84 by 100 m (276 by 330 ft) in size, with stone foundations and a teak roof supported on stone columns. The mosque walls were decorated with mosaics by Coptic and Greek craftsmen, similar to those seen in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (built by the same caliph). The courtyard was surrounded by a gallery on four sides, with four minarets on its corners. A mihrab topped by a small dome was built on the qibla wall."
Inside, Muhammad created a shaded area to the south called the suffah and aligned the prayer space facing north towards Jerusalem. When the qibla (prayer direction) was changed to face the Kaaba in Mecca, the mosque was re-oriented to the south. The mosque also served as a community center, a court, and a religious school.
Seven years later (629 AD/7 AH), the mosque was doubled in size to accommodate the increasing number of Muslims. The area of the mosque was enlarged by 20 m × 15 m (66 ft × 49 ft) and became almost a square 50 m × 49.5 m (160 ft × 162.4 ft). The height increased to became 3.5 m (11 ft) and the mosque encompassed 35 columns.
The mosque remained like that during the caliphate of Abu Bakr until the caliphate of 'Umar bin al-Khattab, who enlarged the area of the mosque to 3575 m2 and built more wooden columns.
During the Uthman ibn Affan an arcade of stone and plaster was added to he mosque and the columns were remolded and built of stone
Subsequent Islamic rulers continued to enlarge and embellish the mosque over the centuries. In 707, Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik (705-715) replaced the old structure and built a larger one in its place, incorporating the tomb of Muhammad. This mosque was 84 by 100 m (276 by 330 ft) in size, with stone foundations and a teak roof supported on stone columns. The mosque walls were decorated with mosaics by Coptic and Greek craftsmen, similar to those seen in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (built by the same caliph). The courtyard was surrounded by a gallery on four sides, with four minarets on its corners. A mihrab topped by a small dome was built on the qibla wall."
So... Clearly our khatib is either misinformed or he is trying to dupe us. I would not go up to him to correct him, it looked he benched pressed cars for a workout. Not to mention that he was quite intense and was quite angry, I don't know what he would have done if I had corrected him. Maybe he would have bench pressed me in half. God knows.
Also, the khatib brought up Muslim Spain, which has not existed for over 500 years. He said we need to remind people about that. The funny thing is, such people only like to refer to the traditional Muslims of less than a thousand years ago when it suits them, such as in this specific case. We need to tell Apple that they owe us money. Haha, I don't think the khatib was implying this, but I'm sure someone in the gathering thought it, well, I know I did!... iPads are expensive, but so so nice. Forgive the tangent, getting back on track, why should anyone care what we did for humanity over 500 years ago? At least where the material world is concerned? Where dunya is concerned? It's not like we are not indebted to the likes of Plato and Socrates for our philosophical tradition. And yes, believe it or not, Islam has an incredible and deep philosophical tradition.
What have Muslims done recently? Oil doesn't count, we just found it. Seriously think about it, if his logic is that because of our "algorithms" that we developed centuries earlier that Apple should recognize that, then we can't say we came up with those algorithms all on our own. In reality, all credit, good or bad, should go directly back to Adam and Eve. Should it not? Following his logic at least.
Let's get to the last point, he quoted 'Ibn Taymiyyah. I always get excited when people quote 'Ibn Taymiyyah, it's like a stamp of membership to the cult of Wahabis. It really is. (But, I guess it's not always enough, since there are proper scholars that speak highly of 'Ibn Taymiyyah, and you can't discount that 'Ibn Taymiyyah was in fact a proper scholar himself. Wahabis are good at misconstruing what he says and taking only the parts they like.) In this case, it's enough because this brother was MILITANT! (Most Wahabis are militant, hence, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc. etc.).
So, apparently, 'Ibn Taymiyyah said that only the Prophet (S) possessed the right to forgive, and with his passing, that right went away as well. So we don't have the right to forgive anyone who insults the Prophet (S). So does that mean we need to enact justice on those who insult our Prophet? Who gave us that right?
Anyway, the khatib is quite misleading. There is a religious doctrinal aspect of forgiveness and then the human being's ability to be compassionate and forgiving. There is a concept known as Tawassul, which is intercession via the Prophet Muhammad (S) in seeking forgiveness from God. That does not mean that we as Muslims are not forgiving. [You idiot! But I forgive you for your ignorance]. No, doctrinally, the Prophet is still our intercessor to God.
