As it has previously in Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, France, and Canada, MEMRI has again exposed a preacher inciting to murder and jihad, and prompted government and media reactions throughout Europe.
On May 8, 2017, MEMRI TV released a clip of preacher Mundhir Abdallah's March 31, 2017 Friday sermon at the Al-Faruq Mosque in Copenhagen, Denmark citing the antisemitic hadith stating that the Muslims will kill the Jews on Judgment Day. He added that there would soon be a Caliphate that would "wage jihad against its enemies," "liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Zionists," and "uproot the Jewish entity, that colonialist and Crusader base." The sermon was posted on the Al-Faruq Mosque's YouTube channel on May 7, 2017.
Previously, MEMRI TV released a clip of a February 13, 2015 sermon at the same mosque, by its imam, Hajj Saeed, rejecting interfaith dialogue and explaining that the Prophet Muhammad had waged war against his Jewish neighbors rather than engage in dialogue with them. According to broadcaster DR, Omar Al-Hussein, who was behind the next day's series of shootings in Copenhagen and left two people dead, had visited the mosque the day of the sermon.[1]
Following the release of clip of the March 31, 2017 sermon, members of the Danish government denounced the sermon and called for a Justice Ministry investigation. The clip was also covered by AFP, BBC, Le Figaro, and other European media. All the reports quoted or cited MEMRI; some also embedded the MEMRI TV clip.
Danish Parliamentarians Denounce Sermon, Call For Justice Ministry Investigation: "This Is Totally Unacceptable"; "It's Very, Very Serious"
Both the Danish People's Party and the Social Democrats said that they would contact Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen. Danish People's Party spokesman Peter Kofod Poulsen said: "This is totally unacceptable. No one should put up with threats of murder. Therefore, there must be firm action against the imam, and we must also examine whether this mosque is generally a place that spreads hatred. We will contact the minister. Clearly, something must be done on the basis of these statements. Most of all, I would like the mosque to be closed."[2]
Social Democratic MP Lars Aslan Rasmussen was reported as also intending to ask Justice Minister Poulsen about the case. He said: "There may be both a violation of the Racism Paragraph and the Imam Law, where it has been agreed that certain statements from religious preachers be criminalized." He added: "It's very, very serious, and we certainly cannot live with imams speaking like this their congregation."
Danish Immigration And Integration Minister On Facebook: "We Cannot And Must Not Accept This"
Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Støjberg posted the video on her Facebook page and wrote: "This is completely preposterous, undemocratic and awful. But it also shows why we need to lead a harsh and consistent policy. We cannot and should not accept this!"[3]
Criminal Law Professor: Sermon Is A Clear Violation Of The Law
Additionally, Professor of Criminal Law Jørn Vestergaard explained that the sermon was a clear violation of both Penal Code § 266b, known as the Racism Section, and § 136 paragraph 3, known as the Imam Clause. He said that although the preacher quotes from the Hadith, and therefore these were not his own words, this does not exempt him from the responsibility for using words of others or quotes from scripture as his own when the meaning is clearly to endorse and convey the message.[4]
View The MEMRI TV Clip Of The Sermon
To view the MEMRI TV clip of the sermon, click here.
Mundhir Abdallah: "[Soon there will be] a Caliphate, which will instate the shari'a of Allah and revive the Sunna of His Prophet, which will wage Jihad for the sake of Allah, which will unite the Islamic nation after it disintegrated, and which will liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Zionists, so that the words of the Prophet Muhammad will be fulfilled: 'Judgement Day will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them.
"The Jews will hide behind the rocks and the trees, but the rocks and the trees will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'
"The rightly-guided state, which will instate the shari'a of Allah, will unite the servants of Allah, will revive the Islamic nation, will wage Jihad against its enemies, will liberate Jerusalem, and will uproot the Jewish entity, that colonialist and Crusader base - that rightly-guided state will soon come to be, Allah willing."
