The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On May 27, 2024, a pro-Afghan Taliban account posted a short, Pashtu-language video of Sheikh Abdul Sami Ghaznavi, a former Afghan Taliban official and currently an Islamic religious teacher at a madrassa (religious seminary) in Kabul. In the video, the cleric delivers a speech justifying jihad and qital (fighting to kill) against Jews, which he says was the tradition in the early Islam.
He cites the case of Umar ibn Khattab, the second Islamic caliph who conquered Jerusalem in 637 CE. Sheikh Abdul Sami Ghaznavi says that according to the peace agreement reached by Umar with the residents of Jerusalem, Christians could pay the jizya ("poll tax"), live there, and "worship in private," but "Jews definitely did not have the right to live in this area."
The Islamic religious scholar, who appears to be delivering a sermon from the pulpit in a mosque, also notes that the wars of Umar ibn Khattab and Salahuddin Ayyubi (who conquered Jerusalem in 1187 CE) were jihad and qital as was the tradition during the Rashidun Caliphs, the first four caliphs of Islam, and the succeeding caliphates.
Following is the translation of the speech:
"If This Calamity Is Solved, It Will Be Solved As A Result Of Jihad And Qital As The Sahabah Did – If This Calamity Ends From Muslims, It Ends With Jihad Like [That Waged By] Salahuddin Ayyubi"
"The Muslims who live there [Palestine] are our brothers. Any calamity that comes to them is calamity to us, as we mentioned earlier a hadith that... believers are like one body in love, kindness, and compassion toward each other; if a part of this body aches, the whole body will be sleepless.
"Dears, we must have feelings and understanding toward Palestine... because we are Muslims, we are one body, in a body that has a headache, the legs do not sleep; if the legs ache, the head also has a fever... We should be partners with Muslims in these calamities. Dears, this is our and your Shari'a sense and responsibility.
"In fact, at first this Bayt Al-Maqdis [i.e., Jerusalem] was captured by the Sahabah [Companions of the Prophet Muhammad] as a result of jihad and war. Later, the Crusaders captured it. Salahuddin Ayyubi captured it [from the Crusaders in 1187]; they also fought on it and captured it as a result of war, jihad, and qital.
"Dears, if the Muslims take it after this, it will not be like that we beg the United Nations or beg other infidels to make peace here [Palestine] or something else.
"Dears, the United Nations has created this calamity here; the British, French and Westerners have created this calamity. So, how will they solve this calamity for you? If this calamity is solved, it will be solved as a result of jihad and qital like the Sahabah [fought]. If this calamity ends from Muslims, it ends with jihad like [that waged by] Salahuddin Ayyubi."
"Christians Could Live Here And Should Pay The Jizya [Poll Tax] And Taxes – As Christians, They Could Worship In Private, And Jews Definitely Did Not Have The Right To Live In The Area"
"Another thing is that some people say that peace should be there [in Palestine], and if there is peace, Jews and Muslims will live together, with one government for Jews and another for Muslims. However, this idea is completely contrary to the peace [agreement] of Umar [ibn Khattab, the second Muslim caliph who conquered Jerusalem in 637 CE].
"Umar had made a peace [agreement] with the people who lived [in Palestine] in year Hijri 16 [637 CE] so that there should be Muslim governance, dominance, and rule. Christians could live here and should pay jizya [poll tax] and taxes. As Christians, they could worship in private, and Jews definitely did not have the right to live in the area.
"So, whoever says that peace and compromise should be made here [in Palestine], opposes the peace agreement and contract of Umar, while the peace and contract of Umar is necessary [to implement it] for us... So, dears, Jews definitely do not have the right to live; if you call yourself a Muslim, if you choose the position of a Muslim, the main solution is [the way] of Sahabah and after that that of the caliphs, which is war and jihad.
"What is the calamity nowadays that a limited number of Jews are oppressing Muslims there? You have seen these days, those few Muslims [referring to Hamas] do not have an independent government and no one helps them economically, militarily, or in any way. They have spent their entire lives in a state of siege, but they attack the Jews fiercely, and it is said that more than 2,000 Jews have been killed in these wars [since October 7, 2023], and important soldiers and generals are now imprisoned with the mujahideen of Hamas.
"That is, in this lack of facilities, the mujahideen lack essential facilities. They do not have the status of an [independent] country, nor are they recognized by anyone. They lack economic and military facilities, and they obtain such facilities and equipment through begging. It is well known among you and us that the Mossad is a very powerful intelligence agency; the Jews have the atomic bomb, the Jews have this, the Jews have that, we have raised the Jews to the sky, we say that the Jews have great economic potential, they have this and that."
"The Basic Solution To The Problems Of The Entire Islamic Ummah Is Unity, An Islamic System, Political And Islamic Unity, And Declaring Qital And Jihad Of The Mujahideen In Order To Solve These Calamities, Like It Was During The Time Of Sahabah, Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad, Abbasid [Caliphates], And [Other] Islamic Systems"
"However, now that a weak mujahideen group [Hamas], which is not an independent country, is not recognized by anyone nor given political, military, economic, or any kind of support, and which has acquired such equipment and weapons through begging, has caused the [Jews'] cries to reach the sky. [Hamas] killed up to 2,000 of their people and imprisoned many of them. Now [the Israelis] are bombing the poor, the homeless, and the weak.
"If all these Muslims were united, like during the era of the Rashidun Caliphs [the period of the first four caliphs], Bani Umayyad and Bani Abbas, and they were given a way, they will destroy not only the Jews but the British and all of them [non-Muslims].
"Nowadays the Jewish government is protected by our [Muslim] rulers, the rulers of the Muslims who surround it.
"The prayer that you and I perform here [in Afghanistan], this prayer is also performed in Algeria, it is also performed in Iran, this prayer is also performed in Pakistan... Are there no Muslims like you and me in Pakistan? There are also such Muslims in Saudi Arabia. But we are divided and we fight with each other. In Yemen, there are conflicts involving Muslims, while here [the Afghan] people suffer on both sides of the border [i.e., the Durand Line, the de facto border between Pakistan and Afghanistan]. The border was created by an Englishman, and Muslims have been affected by it.
"The basic solution to the problems of the entire Islamic Ummah is unity, an Islamic system, political and Islamic unity, and declaring Qital and jihad of the mujahideen in order to solve these calamities, as was done during the time of Sahabah, Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad, Abbasid [caliphates], and [other] Islamic systems...
"May Allah accept the martyrdoms of the martyrs of Palestine, may Allah raise them in rank, may Allah reward their relatives, may Allah grant us the opportunity to help them, may Allah destroy the enemies and the Jews. Salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam."
Source: X.com (Afghanistan), May 27, 2024.
