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Australian Hizb-ut-Tahrir activist Wassim Doureihi was interviewed by high school English teacher Sufyan Badar at a Hizb-ut-Tahrir Australia event titled "Unapologetically Muslim" that took place in Sydney on April 27, 2019. Doureihi said that his daughter, who attends public school, makes supplication to Allah during the national anthem in order to "reaffirm her Muslimness." He said that Muslims are facing an "international order" of anti-Muslim policies and he criticized people who have "bought in to the lie" of Western tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism, saying that they are lying to themselves because they don't actually support every aspect of Islam, such as the punishments dictated by shari'a law. He said that Muslims should not apologize for or condemn ISIS when they are asked to do so simply because it is white people who are asking, and he referred to the "hierarchy between Muslims and non-Muslims, and the white man and persons of color." He said that Western tolerance only accepts Muslims who accept democracy and parliamentary rule, which he said run contrary to Islam. Doureihi added that Muslims don't want to be accepted and that they shouldn't apologize for thinking that the word of Allah is superior. Again addressing people in the West who say they are tolerant, Doureihi said: "Pick a side. You either love me as a Muslim or you hate because I believe in Islam." The video was uploaded to Hizb-ut-Tahrir Australia's Facebook. For another video from this event, see MEMRI TV Clip No. 7211.
Following are excerpts:
Wassim Doureihi: My kids go to a public school. Every so often, I think it's once or twice a year or whatever it is, they play the national anthem, and there's always a conversation about how should we deal with that? Should we stand up and sing along? Or should we take a position that expresses our resistance in terms of what the national anthem represents in terms of its colonialism and whatnot? And you reach a compromise. But the thing is… The fact that we're having this conversation tells us that we realize that, as Muslims, we are under the spotlight, and we also realize that, as Muslims, we have to take positions about things which as not going to be comfortable.
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My kids will stand up, but they won't sing.
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My youngest daughter, I don't know where she got it from… I'm assuming she's been on YouTube watching interviews of mine or something. She was actively making supplication under her breath, just reaffirming her Muslimness.
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We felt the brunt of the War on Terror policy. It was heavy, it's a fight, but that thing is – what I want to mention – is it's not a fair fight. You have a community of individuals versus a state, and it's not just one state – it's an international order, and we're up against the resources of a state in every conceivable way.
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Believing in Islam means we are going to be tested. It's not going to be all roses and all prettiness. That's the first thing. In terms of setting our expectations about things, we should be clear: The normality is conflict.
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We've probably bought into the lie that is tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism. When we saw the rhetoric of acceptance and diversity and different people and different opinions and different religions, but not realize in the reality what that entails... There's another guy, he walks into the place where I work, and he goes: "Look, I'm on your side." He's white, male, old age. He goes: "I'm on your side." And he's talking about politics and stuff, and resisting government and whatever else, and I say: "No, you're not." He goes: "What do you mean, I'm not? I support you!" He wanted me to thank him for it, like the fact that he expressed it.
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I said: "Look, you'll be happy to accept me if I'm a particular type of Muslim for you." But he goes: "No, but we believe, Australia's very tolerant, Australia's a very tolerant country…" I said: "Look, what's your position on the punishments in Islam?" He goes: "Barbaric!" [I said:] "What's your position on this?... Wrong! What's your position on various aspects of Islam?" Straight out. I said: "You're not tolerant. You're lying to me and you're lying to yourself. You believe in what you believe, I believe in what I believe, and may the best man win. There's no point in pretending
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Sufyan Badar: Do you condemn what ISIS has done…? Why shouldn't we condemn, why shouldn't we apologize?
Wassim Doureihi: The honest truth is, we can go up and down… I won't just because you asked me to. That's the simple fact. Because you asked me to, I'm not going to do it. And who is you? Who am I referring to? Again, the hierarchy between Muslim and non-Muslim, and the white man and persons of color… I wouldn’t do it in principle.
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We're being asked to… We're being thrown into this conversation and asked to defend the Islamic position, and accept all the presuppositions about it. Why would I do that? Why would I humiliate myself?
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If you're genuinely concerned about loss of life, which no one is more concerned about than a Muslim, then let's talk about really where people are losing their lives in the greatest magnitude, in the worst possible ways. I'm not going to humiliate victims of colonial wars and colonial policy by focusing on the actions of individuals and ignore the monstrosity of state actions. I wouldn't do that.
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Everybody knows who they're trying to target. When expressions like tolerance and diversity are uttered, the ones who are uttering them know 100% that it's not true. It's a particular form of Muslim, it's a particular form of individual – who's secular minded, who accepts democracy, who accepts the rule of law under a parliamentary system… [They say:] "They're the people I'll tolerate." And the minute you express an opinion contrary to that and more than that… The worse thing is if you start building your activism in resistance to it on the basis of Islam, where you present clear alternatives, then their true face is uncovered. It doesn't take much to scratch the surface. Anyone that says "we're tolerant" and "we should be grateful", ask them very quickly and very simply what their position is on [shari'a] punishments, and see their face change, and then [say:] "Okay, then just be honest with me. You're not tolerant, you're not diverse, you want me to perform a particular way and you want me to behave in a particular way, and that's contrary to my religion. You're asking me to compromise my religion and that's the only people you'll tolerate."
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And the thing is, as Muslims… We've got to be clear. We don't want to be accepted. If that's the price we pay, we don't want it. We're not here to beg for your acceptance as a Muslim. My position is between me is Allah, and I want the opposite: I want you to become Muslim. I want the best for you. But we're being made to apologize for that because we believe in that, we believe Islam is superior, [that] the word of Allah is superior… Why the hell should I apologize for that?
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The guy who comes in and says: "I'm on your side, Wassim…" I just want to show to him that he's lying to himself. He talks about on the one hand how multicultural and beautiful we are, and on the other hand how barbaric the punishment laws in Brunei were. Bro, you've got to pick a side. You either love me as a Muslim or hate me because I believe in Islam. You can't be both. What's the point of loving me if I have to leave my Islam behind me?
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