Just be patient, honestly, it will do you, myself, and humanity at large good.
Oh, one more point, at the beginning of his talk he said, "We need to go into the white atmosphere and show them our intellectual and religious tradition." ... "White atmosphere?" Was this an attempt at a racial slur? He looked pretty white to me. It's funny, Muslims don't like being categorized and described by the actions of a few loons that blow themselves up, but the same Muslims that make the most noise about that point tend to do that to other groups of people. What can I say? Hypocrisy seems to be the defining trait of Wahabis.
Also, I am running out of time now, but.... "We don't want to harm anybody we just want to show people the truth. Is there any harm in that? If you stay silent you are with shaytan (satan). If you keep silent over the insults on the Prophet what are you saying? You're saying that it's permitted." <--- This was stupid, hopefully for obvious reasons.
That was the UIC MSA Khutbah. You guys need to get your act together. I will be back.
Also, the khatib brought up Muslim Spain, which has not existed for over 500 years. He said we need to remind people about that. The funny thing is, such people only like to refer to the traditional Muslims of less than a thousand years ago when it suits them, such as in this specific case. We need to tell Apple that they owe us money. Haha, I don't think the khatib was implying this, but I'm sure someone in the gathering thought it, well, I know I did!... iPads are expensive, but so so nice. Forgive the tangent, getting back on track, why should anyone care what we did for humanity over 500 years ago? At least where the material world is concerned? Where dunya is concerned? It's not like we are not indebted to the likes of Plato and Socrates for our philosophical tradition. And yes, believe it or not, Islam has an incredible and deep philosophical tradition.
What have Muslims done recently? Oil doesn't count, we just found it. Seriously think about it, if his logic is that because of our "algorithms" that we developed centuries earlier that Apple should recognize that, then we can't say we came up with those algorithms all on our own. In reality, all credit, good or bad, should go directly back to Adam and Eve. Should it not? Following his logic at least.
Let's get to the last point, he quoted 'Ibn Taymiyyah. I always get excited when people quote 'Ibn Taymiyyah, it's like a stamp of membership to the cult of Wahabis. It really is. (But, I guess it's not always enough, since there are proper scholars that speak highly of 'Ibn Taymiyyah, and you can't discount that 'Ibn Taymiyyah was in fact a proper scholar himself. Wahabis are good at misconstruing what he says and taking only the parts they like.) In this case, it's enough because this brother was MILITANT! (Most Wahabis are militant, hence, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc. etc.).
So, apparently, 'Ibn Taymiyyah said that only the Prophet (S) possessed the right to forgive, and with his passing, that right went away as well. So we don't have the right to forgive anyone who insults the Prophet (S). So does that mean we need to enact justice on those who insult our Prophet? Who gave us that right?
Anyway, the khatib is quite misleading. There is a religious doctrinal aspect of forgiveness and then the human being's ability to be compassionate and forgiving. There is a concept known as Tawassul, which is intercession via the Prophet Muhammad (S) in seeking forgiveness from God. That does not mean that we as Muslims are not forgiving. [You idiot! But I forgive you for your ignorance]. No, doctrinally, the Prophet is still our intercessor to God.
Just be patient, honestly, it will do you, myself, and humanity at large good.
Oh, one more point, at the beginning of his talk he said, "We need to go into the white atmosphere and show them our intellectual and religious tradition." ... "White atmosphere?" Was this an attempt at a racial slur? He looked pretty white to me. It's funny, Muslims don't like being categorized and described by the actions of a few loons that blow themselves up, but the same Muslims that make the most noise about that point tend to do that to other groups of people. What can I say? Hypocrisy seems to be the defining trait of Wahabis.
Also, I am running out of time now, but.... "We don't want to harm anybody we just want to show people the truth. Is there any harm in that? If you stay silent you are with shaytan (satan). If you keep silent over the insults on the Prophet what are you saying? You're saying that it's permitted." <--- This was stupid, hopefully for obvious reasons.
That was the UIC MSA Khutbah. You guys need to get your act together. I will be back.