Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian cleric Safwat Higazi, which aired on Al-Nas TV on March 18, 2009.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/2171.
"The Baha'i Faith is Not a Religion... Religion Is When Allah Sends a Prophet to This World"
Safwat Higazi: "The Bahai faith is not a religion - just like Zoroastrianism and Buddhism are not religions. Religion is when Allah sends a prophet to this world, with a holy book, or a prophet who preaches the holy book of a previous prophet. Man-made beliefs of any kind - for which no prophet was sent - do not constitute religions. We cannot talk about a Buddhist religion, a Zoroastrian religion, a Babi religion, or a Baha'i religion. These are man-made schools of thought." [...]
The Baha'i "Are Supported... Not By Jews But by Global Zionism"
"Mirza Hussein 'Ali was the first representative from the East to attend meetings of the Zionist association, in the presence of Theodor Herzl."
[...]
"They are supported by Zionism - not by the Jews but by global Zionism. Can you imagine someone making a pilgrimage to Acre?!"
Interviewer: "Or praying towards Acre..."
Safwat Higazi: "Exactly." [...]
"They Pose a Danger... A Baha'i Brigade Was Formed in Acre, and Fought Alongside the Zionists"
"We shouldn't say that they might pose a danger. They already pose a danger. From now on, they pose a danger.
[...]
"In the Jewish religion, a Jew is someone whose mother is Jewish. If a Jewish man marries a non-Jewish woman, his son will not be Jewish.
[...]
"A religious ruling issued by the Jewish rabbis of Israel in 1948 - or actually, this ruling was issued in 1936 - stated that any European claiming to be a Jew, but whose mother was non-Jewish, could become a Baha'i and enjoy the full rights of the Jews in the land of Zion.
[...]
"Documents that have been made public prove that a Baha'i brigade was formed in Acre, and fought alongside the Zionists."
